Comedian With Cerebral Palsy Gives Advice for Raising Kids With Special Needs

Little Things lessons on prepping child with disability for the world
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Parents raising a child with a disability face unique challenges every single day. And every mom and dad in this position wants to identify winning ways to prep their child for adulthood. That's why Kristina Kuzmic (aka "Truth Bomb Mom") of LittleThings.com sat down with her good friend Zach Anner for a video that's now going viral. The comedian, actor, and writer for the TV show Speechless has cerebral palsy, and offered to share some seriously helpful, real-world advice for parents of children with disabilities.

"I would say, be okay with watching your kids struggle," Anner says, going on to explain that while it may have taken him a while to put on his own socks when he was younger, it helped prep him for taking care of himself in other ways.

The comedian also advises parents, "Raise your kids to be considerate, thoughtful adults who aren't always the center of attention. When you have a disability, the world sort of revolves around you ... it breeds co-dependency and sometimes, a weird type of narcissism."

And that lesson may very well go hand-in-hand with another Anner shares, which is, "Be careful about accidentally patronizing your kid." Instead, "let your kid's passions lead, instead of the disability," Anner explains. "Find what the kid is passionate about, then any struggle that they deal with can be expressed through that."

Lastly, Anner says, think about the big picture in every choice you make. "When you're doing something for your kid, you need to ask yourself: 'Does this work because it works for us as a family, or because it works for the world in general?'" he says. "Because you want to prepare your kid for the world."

Parents are loving what Anner has to say:

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