22 Kids and Counting viewers in tears as Sue and Noel Radford's son Max lays bare his health struggles
The couple were desperate to help himSue and Noel Radford’s son Max brought 22 Kids and Counting viewers to tears last night as his health struggles were laid bare in the latest episode.
Max is 16 years old and has a diagnosis of autism.
He has huge ambitions to design aeroplanes and nuclear submarines when he’s older, but there was one thing holding him back.
Despite having an exceptional skill in maths and physics, Max just couldn’t get to grips with English.
And with his GCSEs looming, it looked to stand in the way of him fulfilling his dreams.
22 Kids and Counting: Max Radford’s struggles
Sunday night’s episode followed Max in the lead up to his GCSEs. As the show unfolded, it quickly became clear how good he is at maths.
He’s able to answer difficult problems with ease and writes multiple tricky equations in the sand on the beach near the family’s home in Morecambe.
But English is his stumbling point. Sue and Noel knew if their son didn’t get a Level 5 in English (a high C low B to the older generation among us), he wouldn’t be able to go to university.
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Max said: “My dream is to build huge pieces of engineering, like jets, tanks and submarines. I would like to go into a field of chemistry, like rocket fuel or something like that.”
Noel treated his son to a day out to visit Concorde to inspire him. The teenager was amazed, describing the plane as “mind blowing”.
But he feared he will never be able to follow his dreams.
“It’s very stressful. Physics and chemistry is fun. Maths, I like it more than the other subjects,” he said. “But I’m very bad at a lot of the other subjects. English, I’m horrible at that.
“With my autism, I see the world differently to everyone else. Maths is a lot better than English because there is a definitive right answer and a definitive wrong one. There isn’t with English.”
Noel Radford ‘hires’ Chloe to help Max
Later in the show, Max headed to his older sister Chloe’s house. There are another 14 kids at home and he was struggling to revise.
Noel also suggested Chloe tutored him in English. But it didn’t go well.
Max told Chloe: “I don’t understand tones. I just can’t read the text and extract information.”
Chloe asked him to compare two poems, but Max quickly became frustrated. He told her: “I’ve read it about three times now. I still don’t know what the tone is and genuinely have no idea.
“I can’t do this, it’s not making any sense. I have no clue what is going on. I’m going.”
Max left the house, slamming the door behind him. Chloe phoned Noel and told him to hire a tutor with neurodiverse experience.
Noel and Sue took her advice on board, but Max didn’t respond well at first. He told them he’s “given up with it” and “doesn’t understand the point”.
Max once again stormed off and Noel sighed: “There’s no talking to him at the moment, he’s just totally disengaged. We’re running out of time. He needs this tutor to see sense.”
Thankfully, Max came round to the idea and was seen practicing his English with a specialist tutor. And at the end of the episode, he received his GCSE results – including a 5 in maths.
Viewers ‘cry’ for Max
Fans of 22 Kids and Counting have now inundated Sue and Noel Radford with messages of support after watching Max’s struggles play out. Many have shared their own similar experiences with the couple.
One viewer even admitted she was in tears watching.
Writing on Facebook, one said: “Loving how this series is focusing on your individual children growing up and the challenges they face. Full of admiration for your whole family being able to discuss their issues on TV.”
Another added: “It’s so nice to see Max’s story. My son is so like him super smart but English is a struggle in the same way.
A third said: “Well done to Max, that’s amazing, the world your oyster now.”
And someone else penned: “Absolutely brilliant episode, I actually cried with joy for Max hearing that he had passed his English exam.”
