[Speaker 2] (0:02 – 5:32)
Hello, this is Anna Kennedy, and we’re talking all things autism, and it’s so great to be back this year. I’ve been busy as always, but I have had a tough couple of weeks with Angelo, my parents listening in. I’m sure I’ve been speaking to so many parents that have been struggling over the holidays.

It makes me laugh when you leave, you know, for a break and people say, hey, have a great time. I hope you have a rest. And it’s just like, what rest?

There’s no rest. I’ve just been so shattered. But hey, you know, as parents, we just take it one day at a time.

So just a little update on stuff that I’ve been doing in the last few weeks. And just to remind you about Jack, which is a new mental health and social media platform. It’s called Just Ask a Question.

So I was approached by Danny Gray, who is the founder, and I was one of the 51st content creators for the new social media mental health platform. And it’s all about autism. It’s about mental health.

There’s so many different topics on there, and it’s doing so well already. And it’s not just only in the UK. It’s overseas as well.

So if you want to check it out and you want to ask me a question, it’s jaaq.org. So check it out. It’s on the charity website.

And to remind you of the charity website, it’s www.annickkennedyonline.com. Also, just to let you know that I was at the Metropolitan Police and I’ve been doing a project on Stop and Search. So we’ve released a guide for police officers exercising stop and search powers on autistic people and for autistic members of the public who may be subject to a stop and search.

The guide, which was developed by our charity and in consultation with members of the autistic community, aimed to educate officers and to explain the stop and search process in simple terms. It was developed by Chief Inspector Dionne Brown and my husband Sean, and collaboration with myself, because as you know, my husband’s autistic. The National Police Autism Association would also like to thank the authors for including our members’ views in putting the guide together.

So, so far, we’ve distributed it to the London Mayor, all London Assembly members, London Metropolitan Police Service, all police services in the UK and all police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. And there’s so many more that we need to distribute to, but we’ve had so much positive feedback already. We’ve been liaising with the Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Jane Connors, and she is very pleased to support this helpful guide.

So yeah, lots of information. So if you want to check it out, it’s on the National Police Autism Association. It will be going on the charity website very soon, and we’re very proud of this document and hope that it will progress.

And hopefully that when somebody is stopped who’s autistic, that the correct procedure will be followed. And one other question, I do get asked quite a few by the autistic adults, can you become a police officer if you’re autistic? So I asked this, the guide, and it’s whilst this is strictly outside the scope of this guidance, it is a question that has been put by some autistic people.

The simple answer is, of course, it is important that any autistic person thinking of becoming a police officer, be aware that selection standards are challenging and the job is often very demanding. It’s not a reasonable adjustment to insist that standards be lost either during the selection process or then on duty. That said, there are highly valued police officers who are autistic.

This should come as no surprise given that every police service embraces an unshakable commitment to equality of opportunity. And I just want to say autistic police officers actually contributed to our document. Last thing, just to remind you, I’ve shared quite a few posts about this, about my autism passport, all about me.

As you know, I am an ambassador for Autism Angular, so this passport will help you to understand my autism and how to make adjustments for me. Because I know what it’s like that when you go to all these different appointments, whether it’s a hospital, wherever it is that you go, you have to keep repeating yourself over and over again. Well, if you have this document with you, it’s just a very small booklet.

If you want to buy it, it’s only £2. If you want to download it, it’s free from Autism Angular and you can put all your information in there and just hand it to the person or the appointment where you’re at and it will save you from going through the whole rigmarole that you have to over and over again. Last thing I just want to say, I just want to say thank you so much for supporting me for this homeless autistic guy.

He wants to remain anonymous and I’ve been chatting to him. Oh, must be about six to eight weeks now. He’s got a dog and he was sleeping on the streets in a tent for three months.

Can you imagine that? Three months. So we have raised some money and basically he’s been staying at a hotel for about four weeks now.

And just to let you know, he has got a job. I’m so happy he’s got a job. So he’s progressing and he’s keeping me updated.

I actually spoke to him today. So I will keep you updated. But thank you so much for donating towards giving him some shelter and some warmth and for his dog and his dog’s doing really well as well.

So my guest today is Katie Bryce. So some of you might know Katie as mum to the lovely Harvey and Harvey is one of our charity anti-bullying ambassadors. Hello, Katie.

[Speaker 1] (5:34 – 5:51)
Well, hello. Do you know what, Anna? I thought I’d talk a lot.

And you and me together, you and me together. We’re a nightmare when we talk. But I’m going to learn to let you talk and then me.

Hello, everyone listening as well.

[Speaker 2] (5:52 – 6:05)
Oh, thank you, Katie. But before we talk about Harvey, before we talk about autism or disability or any of the challenges that Harvey has had, for people who don’t know who you are, who is Katie Bryce? Where were you born?

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

[Speaker 1] (6:06 – 6:40)
Where do I start? Well, I started this industry when I was 17. I’ve got 52 books out, done reality shows, started off as a model, done perfume, loads of merchandise, just everything, basically.

And I’m still here. I’m 44, 45 this year. And I still can’t believe I’m around in this industry.

So I must be doing something right. But can we go back? I’m a motherfucker if people don’t know.

[Speaker 2] (6:41 – 6:47)
But can we go back a little bit? If you don’t mind. So where were you born?

What was it like growing up for you? I know you got up with your sister.

[Speaker 1] (6:49 – 7:35)
Yeah. I was born in Brighton. And I’ve got a brother and a sister.

And when I left school, I was training to be a registered nurse. Oh, did you know that? Yeah.

Like now, I still want to train to be a paramedic. I’m so do it as well. You hear of a lot of people who have left their jobs when they’re older and they want a new career.

So it’s never too late to be a paramedic. So yeah. So I didn’t finish the course to be a registered nurse because I ended up modeling.

But here we are. And luckily, I was a caring person. And I was meant to have Harvey because obviously he needs looking after and caring.

So it takes a special person, I think, to look after someone with disabilities and challenging behaviors.

[Speaker 2] (7:36 – 7:56)
So what was your pregnancy like? Because when I had my pregnancies, both my pregnancies, I had preeclampsia and toxemia for both pregnancies. Patrick, I had him really early, like 10, 11 weeks early.

So it was really premature. And then with Angela, I was really ill again with the second pregnancy. So I had to stay in hospital for 10 weeks.

I was bored out of my head.

[Speaker 1] (7:56 – 8:11)
Oh, my God. So what was it like? You were not quite active.

And I know you would have hated that. I don’t know how you did that. Being told to best in hospital, you would have hated that.

But you didn’t have a choice.

[Speaker 2] (8:11 – 8:11)
No.

[Speaker 1] (8:14 – 10:02)
Yeah. So Harvey, he was two weeks late. Perfect pregnancy.

Nothing wrong. The easiest pregnancy out of all five of my kids. He just didn’t want to come out with me.

