Actor Colin Farrell recently revealed that he had made the "tricky" decision to put his son into a care facility. The star shares James, who is non-verbal, with his ex-partner, Kim Bordenave. He has Angelman syndrome - a rare disorder that affects the nervous system and causes developmental delays among other issues.
The neurological condition is one of the rarest medical disorders in the world and can cause issues such as difficulty with movement, breathing patterns, low muscle tone and epilepsy. The 48-year-old actor said that the decision was made due to fears he would be left alone if anything should happen to them. He told Candis Magazine: “It’s tricky – some parents will say, ‘I want to take care of my child myself’, and I respect that. But my horror would be, what if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James' mother, Kim, has a car crash and she's taken too. And then James is on his own?"
Farrell said that James would then become “a ward of the state”, adding: “And he goes where? We’d have no say in it.” The star hopes to “find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes”. He added: "We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected."
James, who turned 21 in September, was originally diagnosed with Angelman syndrome just before he turned three, after initially being wrongly diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Colin explained that this is a common mistake due to overlapping symptoms of both conditions.
In fact, Colin revealed that when James was a baby, he "thought [he'd] hit the lottery" because he was "so chill" and rarely cried but it was these delayed milestones that were actually symptoms. The Batman actor told People: "I think he was a year and a half old when he was diagnosed. We took him to get really checked out and, because of certain things that he was displaying, he was disagnosed as having cerebal palsy."
It took another year before a second doctor noticed something seemingly innocent that pointed towards Angelman syndrome, Colin recalled. "One of the characteristics of Angelman syndrome is inappropriate outbreaks of laughter. The doctor saw this with James," he said.
According to the NHS, Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that impacts the nervous system, leading to significant physical and learning challenges. Individuals with Angelman syndrome typically have a life expectancy close to normal, but they will require ongoing support throughout their lives.
Other key signs of Angelman syndrome include:
The condition affects roughly 1 in every 20,000 births, which is 20 times rarer than Down’s Syndrome - another genetic condition. Unlike Down’s Syndrome, which can be screened for during pregnancy, symptoms of Angelman don’t appear until the baby is at least six months old. The condition usually "occurs by chance" during conception when a specific gene, UBE3A, is either absent or dysfunctional.
If your child has recently been diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome, you can call this helpline (0300 999 0102) to speak with parents of people with with the condition, who can offer you advice and support.
