‘He’s a lovely little man’: Waleed Aly on son’s diagnosis with autism

HE’S known for tackling the big issues, but one thing Waleed Aly rarely talks about is his children — and his son’s diagnosis with autism.

Waleed Aly wins the Best Presenter award at the 2016 Logie Awards.

HE’S known for tackling the big issues, but one thing Waleed Aly rarely talks about is his children — and his son’s diagnosis with autism.

Talking with TV Week magazine after his Gold Logie win, The Project host opened up about his nine-year-old son Zayd and his diagnosis in 2011, saying it’s “a major thing for us”.

“He’s a lovely little man, and it’s lovely watching him grow through all these things,” he said.

“Because of the early diagnosis, he was able to get the support he needed. He’s just coming on in leaps and bounds.”

He added that he and his wife of 14 years, Dr Susan Carland, had discussed the idea of talking publicly about their son’s diagnosis.

“I’d decided I wasn’t going to talk publicly about it,” he said. “Partly because I thought it’s his call. But I had a really good chat to Susan, and we spoke about whether it would be a good thing for us to do. And this was before I was on The Project.”

Waleed Aly and Susan Carland arrive at the 58th Annual Logie Awards.

Referencing a story they did on the nightly show, Aly said “the seal was broken”.

“It was like, ‘OK, well, I can talk about the topic,” he said.

Despite Aly’s public profile, the low-key couple try not to let fame affect their home life. Dr Carland told the magazine they just tell their kids it’s “daddy’s job”.

“At the end of the day, he’s just dad — the one who tells them to practice the piano and clean their rooms,” she said.

“TV land is so fleeting. In five years, he could be doing something entirely different. You don’t want the kids to think that being on television is an integral part of his identity.”

Originally published as ‘He’s a lovely little man’: Waleed Aly on son’s diagnosis with autism