Gregg Wallace shared a photo of his four-year-old son Sid getting a cuddle from his dad.
The sweet snap, shared to Instagram on Saturday, showed the Masterchef presenter looking down at his youngest child as they cozy up on the sofa. “Me and my little boy Sid,” the star lovingly captioned the post.
The new photo of Sid, who was diagnosed with autism in 2022, moved fans to tears.
One fan commented: “I'm pretending to chop onions!!” What a beautiful photo. No words needed.'
Gregg lives in the Kent countryside with Sid, his wife Anna and their parents Rina and Massimo.
Gregg Wallace shared a photo of his four-year-old son Sid getting a cuddle from his dad. “Me and my little boy Sid,” the star lovingly captioned the post
In July, Gregg told the Chron about his close bond with his son. When discussing Sid's development, Gregg admitted, “Sid is four years old, Sid is autistic, Sid is non-verbal.”
“He's still in diapers.” He doesn't use cutlery. His food choices are very limited, but he is a beautiful boy.
“Luckily we don't have a lot of sensory issues.” He loves playing, he loves cuddling. And we are seeing more and more interaction, which gives us hope. And that's all we need.'
Gregg spoke for the first time about how Sid's physical contact with his parents improved.
The TV star explained: “As soon as they make contact you want to praise them, hold their hand, look at their face and put on a show. “Make it exciting so they want to stay in your world and not retreat into theirs . It’s hard, but so far it’s working.”
“Sid lies down on a carpet with his iPad and rocks back and forth. If they retreat, retreat with them. “I sit on the carpet about a meter away from him and do exactly the same thing as him.”
“He would come over and lay next to me and put his hand on my arm or his head on my shoulder. “It's great. “We have no idea how far this will go, but we will keep trying because we are already seeing a difference in him.”
Anna spent the second half of 2023 completing an online course with American experts to understand how best to interact with Sid.
The new photo of Sid, who was diagnosed with autism in 2022, moved fans to tears. One fan commented: “I'm pretending to chop onions!!” What a beautiful photo. No words needed'
In July, Gregg told the Chron about his close bond with his son. “Sid is four years old, Sid is autistic, Sid is non-verbal… but he's a beautiful boy,” he said
“She's learning to coach him, not to cure or reverse his autism, but to teach him to communicate, possibly talk,” Gregg explained.
A viewer called him to tell him about the US's approach after he mentioned Sid on a recent episode of Loose Women. “I have started to develop different play methods and interactions with Sid and we are seeing progress.”
Earlier this year, Gregg announced a major career change, leaving his hit show Inside The Factory to support Sid and help Anna find the right educational environment for her son.
Gregg, a former greengrocer, described Sid as a “sweet, sweet little boy” with a “wonderful mother” but admitted “it's not easy”.
Gregg lives in the Kent countryside with Sid, his wife Anna (pictured) and their parents Rina and Massimo
The MasterChef presenter admitted that filming required him to spend a lot of time leaving his family and visiting factories across the country.
“That's why I've decided that I'm actually not going to do 'Inside The Factory' anymore,” the star said.
“Right now we have to find training for him and I can’t just leave that to Anna – it’s a big, big decision.”
“I mean, all parents worry about the schools their children will attend.” “Ours is made even more prominent by poor little Sid's problems.”
What is Autism?
What does it mean to be autistic?
Being autistic does not mean that you have a disease. This means that your brain works differently than other people's.
It is something that you are born with or that first appears when you are very young.
If you are autistic, you will remain autistic your whole life.
Autism is not a medical condition for which there are treatments or a “cure.” But some people need support to help them with certain things.
Autistic people can:
You find it difficult to communicate and interact with other people
find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful, or unpleasant
You have difficulty understanding how other people think or feel
become anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
It takes longer to understand information
doing or thinking the same things over and over again
What causes autism?
It is not clear what causes autism.
Nobody knows what causes autism or if there is a cause. It can affect people in the same family. Therefore, it can sometimes be passed on to a child from its parents.
Autism is not caused by:
- Bad Education
- Vaccines like the MMR vaccine
- diet
- an infection that you can spread to other people
Source: NHS