Television personality and former glamour model Katie Price has announced that her son Harvey will be going into a full-time care home where he can learn life skills and be more independent.
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Katie worried that Harvey could be sanctioned
In the recent announcement, the star revealed that she has spent the last six months looking for the perfect residential college for her son who suffers from a number of conditions including autism, partial blindness and Prader-Willi syndrome which results in unrestricted growth, reduced muscle tone and constant cravings for food.
Price revealed that 18-year-old Harvey would stay at the residential college, until he is 25, labelling the move as vital as she can no longer restrain her 6ft 2cm, 29 stone son if he was to have a mood swing. However, the move has not weighed easily on Katie’s conscience. The star confessed to The Sun:
It's so upsetting to think I won't see him every day but this is the best thing for Harvey and we have to think positively because I don't want him to think I'm just getting rid of him.
Due to his autism, Harvey has been known to have violent outbursts when he hears loud noises and Katie is now worried that if she doesn’t place him into care, her son could soon have a public outburst and be sectioned as a risk to society:
You hear about people with autism being arrested and when they’re restrained they go mad and get sectioned. That’s why I want to find the right college for him so if there’s ever a case where he kicks off, I’m involved.
The My Crazy Life star confessed that she is hoping that Harvey will be accepted to their first-choice school, National Star later this year but this may change due to the global pandemic. The mother of five hopes that the residential college will also be able to allow Harvey to make friends and better control his weight, claiming that ‘he will die if he doesn’t exercise’:
I need to get his weight down. We haven’t started training together yet as his breathing has got worse. It’s so bad. But at college he’ll be able to go swimming and work out with trained specialists.
Katie hopes Harvey will become an ambassador for those with disabilities
Katie revealed that she won’t find out if Harvey has been accepted into National Star until March but that he seemed to have a great time while he was there. The star went onto reveal that she has a number of ambitions in mind for Harvey, and has even gone so far as to set up a plus-sized clothing label for him in order to ensure he has a solid future plan:
It’s important for me to see him doing fun things. Harvey is lucky as I’ve already set up a plus-size clothing firm for him, because he needs income himself.
Katie also shared that she would like Harvey to write and illustrate children’s books as well as make a song for the NHS:
I want him to write children’s books in braille because he loves to draw. We’d give a percentage to charity and Harvey can earn money from it. I want him to make a song for the NHS. He draws the rainbows so I’ve asked him to do that so he can play it every Thursday when we go outside and clap.
She continued to reiterate that her ‘dream is that Harvey will become an ambassador of children with disabilities.’
It seems that Harvey has already started towards Katie’s goals for him as the two are starring in the BBC show Katie Price: Harvey and Me which airs on the 25th on January at 8:30pm and sets to document Katie’s life as her son’s carer.
Who is Harvey’s father?
Harvey is the oldest of Katies five children, with first husband Peter Andre being the father of Junior (15) and Princess (13) and Jett (7) and Bunny (6) being the children of her second marriage to Kieran Hayler.
However, Harvey’s father, former footballer Dwight Yorke was never married to Katie and he hasn’t seen his son since he was four years old, blaming, his absence on his crazy schedule and being based in Manchester.
Dwight also initially denied his paternity to Harvey until a test proved that he was the father.
Last year Katie publicly hit out at Dwight for not getting in touch with his oldest son after Harvey was rushed to the hospital with breathing difficulties:
Whether you want to be in your son’s life or not, you still created him and he’s still your son. If you know your son is in intensive care and there’s a chance he could die, as a human being with feelings you should get in contact.
Now, the doors are open for Dwight to walk back into Harvey’s life as Katie would like him to get to know his stepbrother, Dwight’s other son.
