Little People, Big World stars Zach and Tori Roloff shared that their son Josiah has been diagnosed with achondroplasia.
It’s a question that LPBW fans have been asking since his April 30 arrival: is Josiah average-sized like Tori or a little person like his dad Zach and siblings Jackson and Lilah?
During a recent interview, Zach and Tori disclosed Josiah’s diagnosis, but they want to make it clear that Josiah’s condition doesn’t define who he is.
Zach and Tori Roloff of LPBW reveal Josiah has achondroplasia
The couple sat down with Christina Garibaldi of Us Weekly to discuss their newborn son’s arrival and admitted that it’s a question they get asked often, but they understand why.
“It’s a normal question,” Zach shared, as Tori added, “Yeah, I think people are just curious usually. But I think for Zach and I, it’s always like, you know, we try not to make it a big deal, just because we like never want our kids to feel like it is a big deal.”
Zach explained that he and Tori try to choose their wording carefully when talking about dwarfism, so as not to distract from Josiah as a person.
“He’s a boy with achondroplasia. It’s not his identity. He’s Josiah. He has achondroplasia, but he’s not like, Josiah the achon,” Zach explained. Tori added an example: “Just like, I’m Tori, I have brown hair. I’m not a brunette, you know? That’s not how I would like, classify myself, I guess.”
Tori and Zach said they don’t get offended when people ask whether Josiah is a dwarf, calling it a “normal” question. Since Zach and their other two kids are also dwarves, they’re not surprised when others ask. Plus, Tori mentioned that it’s hard to tell whether a baby has achondroplasia or not.
Josiah joins several other little people in the Roloff family
Josiah is among several other little people in the family, hence the name of the Roloff’s hit show, Little People, Big World. Zach’s mom, Amy Roloff, also has achondroplasia, but his dad Matt Roloff was born with diastrophic dysplasia. Matt’s form of dwarfism is a degenerative one that has landed him in the hospital countless times since his childhood for surgeries.
According to Healthline, achondroplasia is the most common form of dwarfism, occurring in approximately 1 in 25,000 live births, and is equally as common among males as females.
Zach and Tori said they’ll always be advocates for families like theirs: “We will definitely be advocates for people with dwarfism cause of our kids,” Zach said as Tori added, “Forever.”
You can watch the interview in its entirety here.
Little People, Big World airs on Tuesday nights at 9/8c on TLC and Discovery+.