I'M NOT A SUPERMUM

As challenging as daily life can be, Charley-Anne Semple is grateful every single day for her two little miracles

- ROSIE GIZAUSKAS

My seven-year-old son Tyler amazes me every day with his intelligence. He loves learning about history, has the reading ability of a 12-year-old, and often has his nose buried in a Harry Potter book. But while his reading and writing is exceptional, he struggles with basic tasks, like getting dressed and going to the loo by himself, and I have to watch him constantly to make sure he doesn’t do himself harm by drinking shampoo or eating something he shouldn't.

When I found out I was pregnant with Tyler in July 2012, it felt like a miracle. His dad Danny, then 22, and I had both known we had fertility problems for a couple of years, but dreamt of having a family and being young parents, so had gone to see an IVF specialist. But fate intervened, and before treatment began, a pregnancy test came back positive. Tyler arrived in March 2013 and, after taking out a loan the following year, we had one round of IVF at a private clinic in Greece. Luck was on our side again, and in November 2014, Annabella Rose was born.

Then, when Tyler was two, my mum, Ingrid, then 42, who works with children, started noticing behavioural traits in him linked to autism. He made specific noises, like squealing, reacted in distress to certain sounds, had an excellent memory and was very clever. Meanwhile, the coach at his football club said while other kids followed instructions, Tyler would just spin in circles, even licking the walls.

‘WE DIDN’T WORRY OR PANIC’