By Rachel Quigley
PUBLISHED: 17:57 GMT, 4 May
2012 | UPDATED: 20:09 GMT, 4 May 2012
To the outside world, they may
look different from everyone else.
But for the Johnston family,
the only difference between them and everyone else is that they are a little
smaller.
Amber and Trent Johnson, from
Barnesville, Georgia, and their five children are the largest family of
achondroplasia dwarfs, with a type of dwarfism that affects the extremities.
Brad and Angelina of Little
People: Friends have compared the Johnstons to the famous couple because of how
they embrace the heritage and culture of each of their children
They call themselves 'the real
life seven dwarfs' and embrace their size, and say they 'strive to raise their
children in the world that's not built for them'.
Speaking to Barbara Walters
for tonight's ABC's 20/20, the Johnstons explain why they go to extremes to try
to keep things normal for their five children.
Instead of adapting their home
to fit the family, who are no more than four feet tall, they instead encourage
their children to overcome the hurdles - for example, placing step stools to
help them reach cupboards and attaching sticks to light switches.
Trent and Amber met at a
little people's convention, dated for almost four years and married. Five
months later Amber was pregnant.
Trent came from a family of
dwarfs, but Amber's family were full size. They knew there was a possibility that
their first child could be full size, but at 31 weeks discovered Jonah also had
achondroplasia dwarfism.
They were very happy as they
wanted kids who were 'like them', they said.
The birth of their second
biological child Elizabeth was very traumatic for Amber - at one point she was
only 48 inches tall but measured 51 inches around.
They both wanted a big family,
but instead of putting Amber at any more risk with another traumatic pregnancy
they decided to adopt to extend their brood of dwarfs.
Multi-cultural: The Johnston
children are a mix of American, Siberian, Chinese and South Korean
Dwarfs are often put up for
adoption and are also treated badly in other countries because of their
difference.
Amber and Trent decided to
adopt three children from different parts of the world - Ana from Siberia, Alex
from South Korea and Emma from China.
When Elizabeth was in third
grade, bullies called her a midget. She simply told them: 'That's how God made me - that's how he loves me.'
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