Colin Farrell has revealed that his four-year-old son James suffers from a rare neuro-genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome, but has insisted that the four-year-old is a brave and happy child.
The ‘Alexander’ actor told the Sunday World: “The only time I’m reminded that there is something different about him – that he has some deviation of what is perceived to be normal – is when I see him with other four-year-olds. Then I go, ‘Oh yeah,’ and it comes back to me. But from day one I felt that he’s the way he’s meant to be.”
Farrell said his son James shows “amazing courage,” and that he’s “incredibly blessed to have him in my life.”
The 31-year-old actor shares custody of James with the boy’s mother, Kim Bordenave, whom Farrell credits with helping James get the help he needs. The child’s early years have been a struggle, Farrell says, but recently the family enjoyed a major breakthrough.
“He took his first steps about six weeks ago, and it was four years in the making,” Farrell says. “It was incredibly emotional. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
Angelman Syndrome is characterised by developmental delay, speech impairment, movement or balance disorder, excessive laughter and even seizures, according to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. Children who have the disorder are often not diagnosed until they are between 3 and 7 years old.
But Farrell refuses to characterize the condition as a disability. "I have never thought of my son as being someone with a disability," he says. "It goes back to special needs and what is a disability and what isn't."
Coincidentally, Farrell helped promote the Special Olympics before his son's diagnosis. "I experienced the overwhelming effect of being around those athletes pretty much just before my son was born," says Farrell. "It's mad the way the world works."
