Sunderland mother with dwarfism answers questions on TikTok

A mother with dwarfism has taken to social media to increase understanding of her condition.

Laura Phillips from Sunderland has more than 69,000 followers on TikTok, which she uses to educate people about living with it.

She, her husband Nathan and sons Nathan, seven, and Jax, two, all have restricted growth.

Mrs Phillips, 31, said people need to understand "we are the same as everyone else, just small".

She said "it's not offensive at all" for people to ask her questions, adding: "If anything I like when people ask questions because I'd rather educate people than have people wonder and maybe stare.

"We are just little, that's it. We are the same as everyone else but short, we just do things in a different way."

Mrs Phillips said she was the first person in her family to have dwarfism, while her husband had "dwarf parents".

"A lot of people can be ignorant and think dwarfs come from dwarf parents," she said.

"Most dwarfs I know come from average-height parents."

There are two main types of dwarfism, also known as restricted growth, according to the NHS.

Proportionate short stature (PSS) involves a general lack of growth in the body, arms and legs and is most commonly caused by being born to small parents, although it's sometimes the result of the body not producing enough growth hormone.

Disproportionate short stature (DSS), where the arms and legs are particularly short, is most commonly caused by a genetic condition called achondroplasia. Many children with achondroplasia have parents of normal height.

She said as a child she "didn't like being different" and was affected by "people saying nasty things, staring, pointing and laughing".

But that changed when she met other "little people" and "realised it's not just me".

She is especially keen for other children to learn about the condition so they understand her sons.

"Some children might be scared," she said, adding: "They might look at us and think 'why are they so small?'."

She said if it was not explained to children then they might not play with her son Nathan at school, but really they should realise "Nathan is just a normal child".

Mrs Phillips said adults could also learn a lot.

"It would be nice for them to think about what they are saying and if they re saying horrible stuff," she said.

"No one likes to be bullied or have bad things said against them so it would be nice for everyone to understand and see we are the same as everyone else.

"We are humans too, just small."

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].