Thread by @Telegraph

Paddy and Christine McGuinness have three children, twins Leo and Penelope, and five-year-old Felicity, all who been diagnosed with autism.

Yet it wasn’t until this past year that they discovered that Christine too is autistic

Thread 🧵👇
telegraph.co.uk/family/life/bl…

Finding out that Christine too has autism has shone a completely different light on their lives.

And what they have learnt is something they have bravely decided to share in a documentary that airs on Wednesday night on BBC One

It follows McGuinness’s own journey to understand his fears around having autistic children, from visiting a school that integrates children with autism into the mainstream, to meeting with footballer Paul Scholes, whose 16-year-old son also has autism

“I think it was really good for Patrick to sit and talk to Paul,” says Christine.

“When you sit with someone in a similar situation, there’s no judgement.

"That’s what we want with the documentary – not just to raise awareness but for people to understand autism"

It was by taking part in the documentary that the couple discovered Christine’s own diagnosis.

While it hasn’t changed their relationship, “because that’s how it’s always been from the beginning”, says McGuinness, he now understands where her behaviour comes from

That Christine appears so calm and collected is something they learnt is typical of women with autism.

Girls often exhibit behaviour that mimics what they see around them, in an attempt to fit in and go unnoticed. This is known as masking.

It’s a revelation that still rocks McGuinness. “It’s my family, and I had no idea. And now I see it all the time.

“What I couldn’t believe is that my own daughter who I love to bits has been doing it with me. When it got explained to me, I thought ‘How have I not noticed this?’”

In the past, Christine admits she had blamed herself:

🗣️"When they weren’t speaking, socialising and weren’t eating food, I instantly blamed myself. But now I know there’s nothing we could have done differently. Our children were born autistic and so was I.”

While Christine is emphatic that she doesn’t define autism or what an autistic person is like, “and neither do our children”, the past year has taught them a lot about themselves and their family

telegraph.co.uk/family/life/bl…

Thinking back to when their own children were non-verbal, they weren’t eating solid food, she says she often wondered, “‘How are our lives going to get better?’

McGuinness adds: “When you’re in it, it’s hard to see your way through, but it does get easier.”

Read the full interview 👇
telegraph.co.uk/family/life/bl…