So they juiced me. He didn’t want to come out. But then he did.

He weighed eight pound 13. And it was perfect. I just remember his lips being perfect.

And then obviously his six weeks check when the health issue comes. She said, is he doing his social smile? And I was like 23 then.

I didn’t have a clue what she was on about. And she’s like, well, when the baby looks at you, does he smile? I went, well, I haven’t really noticed.

And then she put a torch in his eye, and he wasn’t really following it. So she said, oh, he seems to have a bit of delayed vision. You should go and see your doctors.

Then I went and saw the doctor. He did the same. He said, no, I need to send you to Brighton, the eye hospital.

So me and my mum went there. And literally, we were in the waiting room, waiting for our term. Then when we went in the room, the doctor, that was just the doctor meeting my mum.

He looked at Harvey’s eyes and literally just went, yeah, and he’s blind, like that. And me and my mum looked at each other to be like, right. It was just as blunt as that.

And when we left the room, we felt so deflated because it’s like, I just didn’t feel any warmth from the doctor or nothing. So again, he’s blind. And we just didn’t know what to do.

But yeah, and then as time goes on, then he’s got all these other things, autism, ADHD, opposite deficit disorder, Prada Willy’s, tick disorder, obesity, his cortisol deficient. The list goes on.

[Speaker 2] (10:02 – 10:15)
People listening in, so for example, people might not know what Prada Willy is or some of the other health issues that could just briefly describe the difficulties that Harvey has. We don’t mind.

[Speaker 1] (10:16 – 11:00)
Yeah, no, it’s fine. So anyone who knows anyone with autism, you’re on the spectrum. You know, it’s still challenging someone with autism.

And Prada Willy’s is you just want to eat and eat and eat. You don’t know when you’ll fill up. So that gets Harvey angry and affects his behavior because he just wants to eat all the time because he feels hungry.

So on top of that, with his autism, his behavior’s double worse. Then he’s got the ADHD. That doesn’t help.

Then the opposite deficit disorder. They’re all kind of like behaviors, different behavioral patterns and that. So basically he’s got all of it.

And so I have fun times, basically.

[Speaker 2] (11:01 – 11:04)
So would he go to the doctor at once? Or would they like…

[Speaker 1] (11:04 – 12:46)
I think the opposite of different things, yeah. But the thing is, when you go to the doctor and you say, oh, like, it started off when he would just drink so much bottles of milk, like through the night, just loads and loads. And it’s only five weeks, enough in months.

They said, I bet he’s got SOD, which is septic optic dysplasia, which Harvey’s got. The pituitary gland at the front of the brain is a bit abnormal, which has caused all of his stuff. But when he was six months old, the hospital did an MRI on him looking at his eye.

But on that, they missed it. It did show his pituitary gland that it wasn’t normal. So then admitted that neglect.

So basically he got starved from some of the medication that probably would have helped him. Obviously, I didn’t sue the hospital or anything because Harvey’s going to need the NHS and that for the rest of his life. It is what it is you’ve got to deal with it.

Not everyone feels the same as me. But it doesn’t change anything with Harvey. I just love him.

And he doesn’t know any different. But yeah, like now he’s got obesity because he’s 28 stone, a six foot two. So we’re trying to get that down.

So what he’s going to get? Diabetes, diabetic. So it’s always challenging with him.

But the main thing with Harvey is the behavior. So like at his old school, he was one of the most able pupils there, but he had the worst behavior. Because literally he would just flip like that.

If someone slams a door or sneezes. Oh my God. Watch out.

Things are going flying.

[Speaker 2] (12:47 – 12:55)
So what was it? So let’s start off by nursery. So he went to…

Did he go to nursery or did you keep him at home? How was that one?

[Speaker 1] (12:56 – 14:43)
It just used to come with me everywhere. Absolute everywhere. Because all they do is just sit there.

And then we used to have like speech therapy. You know, you get all therapy and stuff like that. Sensory.

And then I’d done his room up and like, you don’t need money to do a sensory room. Like we would get like empty bottles of Coca-Cola. You know, like the plastic bottles.

And then we’d put beads in it. So it made like a shaker. All different things like that.

Got tinsel, a bubble tube that changed lights to see if you could see the bubbles. But when he was younger, he really didn’t see anything. And he didn’t talk either.

So I always thought he’d never walk, talk and see. Because that’s basically what the doctor said. But now he does walk, talk, and he can see something.

You can tell by his drawings that he knows his colours. And the weird thing is people come in the house. They’re like, Harpy’s not blind.

He can see. I’m like, no. Because he knows the house.

He knows how to get around the house. So you wouldn’t notice it. But the moment you take him outside the front door, he’s a different person.

Because if you imagine looking forward, you can see peripheral eyesight. You can see up, left, right, and down. He can’t.

Yeah, it’s all different. But what people have got to remember, Harpy does not know any different. He only knows that.

I suppose it’d be different if he was born with eyesight and then lost it. You know what I mean? But Harpy’s Harpy.

I think Freddie, to me, to be honest, because I was 23. Yeah, I was 23. It was just me and Harpy brought him up on my own.

So did you do lots of research?

[Speaker 2] (14:44 – 15:04)
Well, I remember when Angela and Patrick were born, I was just looking up all that. Because when I first heard that Patrick and Angela both had autism, you know, and this is like every, a lot of people have said this in the past, you know, sort of 20, 30 years ago. They didn’t really know much about autism at all.

And, you know, the only thing I knew was the film Rayman. And I know this is just like.

[Speaker 1] (15:05 – 15:06)
Yeah, everyone says that.

[Speaker 2] (15:06 – 15:20)
Yeah, so did you, had you ever met anyone who was autistic or had the varying disabilities that Harpy had? Or was this all like really new to you and you were doing research and trying to get your head round it?

[Speaker 1] (15:21 – 16:05)
If I’m honest with you, Anna, when I told you he was blind, I just thought, oh my God, how am I going to cope? How’s he going to cope? You know, because I haven’t been around anyone who’s blind.

Yeah. And back then, there weren’t labels of things. I think nowadays, someone’s got ADHD or their this, their that, but that, and I think I’m just saying it from my point of view.

Yeah, I know. Some are jumping on it now. So, yeah, well, I’ve got this and I’ve got that.

And it’s like, there’s a few people in the public car who say they’ve got this and that. And it really does annoy me. Because it’s like, they use that for sympathy to get work.

And when you’ve lived and grieved with someone who really does have disabilities, challenging behaviour. Yeah, it does annoy me sometimes.

[Speaker 2] (16:06 – 16:18)
So, I saw, remember, when you were doing the Harpy and me documentary that I was part of, I remember you telling me about all the various different medications that Harpy’s got to take. So, do you want to say?

[Speaker 1] (16:20 – 16:27)
I think you’ve done both of them, haven’t you? I broke my feet in the first one. I was in a wheelchair doing that show.

