Gregg Wallace, 58, admits his age ‘could be’ the reason his son Sid, 4, has autism

Entertainment
By Liam

Gregg Wallace, 58, has spoken out about his son’s autism and the possibility that his age is a factor in why Sid, four, has the developmental disability.

The star spoke to The Times’ T2 about his son, who he has with his fourth wife Anna, 37, and detailed how Sid was diagnosed with autism last year and struggles to get an EHCP (an education, health and care plan) from the council.

Sid is non-verbal and it’s unknown if he’ll ever speak, but the Masterchef star admitted they’re “hoping” that they’ll see developments in the toddler.

Gregg was asked if he thought his age was related to Sid’s autism, as multiple studies published over the past decade have shown that older men and women are more likely than young people to have a child with autism.

When asked if he was concerned about the link between age and autism, he candidly said, “It could be. I don’t care. The blame is on God and little children. It won’t make it any better if we go: it’s my fault.’

His love: Gregg Wallace, 58, has spoken out about his son’s autism and the possibility that his age is a factor in why Sid, four, has the developmental disability

Gregg and Anna welcomed their first child – Gregg’s fourth – in May 2019. Gregg was married to Christine Wallace for less than a year in 1881, Denise Wallace from 1999 to 2004, Heidi Brown from 2011 to 2012, and married Anne-Marie in 2016.

Speaking in T2 about how he reacted to the diagnosis, he said, “You’re going through a period of near-grieving. Like, my God, I didn’t have the child I thought I had.”

Gregg stopped hosting Inside The Factory to spend more time with Sid and recently launched his own wellness and weight loss app.

Last year on Loose Women, Gregg revealed that he and Anna was only officially diagnosed at the age of three: ‘Syd has autism…

“He’s three, you can’t legally establish it in this country until they’re two and a half, but when we were about a year old, we knew we had some problems.”

Sweet: The star spoke to The Times' T2 about his son, who he has with fourth wife Anna, 37, explaining how Sid was diagnosed with autism last year and is struggling to get an EHCP (an education, health and and care plan) of the municipality

Sweet: The star spoke to The Times’ T2 about his son, who he has with fourth wife Anna, 37, explaining how Sid was diagnosed with autism last year and is struggling to get an EHCP (an education, health and and care plan) of the municipality

'Grief': Speaking in T2 about how he reacted to the diagnosis, he said, 'You're going through a period of near-grieving. Like, my God, I don't have the child I thought I had'

‘Grief’: Speaking in T2 about how he reacted to the diagnosis, he said, ‘You’re going through a period of near-grieving. Like, my God, I don’t have the child I thought I had’

My Boy: Sid is non-verbal and it's unknown if he'll ever speak up, but the Masterchef star admitted they're 'hoping' that they'll see developments in totality

My Boy: Sid is non-verbal and it’s unknown if he’ll ever speak up, but the Masterchef star admitted they’re ‘hoping’ that they’ll see developments in totality

Explained: risk of autism in children of older parents

The link between paternal age and autism has been studied in recent decades.

Multiple studies have uncovered such a connection, especially for older fathers.

A large study published in 2006 found that once a man reaches age 50, his risk of having a child with autism can be as much as ten times higher than that for a man in his 20s.

Another paper – published by Danish experts in 2012 – was said to “clearly show” that older parents are more likely to have children with autism by experts in the field.

But researchers couldn’t explain why.

Some experts believe the cause is simple and biological, namely that as men age and sperm cells divide, genetic mutations can accumulate and be passed on to their offspring.

Another school of thought argues that older men on the autism spectrum, whether they know it or not, are likely to marry later in life and thus have a child at an older age to whom they can pass on an autism gene.

When asked by Coleen Nolan and Kaye Adams what the signs were, Gregg said, “For us, he didn’t answer by name, he didn’t play peek-a-boo.”

“He walked and ran around, but he has autism and he has something called global developmental delay. So he’s not talking.’

Gregg then sweetly added, “But he’s beautiful and he’s cuddly and he’s happy. And when he wants something, he takes your hand and takes you. Honestly, if you think you have a problem, go see someone.’

In 2014, findings published in the International Journal of Epidemiology suggested that fathers’ risk of having autistic children steadily increases as they get older.

Professor Brian Lee and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analyzed data from 417,000 children born between 1984 and 2003.

They compared the age of the parents with other factors that could influence the risk of autism, such as family income, the parents’ psychiatric history and intellectual disability.

Professor Lee said: ‘The risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had a more complicated relationship with age in women than in men, whose risk of fathering a child with ASD increased linearly with age over their lifetime. whole life.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that children of fathers over the age of 45 are three and a half times more likely to develop autism than children of men in their early 20s.

It also revealed that there was a 24-fold increased risk of bipolar disorder and a 13-fold high risk of ADHD in children born to older fathers.

Sweet: Gregg is pictured with his family

Sweet: Gregg is pictured with his family

Speaking out: When Coleen Nolan and Kaye Adams asked what the signs were, Gregg said,

Speaking out: When Coleen Nolan and Kaye Adams asked what the signs were, Gregg said, “For us, he didn’t answer his name, he didn’t play peekaboo

THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with autism have problems with social, emotional, and communication skills that usually develop before age three and persist throughout a person’s life.

Specific signs of autism include:

  • Reactions to smell, taste, appearance, touch or sound are uncommon
  • Difficulty adjusting to changes in routine
  • Unable to repeat or repeat what is said to them
  • Difficulty expressing desires with words or gestures
  • Unable to talk about their own feelings or those of others
  • Difficulty with acts of affection such as hugging
  • Rather be alone and avoid eye contact
  • Difficulty getting along with other people
  • Cannot point at objects or look at objects when others point at them

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