Actor Colin Farrell Son: His eldest son James, who is now 20 years old, is diagnosed with Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder associated with retardation. The actor recalled the day when his boy walked unaided for the first time just two weeks before he turned four.
Colin told People magazine: ‘James has something to show you,’ said his occupational therapist
I knew they were working on the move. And I just stood there, and he let him go, and he just came to his senses… I mean, it was very deep. It was magic.
I will never forget the look of determination on his face when he came towards me. It took him about six steps and I began crying.
The Lobster star said many families with children diagnosed with Angelman syndrome are informed their children will never walk.
He added: So just looking at those first steps… That can never be forgotten by me. Very beautiful
That’s what made Colin so proud of James’s silence; that James kept silent – that none of us knows whether or not any of this is an achievement – because he had given his best effort daily since childhood.
He said, “Repetition, repetition, balance, and his movement are a bit jerky.”
When she first began to eat on her own, her face reminded me of Jackson Pollock’s art. But he does it well – he eats so nicely himself.
Every day I feel proud of him because I think he is magical.
The actor from “Banshees of Inisherin” whose wife Kim Bordenway has two sons with James and 14-year-old son Eliza Bachleda-Kurus further stated that his son’s condition was initially misdiagnosed as he did not meet the developmental milestones.
That boy could not sit down quietly. He couldn’t even walk. By that time I think John had turned eighteen months when we took him to a doctor for examination and found out that he had cerebral palsy.
This was a common one since such cases are usually similar in some aspects too.
Colin is now starting the Colin Farrell Foundation which will support young adults having intellectual disability through advocacy, education and innovative schemes – something his son would have wanted.
I’m like: what kind of man he is? How good can a person be based upon their nature?
Our responsibility could have been questioned by him, as far as I’m concerned. He would have looked at me and said “Dad, what are you talking about? Why are you asking me?” It is not hard.