[Speaker 2] (16:28 – 16:42)
Yeah, that’s right, because we were at the, sorry, we were at a restaurant chatting. But like, what type of medication does he have to take? And is it like, does he have to take it every single day?

And how many pills does he have to take? Because I remember you told me about 25.

[Speaker 1] (16:43 – 17:04)
And by the way, people want to know what show Harpy’s done. He’s done two BBC One shows, and he’s been up for an NTA every, well, twice on the clock. But Gagaway won it twice on the clock.

So maybe next year, lucky, because we’re filming again for his third series. Anyway, the medication is on demopressin, which is called DVVAP.

[Speaker 2] (17:05 – 17:05)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (17:07 – 18:49)
Is on genetropin, which is the injection. Plavoxetine, bioboxine, I’m just trying to think of the top of my head. Medikinet.

Oh my God, I can’t think, I’ve got brain freeze. I don’t know what they are. So basically, if he doesn’t have him, he’d die, basically.

So cortisol deficient means, if you want me, one, to get a bus that we’re late and we’re running and we get there and we’re like, oh, out of breath and that, we’ve got cortisol in our body to calm us back down. He hasn’t. So if he gets in a situation where he’s panicked from the adrenaline, he could go into like a fit or something.

So he normally has to go to hospital and he has this emergency injection. Touch wood, we haven’t had to use it much. He’s also on DVVAP, which is demopressin.

That controls the water works in his body. So if he has too much, it could kill him, or if he has too less, you have to monitor that. Obviously, the thiboxine, he’s on that larger size.

That’s your thyroid. And the other ones are for his papier. And anxiety and stuff like that, because when you’re autistic, you sometimes do self-harming or things like that.

And with Harvey, he used to pick his arm to make it into a circle and then get the blood and wipe it on the wall and take a picture of it. It’s like a sensory thing for him. So they put him on naltroxine for that one and he’s still on that one.

And what else is there? Yeah, and the other ones, they’re like the behavior.

[Speaker 2] (18:51 – 18:57)
So obviously, again, that was a big learning curve for you with the medication, because obviously you just don’t want to give your son anything.

[Speaker 1] (18:58 – 19:33)
Yeah, some people might say, why do you allow that? Can’t you control him without the tablets? And the answer is, it’s not about me controlling him.

It’s safety for himself. You want him to feel safe, comfortable, not have anxiety and worry. And his worries aren’t like, oh, worries, his would be like, you know, everything like hearing a noise or someone ran in front of him or something like that.

Completely different to us, because he’s a happy, he’s a proper happy man. I’m not allowed to call him a boy anymore. He goes, no, mum, I’m a man.

I’m like, okay, huh.

[Speaker 2] (19:35 – 20:05)
What’s his relationship like with his siblings? Because I know Patrick and Angelo. Patrick gets a bit frustrated sometimes.

And I know you always says to me, mum, you said, I wish Angelo was just like me, then we can put the pub together and we can go this and do this and that and the other. And it just makes my heart pan, because obviously Angelo’s always going to need one-to-one support for the rest of his life. So what’s the relation?

And you know what, I can remember one thing, just let me jump in. You remember when Harvey came to Orton’s Got Talent and we did it in Rhyslip and you brought some of the kids with you.

[Speaker 1] (20:06 – 20:10)
When he proper kicked off and we didn’t know if he was going to go on stage or not, we was in the back room. Do you remember?

[Speaker 2] (20:11 – 20:25)
That wasn’t that one. This was another one, but do you know what, the kids were so great with them. And I remember, you know, they were doing the raffle and he was like saying, come and buy your raffle tickets.

And you know what, the kids were so great.

[Speaker 1] (20:25 – 20:40)
Yeah, see, if Harvey’s in a good mood, here do it. But what I love about the kids, they’ve grown up with him, he’s whacked him, done everything when they’ve got in the way. But they now know when Harvey’s in a mood, everyone disappears.

It’s like he’s the king of the house. But now they’re older.

[Speaker 2] (20:40 – 20:40)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (20:40 – 21:05)
Like, he’s going to kick off or something. They know how to talk to him. When you see Bunny, say, Harvey, that’s it.

I’m going to take your iPad off you. And he’s like, no, Bunny, sorry. And then she’s like, well, behave yourself and wait.

Okay, Bunny. It’s like that. Just watching her because she’s so small compared to him.

But it’s just how you talk to him. Yeah. You know, what I say to people is, he might not talk like us, but he’s taught me his language.

[Speaker 2] (21:06 – 21:06)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (21:07 – 21:24)
And everyone who works around him, he’s taught them his language. Because if you don’t talk to him right, that would also make him kick off. Because he likes to finish his sentences.

And if you don’t say the right ending, then it would make him, like, you know.

[Speaker 2] (21:24 – 21:56)
I know what you mean. I know what you mean. And like with Angelo, if I’m driving with him and he always sits at the back, because if he sits at the front with me, he starts touching the gears, touching my face and it distracts me.

But when he’s at the back and I can see he started rocking and I’m thinking, right, okay, he’s anxious about something. And for somebody else, then we’re thinking, she must be mad. But I start singing the alphabet.

And if I start singing the alphabet, that calms him down. He looks me when I roll my arms, when I go like, rrr. So I go scrumptious.

And he absolutely loves that. And I can just…

[Speaker 1] (21:56 – 23:39)
You know what? It’s weird because I do this. I go, like, that thing.

And then suddenly, he’s in a mood, and then it’ll just be laughing his head off. Just like that. And then I do the counting to 10.

It’s so similar, isn’t it? They all have their similar things. And, like, he’s so fixated on frogs and trains.

And it’s been that for years. And it does my headings. All he ever plays on his diet is frogs, trains.

And in the middle of the night, like three in the morning, he’ll come in naked because he’s always taking his clothes off. That’s another autism trade. They like to take their clothes off.

And I wake up sometimes, he’s just standing there. He’s naked, playing frog sounds. Or Peppa Pig or roller coasters.

I’m like, half? You’re 20 years old. Oh, Mum, it’s only a joke, he says.

I’m like, please, just go back to bed. And then he’s like, no, I want a cuddle. And it’s like, oh, just to get sleep.

I’m like, just get in the bed then. Like, some people have criticised me for that. It’s been in the press.

But what people have got to remember, yes, Harvey’s 62, 28 stone, and he’s 20 years old. But his mentality’s not. It’s like, I wouldn’t get to Junior.

Junior, my alpha son, he’s 17. There’s absolutely no way I’d get in the bed with Junior and give him a cuddle. Do you know what I mean?

That’s so wrong. Harvey, he doesn’t fit. It’s not like that.

He’s a big baby. And at college, they’re not allowed to cuddle him, touch him or anything, because you’re not allowed to. So when he’s here, all he wants to do is hold my hand, cuddle him, stroke his head, give him kisses.

