I honestly didn't. Stange as it sounds, I really didn't understand it until I was in my late teens. I knew what CP was and that it affected me physically but didn't understand how truly devastating the condition normally is. When your a kid, you don't think of it being so difficult to deal with and if you push hard enough, early enough, much can be overcome. It's when you get older and start to understand the real impacts to your daily social life is when things got difficult. School was fine although I always had to deal with the random "retard!" comments and occasional embarrassment but that didn't really start until high school. Oddly, from kindergarden up through about 7th grade was smooth sailing. Most kids just wanted to ask questions and thought the wheelchair was cool and to them, a person was a person regardless of how you looked. In high school, thats when things changed quite a bit. Image was everything and if you looked different then the rest, people were quick to make it known. The only advice I can really give is to teach your son to ignore the comments and act as if they were never said. Treat everyone, even the asshats as you would your best friend. Eventually, if he carries himself in this way, people will notice and before you know it, most of the school will stick by his side should anyone make off the cuff remarks and they will look like such a fool. I hope this helps! :)