The needles and insulin haven't stalled his progress in school or on his snowboard - or gotten him out of the summer job his parents are insisting on.

But it's the illness the teen has fought for a decade and a half that has put him on the agendas of corporate leaders, lawmakers and a crowd of thousands.

Lindley, 16, of South Jordan, took his activism on the road this summer with a trip to Washington, D.C., where he joined other young diabetics in advocating federal support for diabetes research and met with Rep. Chris Cannon, and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett.

"We talked to them about [funding] so we can get a cure," Lindley said. Congress is expected to vote this year on whether to renew $150 million in yearly funding for diabetes research.

Keeping up with the science is instinctive for Lindley, who says he wants to become a medical researcher himself one day. He is promoting more study of regeneration of insulin-producing cells and a lift of the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

"They've found [in diabetics] some cells that just aren't being released," he said.

Now he is turning his efforts homeward. Lindley went to Harman Management Corp. earlier this month in search of donations for diabetes research through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which sponsored his trip to Washington, D.C. He also has spoken for the Ultimate Utah celebration before a crowd of 5,000 people.

Lindley was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 16 months old. His mother, Jennifer, who has had diabetes since she was 13, noticed the warning signs - excessive thirst and wetting his diaper, with dramatic weight loss.

"It's the best thing for him to have me have it, because I know so much about it," said Jennifer Lindley, who works in government relations for the foundation's Utah chapter. "So many parents have no idea about this disease; they're going into it blind. It's such a hard disease to control . . . especially for children because they're so active."

With Type 1 diabetes affecting his mother, two grandparents, an uncle and a cousin, Jordan Lindley has plenty of reminders of how dangerous it can become.

"There are some times when I'm scared of it, because diabetes can cause blindness. You can lose feet. You can have kidney disease," he said.

He recalled visiting his cousin in the hospital and seeing "needles all over the place," he said.

Seizures have landed Lindley in the hospital twice: once last year and once in elementary school.

"Your blood sugar just drops," he said. "You have no idea what's going on. The brain shuts off."

Lindley said he hopes the public health frenzy over Type 2 diabetes doesn't eclipse the fight against juvenile-onset diabetes.

"It's not one of those diseases that is talked about much; you get a lot about Type 2, but not much about Type 1," he said. "Millions have it . . . and we need help."

ealberty@sltrib.com

The two types of diabetes

* Type 1 develops when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, which make insulin necessary for regulating blood glucose. Type 1, previously called juvenile-onset diabetes, usually strikes children and young adults, although onset can occur at any age. Autoimmune, genetic and environmental factors may increase risk.

* Type 2 may account for up to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. It usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas loses the ability to produce it. Type 2 is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race or ethnicity. Type 2 is being diagnosed increasingly in children and adolescents.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.