Because I’m the one who loves him like that. And then I don’t really care what anyone says, because they think what they like.

[Speaker 2] (23:40 – 23:59)
I totally get what you’re saying, because if you’re, obviously, all autistic individuals are all so different from each of them. We can’t compare them. So if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person who’s diagnosed with autism.

But I totally get what you’re saying, because Angelo, obviously, he’s, I can’t believe he’s going to be 30 this month.

[Speaker 1] (23:59 – 24:16)
Don’t even go there. Harvey’s 21st. He already wants to do it in a nightclub.

And he wants a bunny theme. I can’t believe it. Angelo’s 30.

How old does that make you feel, Hannah? Because I feel old. How can Harvey be 21 because he’s such a baby?

[Speaker 2] (24:17 – 25:04)
I can’t believe it. So I’m talking about him being like a baby, and obviously, Angelo is very, he still watches things like Pingu, Thomas, and then I’m not doing it to shame him. It’s just, that’s what he likes to do.

And this is the thing that sometimes my elder, St. Patrick, finds quite difficult. Why does he like to watch these things that are for younger children? And I just said, it’s just what he loves.

It’s what he feels comfortable with. So I said, you just let him do what he feels comfortable with. I said, he hasn’t got a lot in his life.

These are the things that comfort him. So obviously, you know, but the thing is, and I speak to so many parents, and it’s still at the back of their mind, and I’ve got this petition going as well, is who’s going to look after our children when we are no longer around?

[Speaker 1] (25:04 – 25:05)
I think that’s the question.

[Speaker 2] (25:07 – 25:09)
I think that… I know.

[Speaker 1] (25:09 – 25:47)
…happened. Well, hopefully, I always said, I hope Harvey dies before me. Because if I died, he wouldn’t understand, and it would break his heart. Like, I mean, it would break anyone’s heart if your parents died.

But Harvey doesn’t even know what dying is. He would just think, why hasn’t mommy come to see me? He wouldn’t understand it.

So I know it’s harsh to say, but sometimes I think I wish he’d go before me, but even though that would break my heart, but at least I understand him. Because I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who would care for him, look after him, like I do. And that’s hard.

I know, it is hard.

[Speaker 2] (25:48 – 26:32)
So let’s talk about transition. Because obviously, when I… I first met you when we were doing Autumn’s Got Talent, but then after that, you were talking to me about, you know, Harvey’s growing up now, where’s he going to go?

And I think you thought you were going to be able to find a college off the shelf. And I said, you need to start looking early, Katie. And I said, because of all the difficulties that Harvey’s got, you need to find a college.

And it’s going to be hard to find a college that suits him. And you need to start looking early. And anyone listening in now, if you’re on this journey, you need to start looking early.

You know, you’ve got the next day colleges, and just go and look yourself, because you’ll get a gut instinct as well, you know, of what the place is like. So when you start on this journey…

[Speaker 1] (26:33 – 27:25)
You might find a college, but you might not get in there. You’ve got to do your statement in, and all of that, and they’ve got to accept it. Like, you was right.

Lucky I listened to you, and didn’t leave it to the last minute, like which I normally do. Yeah. It was important, and it takes ages for them to do their assessment, statement in.

You have to fill it out right. Socials. Everyone, doctors, is so much involved in it.

And I couldn’t fill it out myself, because at the moment, I’m being diagnosed with ADHD. And I can’t concentrate. But it’s not hard.

Anyone can just tell that. I don’t even need that label, but it’s pretty obvious. But anyway, I can’t do forms.

I just can’t do them. So my mum helps me do them. So if anyone can’t fill out forms, there’s always someone, or there’s numbers that you can ring for people to help you.

But it is important you do it properly.

[Speaker 2] (27:26 – 27:55)
I know. It needs to be filled out correctly, and obviously it’s EHCP now. It used to be statement in EHCP.

And it’s just getting everybody together. It’s such a long process. And then when you get the document, please make sure you don’t sign it off, because you think it looks OK.

Get someone, a charity, a group, whoever it may be, that has the knowledge to have a look at this document to make sure that Harvey, whoever it is that you’re looking for, is going to get the right support put in place.

[Speaker 1] (27:55 – 28:28)
And what people don’t remember, Anna, because I have had a few people troll me, say, well, you earn all this money. Why can’t you pay for him to go to college? Now, Harvey’s an adult.

It doesn’t matter what I earn. If I die or something, I need to know he’s set up for the rest of his life. And he’s entitled to that.

So, you know, anyone who don’t ever feel guilty about what anyone says, you’ve got to think of Harvey’s an individual, he’s an adult, and he has these rights. And I can just help guide him in that way.

[Speaker 2] (28:30 – 28:35)
So, yeah. So when you snuck off the book, for the colleges, how many did you look at or look online?

[Speaker 1] (28:36 – 29:48)
Yeah, I looked online. And online, there’s a list of colleges, and it says, you know, what they can specialise, you know, if they’re blind or, you know, all these different things. But you just know when you turn up, whether you like it or not.

It’s not when you look at a house. You know straight away if you get a feel or not. But I went on Harvey’s judgment.

Oh, my God, there’s a couple where literally walking, someone banged the door, that was it. And I knew it weren’t right. And he kicked off, tried to smash everything up.

And I was like, thank you very much. Goodbye. Like, I didn’t even bother looking, because I thought, if he’s going to be here in them doors all day, he’s not going to be fun to be with.

And it would make him miserable. Also, he’s in a self-contained flat. And he has three carers for him.

And people might go, why’s he got three carers? Because he’s challenging behaviour, you know, even with showering and washing. He doesn’t know about hygiene.

He doesn’t know if he smells. He doesn’t know what smell is. So he always needs that.

Like, when he’s home, obviously I bath him and shower him. It’s hard work. But I need to know these people are in place to help Harvey what he needs.

So now he’s learning his independence skills.

[Speaker 2] (29:49 – 30:00)
That’s good. So he’s going to be there till he’s 25, usually adults are. What have you got any thoughts about after he’s 25, what you would like to happen for him?

[Speaker 1] (30:00 – 30:31)
I don’t know. I just think I would say he’s coming back home to me. But who knows?

Do you know what he might mind you? He always says when I go to him, what are you going to do after college half? And he goes back home to mommy.

But you never know. I don’t know what he’s going to be like when he’s 25 because every year he’s doing progress is a lot more. So there might be a place where there’s independent flats and there’s people there.

And he might want to do that. I don’t know. I don’t know.

I don’t really like to think about it even though I have to.

[Speaker 2] (30:31 – 30:38)
Yeah. So he’s obviously into trends. He’s into frogs.

I just tell you about things.

[Speaker 1] (30:39 – 31:16)
I hate trains. I have to stand on the platforms while he’s videoing, waiting for trains. And it’s like the most boringest thing in the world.

