The third of six programmes.
Ten-year-old Laurance [text removed] has autism, a mental disability characterised by lack of response to people and actions. This programme follows the daily life of Laurence at home with his parents, as they try to cope with the difficulties involved in bringing up an autistic child.
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The Day That Changed My Life
8.00pm BBC2
One morning when Alison [text removed]'s son was eight-months-old, she realised he would not look directly at her. He did not look at her again for five years. Laurence is now ten and has autism, a mental disability that rules his and his parents lives.
Obsessive behaviour and endless repetition are the hallmarks of autism and Laurence's parents are always on edge because the simplest frustration or change in routine can erupt into violence. At times during this distressing film his mother's voice breaks as she describes the exhausting emotional demands his disability makes on them and explains how there is no break in sight. "How are we going to manage when we're older?" she asks desperately.