Christine McGuinness has said her world was “turned upside down” when her twins were diagnosed with autism.
The 30-year-old model and Take Me Out host husband Paddy McGuinness are parents to four-year-old twins Penelope and Leo.
They also have daughter Felicity, one.
Christine spoke about her hopes and dreams for the twins in a new campaign video for the charity Autism Together.
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She said: “When my husband and I were first told that our twins had autism, it turned our world upside down.
“I knew it was my purpose in life to be their mum but this really made me just want to be the best mum I could be for them.
“I’ve got so many hopes and dreams for our children.
“I want them to make friends at school. I want them to build relationships when they’re older, maybe even get married and have their own little families one day.
“Most of all, I just want them to be happy and I want them to live in a world that is more understanding about autism.
“Just like anyone else, people on the spectrum have their own hopes, dreams and visions for their futures and these can be big or small.
“But many people with autism aren’t able to articulate their hopes and dreams, they can’t even express how they are feeling and this can lead to meltdowns.”
Christine has thrown her support behind Autism Together’s Future 50 appeal, which aims to build a technologically advanced centre in the UK where biometric wristbands can be used to support people with complex autism.
The wristbands would gather information such as heart rate and skin temperature to signal an increase in anxiety and give carers more insight into factors that could influence meltdowns.
Christine said: “When you learn that autism is in your life, as I have recently, you realise that it is up to you to help shape the future for the people you love.”
She spoke about her twins’ diagnosis on This Morning last year, saying: “I think initially there is a huge sense of loss but you just need to stay strong and remember these children were perfect to me before they got this diagnosis and they are still perfect now.
“We aren’t looking for a cure, our children don’t need to be fixed. My twins are absolute superstars, they are stunning and all they need is understanding from other people.”
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