MOVING MAKEOVER
Heartwarming moment dad of autistic boy bursts into tears on seeing the amazing way the DIY SOS team have renovated home
A FATHER broke down in tears after his tiny two-bedroom home was transformed to help his autistic son.
On last night’s episode of DIY SOS on BBC One, the Taylor Mann family-of-five from Greater Manchester admitted they were struggling in their cramped living space.
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Custody officer Martin, who works for Greater Manchester police, and part-time psychology student Heather, look after their eldest son William, who is extremely autistic.
William struggles with loud noise, is extremely sensitive to all stimulation and desperately needed his own space in the house.
The couple’s younger daughters Scarlett and Penelope don’t have their own bedrooms, and Scarlett often sleeps in her brother’s room, while toddler Penelope crashes with her parents.
On the show, the family explain how they spend every penny of their earnings on the house and feel stuck as they are unable to move into a more spacious property.
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They were left emotional and moved to tears after the BBC team of builder volunteers transformed their home in just nine days.
The tweaks included adding two extensions and overhauling the upstairs area to include three bedrooms - one for the couple, one for Scarlett and one for Penelope.
William, who could not be left upstairs alone as he would try and jump out of the window, was given his own ground floor room.
The family’s cramped living room was also expanded to become an open plan kitchen and utility room.
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Martin broke down saying: “You've changed our little boy's life. I'll forever be so grateful to all of you.'
“It's amazing what you've done for us, so thank you.”
Heather added: “We just hope we're in a position one day to pay you back.”
And even some of the builders were left in tears after seeing how grateful the family were.
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William was diagnosed with autism before he was three-years-old, and it left his parents “devastated”.
Heather said: “It was like grief, realising that the dreams you have for your child is not going to be a reality.
“I think because it was so quick, it was a massive shock.”
Martin continued: “You've always got massive ambitions for your son and you know it's not going to be like that.”
They hoped that the renovation project would help William to have his own space, with Martin adding: “We want him to reach his potential whatever it's going to be.”
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Bedtime was always a stressful time for the family, as William would wake up his sisters and the family would end up being sleep-deprived.
The team also helped to strengthen the noise resistance of the second floor so the girls could sleep more soundly.
Heather said one of the hardest parts of William’s condition means he is unable to speak.
She said: “He doesn't understand everything that we say, but he clearly has thoughts, he just doesn't have a way to express them.”
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Thankfully he can now communicate via a smart tablet and understand her words, but the device will probably not help when he reaches adulthood.
At the end of the show, host Nick Knowles gave the family a new smart tablet, which would help William’s development.
TV viewers were also reduced to tears after the heartwarming episode.
One said: “Balling my eyes out at DIY sos.”
Another added: “Since graduating I physically feel like I’ve turned into a middle aged adult - last night I balled my eyes out to DIY SOS.”
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Nick Knowles previously revealed the DIY SOS team faced its toughest job so far when it built a gym and community centre for Grenfell families with the help of Prince William.
And DIY SOS viewers were left in tears as a woman paralysed in a horror Iron Man accident had her home transformed "so she can be a mum again".
Wheelchair-bound DIY SOS dad and family emotional and grateful after house overhaul
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