Emma Noble on Her Son Harry
Today’s Sun has an interview with Emma Noble about her 7-year-old autistic son, Harry. Noble is a model and television presenter and was formerly married to James Major, the son of former British Prime Minister John Major. She talks about her despair and feelings of isolation when 2 1/2 year old Harry started to show signs of autism; when he did not recognize his own name. He’s made “phenomenal progress” now and, as she says,
“He talks ten to the dozen now and is a real chatterbox. When I think how I felt after his diagnosis it is like another lifetime.
“I felt I really wanted to know why. I was very angry, very upset. It was a form of grieving, a bereavement. But that feeling dies – the desperate wanting to blame – and what takes over is the day-to-day living.
“We have come a long way and now I can honestly say I don’t feel bereavement. Time helps things move on.
“You have to be very positive – and Harry makes that very easy.”
I have to echo Noble’s sentiments. Things have been tough for Charlie and for our family in the past—at that confusing and chaotic time of the diagnosis, all those long moments wondering if Charlie would ever talk, the struggle to find the right school for him—and still today at times. But it’s truly Charlie himself who has helped me to stay “very positive.”
And yes, he really does make doing this “very easy,” sometimes by surprising us on a sudden with some new word or skill; other times just because it means so much to look across the room and know that he’s our boy, here with us. Noble indeed notes that it was her son Harry who “‘pulled [her] out of that despair” and Charlie has always given me so much hope.
Also notable about the Sun article is that, in two photos of Harry playing with his mother, only the back of his head can be seen “to protect his identity.” I think this is important: When I started blogging in June of 2005, I posted photos of my son regularly. I’ve since felt it very important to protect his identity; hence the few photos I post are shot from the back of Charlie’s head or in a muted profile (plus he likes to wear his hood over his head, anyways). I’m grateful to be able to share about him in a public setting like this, but Charlie’s privacy comes first.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, despair, disabilities blog, emma noble, Family, family blog, john major, love, models, Parenting, pdd-nos, photos
10 opinions for Emma Noble on Her Son Harry
Sharon
Jun 5, 2008 at 5:18 pm
What a nice story! Is there really no mention of a miracle therapy that brought this improvement about?! (I can’t read the Sun site, it always makes my browser shut down, and to be honest, it’s not a paper I have much interest in normally.
I’d much rather listen to Emma talk about her son and autism than that other blonde woman (you know, the one married to that Grinch guy).
It’s nice that she is protecting his image too, especially since they’ve used his real name and it’s a very widely read publication.
Liz Ditz
Jun 5, 2008 at 5:31 pm
In related UK autism coverage, The Great Autism Rip-off: How a Huge Industry Feeds on Parents Desperate to Cure Their Children in the Daily Mail.
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 5, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Will go check out the article. I started writing about my kids in Jan of 2000 on epinions dot com and used to change my profile pic to be that of my kids, but changed to me many years ago.
I have a few pics of the boys up but they are kind of far away and their appearance has changed a lot with growing up.
I do now bypass some topics if it has to do with Nick since it could come back to him someday.
He goes to you tube to watch videos of cats and animals and one time I got an email about comments replying to mine and turned out it was him posting odd comments on animal fighting and I told him he has to sign up with his own id instead of using mine, since that could reflect back on me.
Emily
Jun 5, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Any pictures I post of my children also are oblique profile or back of the head. I feel very careful about it and also do not use their real names.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jun 5, 2008 at 6:47 pm
@Bonnie, I never thought too much about posting photos of Charlie when I was first blogging and only a few people read what I wrote. Couldn’t resist showing off my good-looking guy……but one can never be too careful.
@Liz, That autism rip-off article was, well, refrehsing!
@Sharon, Well, some mention of some sort of ABA-sounding teaching. But mostly a lot of effort and time, it seems, that Noble put in with her son—-the photos are of them sitting on the lawn (with her son’s back to the camera) and them playing with a puppet. I liked her honesty about how she felt and, especially, the way she talked about it was her son who helps her not to despair—-that is my sentiment exactly.
Regan
Jun 5, 2008 at 7:04 pm
October 2007, Daily Mail
“…First, in 2003, she secured Harry a place at a playgroup for autistic children and then, later that year, a position in a mainstream nursery.
Finally, a year later, she won him a Statement of Special Educational Needs, the document that is the key to a child’s future.
It gave him the maximum 32.5 hours a week one-to-one support from a specially trained teaching assistant, allowing him to attend a mainstream primary school…”
http://tinyurl.com/55voy2
But as Kristina noted, it seems mostly to be a function of lots of effort and lots of love.
theasman
Jun 5, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Given what some wrote and said about Kev’s child , any parent would be concerned about their child’s privacy.
Storkdok
Jun 6, 2008 at 6:49 pm
@theasman
I never got the full story on what happened to Kevin’s child. I have tried to piece it together. Can you point me in the right direction or give a quick synopsis? I would greatly appreciate it.
Storkdok
Jun 6, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I appreciate Emma Noble’s sentiments. As I knew nothing, really, about autism when we diagnosed Alex. I too, felt grief, because I was told so many things that have already proved false. My former medical partner, our former pediatrician, offered no help or solace or knowledge. He had delayed the diagnosis for about 6 months. The most he had to offer me was to hand me the medical textbook on developmental disorders, which was way out of date.
I know so much more now, and I can really say I am not and haven’t been frustrated or disappointed by Alex. The frustrations I have are with the “system” and with clueless people we have to deal with, and I am getting really good at assessing who knows what they are doing and who doesn’t but thinks they do. I avoid the latter.
I celebrate every day with my son. He is so unique and special, I appreciate every new step he learns that most parents take for granted. He makes life so enjoyable when he shares his thoughts, even though it may be hard to figure out and I have to use 20 questions. Who else would tell me all the differences in all the airplane designs, or why it would be “gross” to vomit in space on a spaceship, because there is no gravity to make it fall down, so it would go everywhere! Because of him, I get to ride on helicopters and seaplanes, and am looking forward to a hot air balloon ride. I have no doubt I will figure out how to get us a ride on a blimp someday!
I got a call last week from the reporter who did a story on Alex 4 years ago. Her daughter has just been diagnosed with PDD-NOS. We talked for a while, and I told her that it is not a tragedy, it is a different way of thinking and learning. She will find so many wonderful and unique things about her daughter. She and her husband will learn how to best teach her the skills she needs. I told her all the things I wished someone had told me back then, to give me a realistic idea of the future, not the institutionalized grim future I was handed more than 5 years ago. Or the unrealistic idea of “recovering from autism with ABA within a few years” from certain books.
Life is good!
GPI, Group Parental Ignorance « Where’s the Sun?
Jun 16, 2008 at 8:05 am
[…] We feel that’s his decision and it’s my responsibility to try to protect his identity. I think with all of the sites out there, especially from others with Autism, he will someday be […]
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