But I have to take him on the Gatwick Express because he loves the Gatwick Express. And there was a guy the other day who works and he obviously knew Harvey like the Gatwick Express and let him do an announcement on it. Obviously he launched it up.

But it was funny and he loved it. But trains, honestly, I hate them. And I hate platforms.

And I hate watching them come in. And I hate hearing them on the tracks come in. Oh, my God.

But I hate to do it because he loves it.

[Speaker 2] (31:17 – 31:42)
Yeah. We still have Thomas the Tank. But we used to go to a steam place in Southall.

And it was actually quite nice. And we used to be up to our tea coffee there and we used to go as a family. And it was one thing we used to do altogether.

And they knew us when we went there and all the rest of it. So there are limited places that we can take. You know, well, obviously Patrick’s different because I’m so pleased to say that he can go places on his own now.

And he tells me where he’s going.

[Speaker 1] (31:42 – 32:14)
You know, I was talking about that, Anna. All the theme parks you get. And I said this years ago, I wanted to go to the government, Because all these theme parks, they’re supposed to be for families.

But there’s not one ride out there, even if it doesn’t go upside down for a wheelchair to fit on. Like you can always do like a little one for a wheelchair and stimulating that. There’s nothing like that out there.

And I just think some of these theme parks should like be out the box and at least have a couple where wheelchair can clip in.

[Speaker 2] (32:14 – 32:34)
Yeah, some of them are disability friendly, but some of the time they’re just not. And it’s just when it’s like Christmas holidays, summer holidays or whatever. And I take Angela, I have to go really early in the morning because he gets so busy and he just can’t open it.

It’s just, he can’t go with the noise. He can’t go. It’s like queuing.

Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (32:36 – 32:56)
Someone would get probably whacked around the head or teeth because he doesn’t want to stand still and wait. So I think when people do that, because when I go to parts, I’m not the kind of person say, Oh, can I go to the front of the queue? But all I have to do is stand there with half and it’s clearly visible.

He’s not going to wait. Then he normally does go to the front.

[Speaker 2] (32:59 – 33:23)
So this is a program that we always promote in mental health and wellbeing. So for families out there, so I always ask them, what do you do to relax? So like sometimes people say they like going in charity shops and people like going dancing.

Some people like going walking or cycling. So if I was to say to you, what do you do to relax, to be just Katie, not Katie, this or that and the other, just you. What do you do?

[Speaker 1] (33:23 – 34:03)
I’m actually very boring manner. I like being in my house. I think this is why my kids don’t like going out anywhere because they’ve got everything here.

So I’ve got the horses here. We’ve got the quad bikes. We’ve got a gym here if I want it.

You’ve got your own fields to walk the dogs in. Like everything’s here. I don’t really need to leave it.

Horses are my thing. I mean, I used to love running and doing marathons, but I broke my feet in a freak accident, as you know, so I’ve had life changing injuries. So I can’t ever run again.

And I do miss it, but horse riding is my thing. I love it. The smell of it, the fresh air, being around them, that’s what I love.

[Speaker 2] (34:04 – 34:05)
So when did you start horse riding?

[Speaker 1] (34:07 – 34:29)
When I was seven. My poor mother, she had to drop me to the horses, wait for me. Everything was horses, horses.

Yeah, so horses is my thing. And now the kids ride. They’ve got ponies.

Yes, they all ride.

[Speaker 2] (34:30 – 35:12)
Oh, that’s, I’m on Patreon. Someone called Kilmarn at Coast Rescue. And this is an amazing lady called Carol.

It’s a charity. They’re looking for a new place now because this place where they’re at, they’ve got to get out of there. But this is such an amazing place.

And then what we do is, I’m also Patreon to another charity called Autism Sport Crawley. And we’ve been there. We’ve taken families and siblings.

And it’s just such a lovely atmosphere. And the kids, you know, with going with the horses and some never ridden a horse before, never touched a horse before. And do you know what?

I remember I took Angelo once and he was squealing and jumping and shouting, but the horse just stood there, didn’t even move. But they just got, they just know.

[Speaker 1] (35:13 – 35:28)
They do. And the thing is, the party obviously can’t ride the horses too big and I wouldn’t trust him trying to get on. So he does the horse and cart.

And he loves it. So, and it’s still around horses and he gets the reins and he’s like trot on, you know, and he loves it.

[Speaker 2] (35:29 – 35:29)
Oh.

[Speaker 1] (35:29 – 35:30)
Loves it.

[Speaker 2] (35:30 – 35:36)
And you talked about your house there. And I remember watching that. I can’t remember what the name of the program was, but you worked basically.

[Speaker 1] (35:37 – 35:37)
My humanity.

[Speaker 2] (35:38 – 35:46)
Oh, that’s it. And do you know what? You’re so creative.

You could be like an interior designer. I was so impressed with your.

[Speaker 1] (35:46 – 36:03)
I don’t think you’ll say that Anna. I don’t think you’ll say that when you watch the next series. I think it’s out in February.

When you see what I’ve done to my office. Right. The film said, okay, this is definitely an insight to your brain.

Who comes up with these kinds of things? And how old are you?

[Speaker 2] (36:04 – 36:19)
I just love the room that you did. And I love the room that you did for your mum. That was lovely.

You know what? You see, you really got a creative brain. And I like where the kids were joining in with you and you could see they were getting so much out of it.

[Speaker 1] (36:19 – 37:26)
Yeah. So with Harvey, so I have an annex to the house, but he likes to be with me. And the trouble is, obviously over Christmas, it was one too bad.

He smashed my door. I had this mirror for 15 years. It’s like an antique mirror.

Anyway, he smashed that because someone slammed the front door. He smashed two of my new big pictures and where he went to the bed, two mattresses, we went through over Christmas. and one telly he broke.

So that’s not too bad. The thing is, if he’s here all the time, he would probably have to go on the annex because like, he makes a mess everywhere. Every morning when I get up, it’s like he’s at a party for one.

Everything is out the covers. Rice Krispies everywhere, pasta washes, looking for food. He takes everything out the bin because that’s the part of Willy’s.

Honestly, I’ve been exhausted. I’m like starting to feel normal again now. He absolutely exhausts me because I don’t have anyone to help me do it.

And obviously because of my feet, I’m not moaning, but it is hard work. But I love him.

[Speaker 2] (37:27 – 37:36)
But when you’re looking for carers, do you, you know, obviously when you can’t look after him at certain times, like you’re working or whatever, is it hard to find carers to look after Harvey?

[Speaker 1] (37:37 – 38:18)
Do you know, I was thinking of opening a care agency. Because I think when you’ve lived and breathe it, you know what you really need. It’s not just about someone who can talk to them.

You’ve got everything that goes with it. You’ll get good days, bad days. I haven’t got a carer, but the only person I’ve got is Kalila.

Now Kalila, she was with Harvey at Linden Lodge. She’s old school for six years. If I ever need help or anything, I call her.

