Christine McGuinness admits there isnt a right time to tell her kids they have autism

Christine McGuinness has opened up on when she'll tell her children they have autism.

Christine, 33, similarly to her three children, has been diagnosed with autism, and told OK! that she had suspected the diagnosis for a while.

But when it comes to addressing the matter with the kids, Penelope, Leo and Felicity, the star admits that she doesn't know if there's a "right time."

"Autism isn't something I've spoken to my children about," Christine told OK! .

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She continued: "We talk about it quite openly in front of them but they haven't asked about it yet. I'm not sure when the right time is, or if there is a right time. At the minute the twins are eight and the youngest is five so they're all very young.

"They're happy go lucky little children so I don't want to give them any extra worries just yet, and at the minute they're in a great school which is inclusive and they don't feel any different to anyone else so they're happy."

Christine, who is married to TV star Paddy McGuinness, explained that, growing up, she'd struggled in large social situations and tended to keep herself to herself as a result.

"I really struggled to fit in, I struggled socially. I didn’t ever really make any good friendships," Christine previously shared with OK!

But her desire to get out more and be more social was something she did "for her kids."

Christine shared with us: "Understanding autism gave me a kick up the bum to do something. I was very reclusive.

"I spent loads of time indoors avoiding everyone and I was never very social. It was only once the twins got diagnosed with autism I started to realise I could be autistic myself because of the social side of things and I thought I don't want my children to grow up and stay in the comfort zone forever. You need a push now and again within reason.


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"I started to take them out a little bit more and I thought well as they get older they need to see mummy go to work and mummy going out for lunch and that kind of thing. If mummy doesn't do it why should they? So it was all because of the children that I got out a bit more and thought I need to lead by example."

Christine is a mum, but she's also a carer too for her kids and she explained to us: "Certainly for the first few years of their life I was a full time carer and there's absolutely no way I could've held down any other job and I'm very fortunate that I was able to be a full time carer while my husband went off to work.

"If I couldn't do it, I would've had to try and get some help in. It has made me realise how hands on caring is and it has made me feel really proud.

"Being able to see the change and difference and knowing I was there at every appointment too is a good feeling. We had speech and language a couple of times a week, occupational therapy, sensory play therapy, there was so much involved because of their autism so I did become a full time carer.

"I'm so proud of it though. For anyone thinking of doing it as a career, well that's amazing."


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Christine's chat with OK! comes as the star backs the recruitment drive for adult social care.

The campaign shines a light on the extraordinary parts of the job that are often not included in traditional job adverts, and it saw Christine speak to Support Worker, Christiana, and raise awareness about the amazing work adult social care workers do day in day out.

Talking to us about her involvement, Christine explained: "The role of a carer is so important.

"I think something like one in ten of us will need care. Whether that's when we have children and we need a midwife, or maybe we need to go into a home when we're older, or teenagers who might have learning difficulties. We can all be affected in different ways and we need our carers because they're so important.

"I find the stats quite worrying. It worries me that one day one day one of us will need it and there won't be enough carers out there.I would like to encourage people to give it a go. If you're thinking about, just go for it. Training can be offered when and if it's needed.

"I think people are scared of change and there are so many people now getting in touch saying they worked in a different job but they wanted a change, because of location or finances, and they've now gone into caring, and they're so thankful they did.

"One woman messaged me saying she worked in fashion but she's now going a job as a carer, and she said she can go back to her old job but she doesn't want to because she's really realised that this is more important and it's making her feel great every single day.

"I think people don't really know the positives of working in care. It's so important and the role is crucial. Maybe the adverts aren't as appealing as they could be. You can be proud of yourself as a carer and you can walk away each day knowing you've changed someone's life and supported somebody."

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