After raising Harvey, her 19-year-old son with additional needs, Katie Price said she would love to adopt a disabled child.
The 43-year old glamour model and actress has written a book, Harvey And Me, A Mother’s Love. It details her plans for raising her son in a difficult time.
Harvey – whose father is retired footballer Dwight Yorke, 49 – is on the autism spectrum and was born with disabilities including partial blindness, ADHD and Prader-Willi syndrome, which causes an excessive appetite.
Katie penned: ‘When we knew something was wrong with Harvey, I didn’t think, ‘I don’t want him.’ I felt more love and protection than I could ever have imagined… I would love to adopt a child with a disability in the future.”
Her love: Katie Price has revealed she would like to adopt a disabled child after bringing up her own son Harvey, 19, who has additional needs (Katie and Harvey pictured in 2004)
Katie’s oldest child is Harvey, who was also born septo-optic disorder – a condition which makes it difficult for his optic nerve to develop as expected.
She is also mother to Junior, 16, and Princess, 14, with Peter Andre and Jett, eight and Bunny, seven, with Kieran Hayler – yet she admits she would still add to her brood.
The extract from the book read: ‘When we knew something was wrong with Harvey, I didn’t think, ‘I don’t want him.’ It was actually the complete opposite. I felt more love, protection and care than I could have ever imagined .
‘It’s weird because I sit here now and think that I would easily have another baby if it was like Harvey. I would love to adopt a child with disabilities. We all just presume that when we have a baby it’s going to be healthy…
Life: The embattled glamour model, 43, detailed her plans in her new book Harvey And Me: A Mother’s Love, which is being serialised in The Mirror, in which she discusses living with her teenage son and raising him amid his health woes
Sweet: Katie is pictured with her fiancé Carl Woods and kids Jett, Bunny and Princess
‘I don’t care what anyone says, you do. Never did I think about the possibility of having a disabled child. I do often think about what Harvey would be like if he didn’t have his conditions. But I wouldn’t change him for the world.’
Her latest thoughts come after Princess has spoke about the difficulties of caring for her brother Harvey, as she said: ‘We absolutely love our big brother, Harvey…
“We have so much fun together, even though it can be difficult at times due to his disabilities. He can be difficult to look after.
Princess explained that her big brother is “a lot of fun”, but can have erratic moods, which can be scary for younger siblings.
She said: ‘We love our big brother, Harvey. He has some disabilities, so it can be hard at times. But we have so much fun together. He can be difficult to look after.
Way back in the day: Katie is pictured here with Kieran Hayler, her ex-husband, and their daughter Bunny.
Candid: Her latest thoughts come after Princess has spoke about the difficulties of caring for her brother Harvey, as she said: ‘We absolutely love our big brother, Harvey
‘I do try and let Mum sort him out when he’s kicking off, because she knows him better than anyone.
Junior (16 is also close to Harvey). Bunny or Jett avoid him if he becomes agitated. It can sometimes be hard to predict his reaction. They find it frightening that he is so much bigger than they are.
Princess added that he sometimes can deliberately go to Bunny and Jett just to make them weep. He can’t help but do it. He’s not trying to hurt them. He just loves the noise. I remember him doing that to me as a child.
Princess also praised Harvey for being ‘clever’ and ‘hilarious’, and stated that she was loved by all.
Family: Harvey, aged 19, is shown with Jett, eight, and Bunny (7).