Christine McGuinness, wife of comedian Paddy McGuinness, has opened up about the anger she felt towards the family’s paediatrician when she heard her twins were autistic.
Earlier this month, Christine revealed that four-year-old Penelope and Leo suffer from autism, in an Instagram post celebrating their fourth birthday.
Christine and Paddy had noticed the twins had displayed unusual behaviours and were struggling to understand what was going on.
During a doctor’s visit last November, 29-year-old Christine was stunned to hear their paediatrician mention autism.
"At the end, she said quite casually, ‘I’m absolutely certain both the children have autism’,” Christine told The Mirror.
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“I was so angry with her,” Christine said.
“How dare she say that about my children, having only seen them for a few hours? I can say that because I’ve told her it since, and she’s been absolutely lovely. But I was totally stunned.
“It was the first I’d ever thought of them having autism – even if, looking back, it was obvious.”
The young mum returned home feeling dejected and shocked by the news. Three months later, a formal diagnosis confirmed that the twins were autistic.
“The only way I can explain how I felt, was a sense of grieving; grieving for my ‘normal’ children,” the model said.
Looking back, Christine explained there were several factors that pointed towards autism, however, the couple didn’t know it at the time.
“When they were little, they would make funny noises and when they started to walk they were on tip-toes,” Christine explained.
“Their eye contact wasn’t brilliant, and they had very delayed speech, but the health visitor would say it was just because they were twins."
As new parents, Paddy and Christine found it hard to judge whether their twins were displaying normal behaviour and development, as there were no other young kids in their immediate family to compare them with.
Christine had noticed the twins were very sensitive towards certain things; but like many mums, she blamed herself, thinking she had been overly-protective.
“For a long time, I wondered if I’d wrapped them in cotton wool and made them too sensitive,” she explained. “They were very sensitive to noise, and if I took them to play centres we’d end up having to leave straight away. They couldn’t bear different textures like grass and sand, and I was still spoon-feeding them.”
The couple avoided taking their children out in public, because they often became distressed but now they are attending nursery for a few hours each day.
With “meticulous planning”, the family are learning to adjust to life with the diagnosis and make things as comfortable as possible for the twins.
