Where does TLC find these people?

I started channel surfing during one of the commercial breaks for the Grammys. I came across TLC and saw something I knew I was going to have to watch. It was The Pregnant Man. It was one of those shows where I really didn't care to watch, but for some reason my eyes were glued to the screen. I remember this story when it broke a few months back, but the documentary was aired tonight. My mind was racing with all sorts of questions and thoughts, but in a weird way I still couldn't stop watching. It was weird and I still don't exactly understand his life choices, but he and his wife seem determined to make their life work. I just wonder how messed up the child will be when she finds out her "father" gave birth to her...

So that show ended and Mermaid Girl began. Once again, I started watching because it was such an odd disorder. A girl had been born with her bottom half completely fused together. I had never seen anything like it. She is eight years old and completely dependent on her parents for her ever day needs. I found this show to just be sad to watch and ended up switching back to the Grammys.

I have seen similar documentaries like this on TLC, one in particular being Half Man, Half Tree, which still blows my mind how a man has "bark" for hands. It makes me wonder how TLC finds these people and how they go about asking them to film their life and disability. I also would be curious to see the ratings and how many people, like me, actually tune in to these crazy stories.