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Christine McGuinness has said she and her husband get snubbed by some friends because they have autistic kids.
All three of her children with Top Gear host Paddy – eight-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, and five-year-old Felicity – have been diagnosed with autism.
Christine, 33, said: “It’s been a constant battle of being left out and treated differently.
“We’d see our friends having BBQs with their friends and their children and we wouldn’t get invited.
“And I remember thinking, it’s because my kids are autistic.
“Thinking about it, whoever organised it was probably aware it would be difficult and upsetting for us, as things would usually end up in tears.
“We do avoid a lot of family parties, because the children struggle with it. It’s difficult because they are starting to be invited to a lot of parties.
“Luckily, they’ve got a close group of friends, and a lot of them are autistic as well, so I suppose all us mums understand each other.
“I wish everyone understood it a little bit better. I hope by the time they’re teenagers we’ll live in a much more understanding and inclusive society.”
Paddy, 48, and his wife try to raise awareness of the condition and Christine also revealed late last year that she too was “autistic and proud” after being tested herself.
But in her book A Beautiful Nightmare, she said that “unfortunately prejudice does exist”.
She added: “One of the things my husband and I are discussing quite a lot is how autistic people are not really considered for jobs, relationships or friendships.
“They’re maybe seen as a bit of a hindrance, quite particular or difficult. It’s such a huge spectrum, that unless you’ve got autism in your family, I can see why you’d struggle to understand it.
“But there are definitely stereotypes around autism. And when people hear the word ‘autistic’, they assume the worst straight away.
“Autistic people are quite often written off and not seen for all the amazing qualities that they do have.”
- Christine McGuinness
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