But she’s just had a baby, so she hasn’t really been around, so I’ve been doing it on my own. which I love doing, but it’s just exhausting. You just don’t get any sleep.

And you can’t sit and you clear it up.

[Speaker 2] (38:18 – 38:26)
look after him properly with your feet. Did you know, obviously you’ve got, so how, what is it with your feet? Is it that, are they going to get better, or is it just going to be fun?

[Speaker 1] (38:28 – 39:10)
basically on holiday, it was dark and I was mucking about, pretending it’s a gallop like a horse over a bush. But I didn’t, right? It was a 20 foot drop into an underground car park.

And I had sizes on and landed on it and smashed them. So I was in a wheelchair for 10 months, had to learn to walk again, cause they had all metalworking on. But what’s happened now, the metalwork is now irritating my foot.

So last Monday, I had metalwork taken out of one of my feet and they’ll wait for that to repair, then they’re going to do the other one. But I’m just, I walked funny and everything. It’s so frustrating cause I’m active, but I can still horse ride, cause it’s not weight bearing, but I can’t run again.

[Speaker 2] (39:10 – 40:03)
Yeah. I was to been about 10 years ago, it was when Brad Pitt, I remember ripped his Achilles tendon, cause I ripped my Achilles tendon at the same time. It was the most excruciating pain.

And what I was doing was, I was teaching a group of autistic adults, some dance and some exercise. And I wasn’t even doing anything strenuous. I basically just put my foot down into like a, a step to the side.

And I just felt this almighty rip. Cause I was by myself with them. I didn’t shout, but I didn’t.

So I just said, everyone sit down. So they all like sat down. And I thought I finished the session off.

And then I told them that to go back to, we know whichever classes they had to go to. And then I hopped all the way to reception. I think I’ve done something really bad.

[Speaker 1] (40:03 – 40:15)
And then when I went to the hospital, you couldn’t react because you would worry then you’d probably have to stay calm and really probably wanted to scream out. What have I done? Yes.

Stay calm.

[Speaker 2] (40:16 – 40:25)
A cast on for like six months. And I was like going up the stairs on my bottom. And it was really hard trying to look after the kids as well.

[Speaker 1] (40:25 – 41:42)
And I was like, well, if you come out there who does break their feet, it’s you need to do both. Normally might break one, but I did too. I went to the gym queue and I bought garden pads to put on my knees because I was crawling around on my knees.

So I didn’t get blisters. So if anyone does injure their feet or anything, get them garden pads because it helps your knees. But yeah, I’ve been in a wheelchair because I was in a wheelchair for 10 months.

I couldn’t walk. It does change. People do treat you different when you’re in a wheelchair.

And I experienced what it’s like not to walk easy tasks, even getting on the toilet, getting in and out of the bath. Impossible. For me it was because, you know, I normally walk even in the kitchen, because I’m on my knees, it’s way higher, but people just look at you and treat you different in a wheelchair.

Some days I found it really like I was embarrassed. Does that make sense? Yeah.

Just vulnerable, embarrassed. And I think it’s wrong. I always say, just because I was in a wheelchair, still treat them the same.

Like they’re still human. Yeah. But it’s weird.

And some people have some, they meet some disabilities. They think they don’t know how to talk to them. That just be normal.

Yeah. I say.

[Speaker 2] (41:43 – 42:11)
So Harvey’s in ambassador and obviously we’ve got a campaign called Give us a break. And that started when I started working with the NSPCC and the anti-bullying alliance, because parents started writing to me about their children and their adults being bullied at school, within the community, online. And so obviously Give us a break is still going on.

And, you know, we’re grateful that Harvey helps us spread the message, but Harvey has been bullied. And I’m not sure if it’s still going on.

[Speaker 1] (42:12 – 42:12)
Oh, yes.

[Speaker 2] (42:13 – 42:24)
Can you talk a little bit about it and Harvey’s law and then we can talk a little bit about Ben as well in his range. So let’s talk about the bullying that’s been going on.

[Speaker 1] (42:24 – 44:06)
Harvey’s law, basically, Harvey would be trolled, whether it be the color of his skin, the way his eye movement, his size, his disabilities. When I trolled, I’m not even going to say the words because I’m just thinking, I’m not going to say them horrific, absolute horrific. Now he doesn’t understand any bit, but I do.

So I’ll protect him. So I had done a, what are they called? And I’ve got over like 250,000 signatures within a week.

So when it goes to 10,000, I think they sort of look at it, but when it gets over 100,000, they have to debate or look at it. So we’ve got 200,000. So I went to the House of Parliament to talk about it.

I’m still waiting to hear, to be honest. I still haven’t really heard of it’s been made a law yet, but everyone gets trolled in that. But it’s wrong, but I’m doing it like to protect people like Harvey as well.

And before I carry on just quickly, Anna, for everyone listening, because I want to get it in before you talk, what an amazing woman you are. I don’t know where you find your energy and time to do all these charities. You’re the most busiest woman I know.

You’ve always got a smile on your face. And I don’t think anyone gives you enough credit what a fantastic mum you are. So I just wanted to say that you’re always there for me, always there for me.

But no, you really are amazing. Like, obviously I’ve met Angelo, and I know how challenging it is, and you know, when we talk about what they do and stuff. And that’s your life.

I don’t think people realise, when you live and breathe what we do, it is hard work. But yeah, I just want to say you’re fantastic and I don’t think you get enough credit. But I think, yeah, you’re an amazing mum and you’re an amazing woman.

[Speaker 2] (44:08 – 44:21)
I just take it a day at a time and I always say I’ll keep fighting till the last breath in my body. And people do criticise you, whoever you may be. I always say you could be Mother Teresa and it’s still a criticise you.

It’s just, I don’t know.

[Speaker 1] (44:21 – 44:39)
Do you know what? It’s every five days that you put your little dancing videos off on Instagram. Honestly, people, you’ve got to go to Instagram and look at it.

You just love it. You’ve got energy in that. Like, I wish a lot of people were like you.

I don’t know where you get your energy from. You’ve got ADHD as well, I know.

[Speaker 2] (44:40 – 45:01)
The girls have always said I’m in the office because I can’t seem to switch off because obviously, as you know, Angelo doesn’t sleep. I’m always thinking. I’m always buzzing.

I’m the same. You can only do what you can do. We’ll talk a little bit more about the petition.

You’ve obviously met one of our ambassadors, Ben Pearson, who’s an amazing, amazing…

[Speaker 1] (45:01 – 45:27)
He’s amazing. And his story behind him as well because he used to get in trouble with the police because no one understood about his autism and stuff. And how he’s turned it around, he does clothes for larger sized people.

He’s the most kindest, loveliest person ever. Like I said, I wish there was more people like that out there. He’s amazing.

He is amazing.

