Little People, Big World

I remember when I was little I was constantly afraid of little people. Of course back then they were known as midgets. Some people still call them that but I don't anymore because I now have a newfound respect for them. Although while walking through the mall with my mom and dad I would see one and hide behind my dad because for some reason I was very much afraid of them. My uncle on my dad's side of the family was a little person until he died years ago. I never did meet him though now if he was still alive I would like to.

Ever since I started watching the show "Little People, Big World" I have become fascinated with the way they live and the things they struggle with in their daily lives. They live just like us even though there are some things that they have to do different of course. When driving they need peddle extenders and when doing other things that are usually normal for us average size people they have to stand on stools.

Matt Roloff is a salesmen, entrepreneur, advocate for the rights of little people and father of four. As a child Matt's dwarfism left him in the hospital getting surgery after surgery done on his legs. Now he walks around with crutches. As a child he would lay in his hospital bed and daydream of cowboys and Tom Sawyer and the ultimate childhood. Now that dream has become a reality for his own children with his 34-acre farm. Roloff farms boasts of a western town, a pirate ship on a lake, a three story tree house, a full story medieval castle and that is just to name a few.

Matt now has his own business, Direct Access Solutions, which provides accessibility for little people. His key product is the Short Stature Accessibility Kit, a product he markets to hotel chains which helps provide little people with the tools they need for a safe and comfortable hotel stay. In the last year Matt also accepted a job in the computer software sales industry, which often relies on him traveling for business. He does most of his traveling in North America.

A former president of Little People of America, he still attends the annual get together with his family. His wife and him are very active in the organization and are helping in planning the 50th anniversary. Matt's dwarfism is the third most common cause of short stature diastrophic dysphasia which occurs in 1 in 110,000 births. This condition negatively affects joint and bone structure and leads to broad short fingers. Matt Roloff's parents live only a few miles away from the Roloff farm and they are average size people. His sister is also average height but he does have a brother who is a little person as well.

Matt and Amy have been married for 19 years. And they have 4 children together. Amy is also a little person and out of their 4 children they have twin boys, one who is average height and one who is a little person. They have a daughter and another son who are also average height.

Amy Roloff is in charge of the entire household. She holds down two jobs, which includes part time in a soccer club and the other a preschool teacher. She helps the children with their homework, social and extracurricular activities.

Amy's dwarfism is the result of the most frequently diagnosed cause of short stature, achondroplasia which occurs in 26,000 to 40,000 births. This genetic condition causes disproportionately short arms and legs.

Amy is also active in the Little People of America organization. She is 43 years old and both of her parents are of average height as well as her 2 sisters and brother.

Most people do not believe that Amy and Matt have twin boys because Jeremy is of average height and Zach is a little person just like his mother and father. He is the only child they have that is a little person. Jeremy and Zach are 16 years old. Zach is an athlete and has played soccer most of his life and even coached his own soccer team, The Grasshogs. While Zach is most like his mother, Jeremy is most like his father and gets excited about his projects. Zach's dwarfism is the result of achondroplasia and as a result he has had to undergo 3 surgery's. Years ago he had to have a shunt placed in his skull to drain excess fluid from his brain. In April of 2005 the shunt broke and he had to have emergency surgery to have it repaired. He also had to have another similar surgery done in January of 2006.

Molly is Matt and Amy's only daughter. She is 13 years old and is of average height. She is a skilled volleyball player and also the best student out of all of the children with a grade point average of 4.0. Being the only daughter out of the children she does sometimes get swept up in her dads and brothers schemes but often times goes off by herself to read a book or do girl things with her mother and friends. She shares a birthday with Amy.

Jacob already nine years old and taller than both of his parents is the youngest out of the bunch. A lot like his brothers he is also a soccer player and even has his mother as his coach even though most of the players are all taller than she.

The Roloff family, excluding Matt because of him being on a business trip at the time, appeared on "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet." They talked about how they feel with cameras following them around and even though they say sometimes it does get nerve racking they are used to it and they like the fact that the show has educated so many people about dwarfism. They have also written a book called "Little People, Big Values." You can watch "Little People, Big World" which airs on Monday nights at 8:00 P.M Eastern time and 7:00 P.M Central time on TLC, The Learning Channel.