Raising a child with learning difficulties is ‘draining’, says Petra Ecclestone

Petra Ecclestone has spoken about the "toll" that her daughter's learning difficulties have taken on her family.

The Formula 1 heiress's eldest child, 5-year-old Lavinia, was diagnosed with a speech delay at 20 months. She was non-verbal until she was three and a half and her early years were tough on the family, Petra said. "These things can tear apart families. It’s a draining experience," she told the Press Association at the opening of a new therapy centre for children with learning difficulties in London. "Children on the spectrum, a percentage of them don’t sleep through the night. [caption id="attachment_328721" align="alignnone" width="594"]  Petra and guests at the launch of Petra's Place, the first UK early intervention centre for young children with autism related conditions.[/caption] “You have children that are seven or 10 years old but are still just constantly waking up. "It takes a toll on every single person’s life, so for us to be able to stick together and support each other is such a difference." Thanks to early intervention, Lavinia is now able to speak fully and is attending mainstream school. "You would never know she had any kind of problem," Petra continued. “I caught her before the age of two… People (in the UK) sometimes don’t get diagnosed even until the age of five, six or seven. Then it’s too late. “You know, it’s hard as a mum. "It was my first child so you are waiting for the first words. You can’t wait for her to say ‘mumma’ or you are waiting for her to say anything really."