[Speaker 2] (45:27 – 46:13)
He’s from Scunthorpe. We’ve got a little bit of blurb here about him. So Scunthorpe is an entrepreneur, Ben Pearson, and selected obviously as one of our ambassadors.

He has been now for about 18 months. And he’s opening up about how he’s growing up in the care system, what he’s been through, and he’s just turned it around. He’s chief executive of Big Clothing For You and also Up There Clothing.

He was diagnosed with autism at an early age before being placed in the care system at 10 years old. And I think he’s 29 now, if I remember correctly. And he’s faced more challenges than most.

And obviously he’s going to be on, or he has been on, Dragon’s Den. We’re all very proud of him. So he’s also…

[Speaker 1] (46:13 – 46:14)
I can’t wait to watch it.

[Speaker 2] (46:15 – 46:22)
So he’s been creating clothing for Harvey. So he’s been creating clothing for Harvey. And how’s that been going?

[Speaker 1] (46:24 – 47:30)
This is the thing. Even if you’re larger size anyway, it’s hard to find clothes. And at Harvey’s 20, and you go on the high street, there is absolutely nothing he’s sized.

He’s in 7XL. There is nothing. So I’m so happy that I met Ben because he kicks him out with all his clothes.

And they’re bright, comfortable, and he does everything. So good. But yeah, I do find that hard.

When Harvey was growing up, he was so big that I could never find clothes to fit him. I’d have to buy like an 11-year-old bottom. When he was like 3, I had to buy 11-year-old bottoms, but cut the bottoms off.

And then sew them up, sew the hem up. Or I’d make his tracksuits and stuff because I am actually a keen person on the sewing machine. Thank you very much.

Oh, wow. And I’ve made my clothes in my house and everything. I love it.

Yes. Anyway, there’s another talent you didn’t know. Yeah, that’s right.

But yeah, yeah, Ben’s amazing. And I can’t wait to watch him and drag them.

[Speaker 2] (47:31 – 47:49)
I know. And also another of our charity ambassadors, Kelly, she’s created Born Anxious because of her son. And as you know that I spoke to you before, that Angelo used to hate labels in his clothes, used to get the scissors out, put the labels out with big holes and what have you.

So obviously these clothes, Born Anxious, don’t have any labels.

[Speaker 1] (47:49 – 48:06)
And what I like about Born Anxious is on the backs of them, it says like, I don’t like noise. It makes people aware. So instead of staring, thinking why are they acting weird or whatever, you would know by the t-shirts and stuff.

Because it says it and they’re really good actually.

[Speaker 2] (48:07 – 48:11)
So I’ve been reading about you, that you want to be a life coach. So what’s that all about then?

[Speaker 1] (48:13 – 48:49)
Well, Jesus, what haven’t I been through in life? And you know me like, because I’ve been in the private twice for post-Semitic stress disorder and I needed severe trauma rehabilitation from what I’ve been through. So through all the therapy and stuff, and do you know what?

I wish I did it years ago. All it is to talk to people about things that are going on in your head. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and I’ve changed so much as a person when I’m doing it.

I feel like I can help other people now because I tell you what, I don’t have to give up bottom and if I can get through things, hurt anyone can.

[Speaker 2] (48:50 – 49:02)
Okay, so when do you think you’re going to qualify for to be a life coach? And where can you see yourself in 10 years time? I said to you, Kitty, where are you going to be in 10 years time?

What would you like to, what would you like to see if you had a magic wand?

[Speaker 1] (49:04 – 49:47)
Well, I’ll probably look plastic as a bar dog. So it looks wise, that’s what I look like. So yeah, I’ll put it like that.

My face is so stretched, you’ll be able to see all my veins in my face. But other than that, yeah, I just want to help people. I want to train to be a paramedic, be the life coach.

Maybe I might open a therapy centre. I don’t, these are my aims. I want to help people back.

So I am actually a really caring, nurturing person. Hence why I’ve got five kids and all the animals and chaos. I just love it.

I just love people, old people I love because they’ve always got a story to tell. Yeah, I’m just that caring person.

[Speaker 2] (49:48 – 49:55)
Do you worry about getting old? Because I am 63 in March and I worry about getting old.

[Speaker 1] (49:56 – 50:01)
But what are you worrying about getting old? It’s not that you can do it bad. It’s the way you’re worrying about it.

[Speaker 2] (50:01 – 50:08)
I think it’s because of my family and I just want to be around and be fit and healthy.

[Speaker 1] (50:09 – 50:25)
We all get old and we’re all born the same and we all go the same. What happens in between is what we do. We’re all getting old.

Obviously, I’ll have a surgeon here, there and everywhere but I love that anyway. Yeah, that’s just me.

[Speaker 2] (50:27 – 50:31)
Don’t you worry when they put you under that you’re not going to come out.

[Speaker 1] (50:31 – 50:32)
I love it.

[Speaker 2] (50:32 – 50:33)
No, I love it.

[Speaker 1] (50:35 – 51:08)
If I have my boobs done which I did do two weeks ago, I don’t mind being able to sleep. But last week, I had my foot operation and I was really anxious and panicky because it’s not something I’ve chosen to do. Does that make sense?

I think if you want to do it, you know what you’re doing. But if you haven’t got an option, then it’s more scary. It’s weird how your mind works, isn’t it?

But yeah, that’s what I’m going to do, help people and stuff. Definitely want to be a power medic. I’ll help you get there.

[Speaker 2] (51:10 – 51:55)
And can we talk about Autism’s Got Talent because that’s my favourite topic as you know. Love it. So we’re obviously looking for more performers.

I can’t believe we’re in like our 12th year of Autism’s Got Talent. We’ve had hundreds of performers from all over the country, from America, from Canada, from Morocco, from France, from Italy. So we’ve opened up the audition process yet again and it will be happening.

Love it. And Harvey’s going to be performing in Middlesbrough. I’m another patron of another chariot called Daisy Chain.

So we collaborated together. So that’s going to be happening on May the 20th. So before we talk about Autism’s Got Talent, when did you discover that Harvey could play the organ?

[Speaker 1] (51:59 – 52:28)
Quite a young age and it’s weird because he obviously doesn’t read news that he plays it by ear. Yeah. And he loves it.

But the funny thing is, so he’s had this keyboard for seven years and I’ve tried to get new ones, you know, more upgraded ones and he won’t have it. And now he’s lost the keys on them. So I went on Instagram to say, has anyone got this particular keyboard?

Anyway, I found one and it was just slightly different and he won’t play it because it’s not the exact one.

[Speaker 2] (52:28 – 52:28)
Oh, no.

[Speaker 1] (52:30 – 52:38)
Oh, it drives me mad. How many keyboards do you want, Harvey? You’ve got loads of keyboards here now.

Just play one of them. No, it’s got to be that same one he’s had.

