I've never considered this question before. My kneejerk answer: "Poorly" I don't know how you explain it to someone. It's one of those things that you really have to walk a mile in someone's shoes to understand it. My son has a spina bifida, a physical disability. Despite being there for him his entire life, I can't truly relate. I see his struggles. I take a lot less for granted. But I really can't relate. He plays sled hockey, so he has peers with various physical disabilities. They can relate. I can relate to the other parents, to some degree. Some of those kids have greater challenges than my son. Or their children came to their disability later in life, as opposed to my son being born with the disability. It's hard for me to relate to a parent that had a perfectly healthy kid and then had their life take a sharp turn. Maybe others have a better answer.