PADDY McGuinness is backing the largest study of autism in the UK, led by Cambridge University.
He's also called for the 'postcode lottery' of autism parental support to change.
The Bolton TV presenter’s three children all have autism, and his family will be taking part in the project, Spectrum 10K, which was launched on Tuesday.
The research will recruit 10,000 autistic people from across the UK in order to boost understanding of how biological and environmental factors impact on them, organisers say.
The project will be carried out by Cambridge’s world-leading Autism Research Centre (ARC) in conjunction with the nearby genetics research body the Welcome Sanger Institute and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
Researchers say the study will examine the different needs of people with autism, many of whom have additional conditions including epilepsy, anxiety, and depression.
Paddy was a guest on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning, along with Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre.
Paddy said: “It’s easy to point the finger at someone and go do you mind my child is autistic and this that, and the other. I think the best way is to just educate people.
“We had an incident where we were in a disability spot with the children, a little children’s group going on.
“I could see that this bloke was looking at me judgmentally because we were in a disabled parking bay even though we had a blue badge.
“Normally I would just let it go, but I just thought to speak to this fella, I said is everything ok and he said yes you’re in a disabled spot, I said yes that’s right and he said well they don’t look disabled.
“I just thought, God, the level of ignorance sometimes, but you know he’s unaware of autism or hidden disabilities or anything like that.
“So I took a deep breath and explained it to him, you know, and I think that was the right thing to do.
“I could’ve been mad and shouted and bawled he would have been upset, I would have been upset and no one would’ve got on with it.
“I think things like that are important to sort of educate people and let them know exactly why you are in that disabled spot but that is only a tiny little thing.”
McGuinness said he is “really excited” to support the research, describing it as “important to help us understand what makes every autistic person different, and how best to support them”.
Speaking of his own experience as a parent, he said he and his wife were fortunate to live in a part of the country where there is good support.
He told BBC Breakfast: “It is a postcode lottery and that needs to change.”
He added: “One of the biggest things for any parent, who’s struggling as well, who does eventually get the diagnosis, is then it’s kind of a little bit like ‘right, you’ve got your diagnosis, now what?’
“There’s not things in place quickly for parents, I feel, to support them. But again, like I say, it just depends on where you live in the country and that definitely needs to change.”
The study is also has the support of naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, who is also autistic.
He said: “I’m honoured to be an ambassador of Spectrum 10K because I believe in the value of science to inform the support services that autistic kids and adults will need.”
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