[Speaker 2] (52:39 – 53:10)
So I remember him at one of the events, obviously he was presenting, but you know the thing that I remember the most, that we had one of our street dance crews and they were doing, they’re all autistic doing their street dance. Yeah. It was to be called Autism Revatitude but now they’re called Atypical Latitude and I’ve watched these lads grow up and they’re amazing.

But he just went straight up to the stage and he was swearing from side to side and he was like mesmerised by what they were doing and that’s the memory that I have.

[Speaker 1] (53:11 – 53:33)
The microphone Mr. Harvey Price does. He does. Do you know what?

If he ever won an MTA, if he’s up for it again, I’m just like, oh my God, what is he going to say on the microphone? He loves getting the crowds. He absolutely loves that he comes alive, doesn’t he?

When he did that, Autism’s got talent. He just loved it up there playing the keyboard. I don’t think he wanted to get off.

[Speaker 2] (53:34 – 53:47)
So what did you expect when you went along to the show? Because obviously you’ve never been before because I get a lot of people that come that just say, oh, you know, we’re coming just to support the charity. I don’t think they realise how talented our children and our adults have.

[Speaker 1] (53:47 – 54:17)
You know what’s more talented than able people, I would say. They’re just so, just so like smart and I think people would be like amazed. I really do.

But like, I don’t think people should separate disability anymore. I think everyone should be as one. But obviously when you’ve got autism, you are different, you know.

But yeah, when you watch them perform, like they’re amazing. People would be so surprised. I think we should get tickets and come watch.

[Speaker 2] (54:18 – 55:58)
Yeah, so May is going to be Daisy Chain One. So that will be happening at the Ark Theatre in Stockton. So that’s May the 20th.

So keep updated on the charity website. And then the main show that we always do at the Mermaid Theatre, that will be happening in October. So the closing date will be the end of May.

So get your entries in, shows your talent. And also to remind everyone about the Autism Hero Awards. So what we’ve been doing that now, I think it’s five or six years.

And basically we celebrate people that go the extra mile within the autism world. So whether you’re a teacher, whether you’re a parent, whether you’re a carer, a sibling, a business, you might be a reporter that writes particularly well about autism because I know some of these reporters when they write about autism, it’s just like, oh, my God, he’s written this article. But it’s just, if you feel that you know someone that deserves an award that goes the extra mile and we get inundated and we have 12 different categories and we choose three finalists from each category and then all the finalists come down to London and then we announce the winners on the night and it’s so emotional.

And we have a few of the autism’s got talent performers and pineapple performing arts. They support us as well. They’ve been supporting us for 12 years as well.

Just want to give a big shout out to Maggie Patterson and Fiona Sheppard who’ve been supporting us. So yeah, so I’m so excited about the next one. It’s just, I don’t know, there’s just something special about Autism’s Got Talent and all of my volunteers absolutely love it and they look after all of the families that come along and some of the children and adults there might never have met another autistic individual and what they do is they make friends, they set up WhatsApp groups, there’s lots of tears, just absolutely love it.

[Speaker 1] (56:00 – 56:18)
When you’re there, you don’t worry that Harvey’s going to kick off because you know everyone in that room understands and you don’t feel jump. And it’s so nice, Blake, to be in the theatre or whatever with other people who are going through the same thing and they understand it so you don’t feel awkward. Do you know what I mean?

[Speaker 2] (56:18 – 56:54)
It’s so good. I know, and it was great to meet Harvey as well because remember behind stage you met Daniel Docherty who’s one of our autism members from Ireland and he was chatting away to everyone. It’s just so lovely.

So we haven’t got long to go so what I wanted to ask you as well is so say the parent now is going through a diagnosis with their child or an autistic adult might be thinking they might be autistic or listening to some of the things that you’ve been saying their child might have some of the difficulties that Harvey’s doing. If you could go back, what would you do differently and what advice would you give?

[Speaker 1] (56:55 – 57:29)
Well, naturally you panic. I think, is it me? What’s happened?

Why are they like that? What will I cope? Like you go, all these emotions go through your head but the child is what it is.

Like you don’t panic. You’ll get help. It’s never as bad as you think it is.

Yeah, you just go along with it. You’re not alone. There’s lots of us out there in the same situation and just don’t doubt yourself and feel bad because you do think, oh, no, is it my fault they like it?

And I don’t think you should think that at all.

[Speaker 2] (57:30 – 57:37)
Yeah, it’s a hard process. It can be a hard process and it can be a daunting process as well because…

[Speaker 1] (57:37 – 58:09)
And we’ll compare what I used to do with Harvey. I used to look at the older ones. Even now when someone’s like 25, I’m like, oh, one and a half will be like that.

And then I look at like a 20-year-old now who hasn’t got disabilities and I always think, I wonder what Harvey would be like if he was like that? You always do think that and compare because that’s natural. When you see a child a bit older, you’re like, oh, I wonder if Harvey would get to that stage because every day is different and Harvey every year gets better and better and better.

[Speaker 2] (58:10 – 58:17)
What we haven’t talked about is, just very quickly, about Harvey’s friendships. Has he got friends? Has he chat to them?

[Speaker 1] (58:17 – 59:01)
This is so funny. You’ll appreciate this, Anna. Obviously, when you’ve got autism, you haven’t really got any social skills.

You’re not like us. If I see, I’m like, hey, how are you? Give you a hug.

Like Harvey’s girlfriend at college, she’s called Lucy. And she was coming down in her wheelchair to go and I’d be like, hi, Lucy. She’s like, hi, and just carried on going.

Do you know what I mean? It just makes me laugh because they’re not social. Do you know what I mean?

They’re like, how are you? What have you been up to? They’re just blunt and like matter of fact.

And it just makes me laugh. Like, if you get Harvey some sweets or something, like, can I have one? It’s like, no, it’s mine.

Like, I think. Do you know what I mean? It’s funny.

[Speaker 2] (59:02 – 59:25)
I know. But I just want to say, I’ve got a minute left to say, thank you for chatting to me. I know you’re very busy lady and you’re here.

Well, that’s awesome. Do that again. I’ve got to go and do the school run.

That’s what I’ve got to do. I know. That’s what I’m doing with Angela.

As soon as, well, it’s a college run for me, but as soon as we finish here, then I’ve got to rush off to pick Angela up. But that’s just our life. And that’s just the way it goes.

[Speaker 1] (59:25 – 59:25)
I know.

[Speaker 2] (59:25 – 59:39)
I just want to say thank you very much for taking the time out. Lots of love to Harvey and to the family as well. Hope your mom’s okay.

And yeah, just keep going. Keep doing what you’re doing. Put your blinkers on and just move forward.

[Speaker 1] (59:41 – 59:47)
Thanks, Anna. I hope a lot of people listen. You’ve learnt something from our chat.

And I’ll see you soon, Anna.

[Speaker 2] (59:48 – 59:50)
All right. Take care and all the best.

[Speaker 1] (59:51 – 59:52)
Bye. Thank you.