STRONGER TOGETHER
Paddy and Christine Mcguinness share their moving story of living with autism
MPaddy And Christine Mcguinness: Our Family And Autism odel and reality star Christine Mcguinness – wife of presenter Paddy – had always wondered if there was a genetic reason why all three of her children have autism.
And as she filmed this one-off documentary to learn more about the condition – that affects how we interact with the world – she began to recognise something in herself, leading to her own diagnosis of autism.
In this show, we follow Paddy and Christine as she makes that discovery. The couple reveal their journey with their own children – Leo and Penelope, eight, and Felicity, five – and speak to other parents of autistic children, as well as experts on the condition.
Christine gave birth to the twins in 2013 and, as they grew older, she and Paddy didn’t notice the signs that their kids weren’t developing as they should.
When her mum pointed out Leo and Penelope weren’t talking or eating as expected at their age, Christine had to admit that developmental milestones were being missed.
The consequent autism diagnosis allowed the couple the opportunity to better understand their children, but it also brought its own challenges.
While Christine threw herself into finding out everything she could to support them, Paddy found it difficult to even discuss. Paddy now hopes the documentary will make him confront issues he’s been avoiding.
We see the couple take an AQ test – a screening test to help identify autism – and Christine’s results shed some more light on the matter. Further investigation then leads to her receiving a formal diagnosis of her own.
Throughout this moving programme, Paddy and Christine grow even closer as they come to learn more about what autism means for their family.
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