Hong Kong star couple Stephanie Ho, Fred Cheng share story of son’s Angelman syndrome diagnosis to raise public awareness
- Cantopop stars reveal son Asher diagnosed with rare genetic disorder that causes developmental, behavioural and medical challenges
- ‘We understand that caregiving for a special-needs child can be isolating, and we want other carers to know that they are not alone in this journey,’ Ho says
Hong Kong Cantopop stars Stephanie Ho Ngan-si and Fred Cheng Chun-wan have revealed their son has been diagnosed with Angelman syndrome, in an effort to raise awareness about the rare genetic disorder.
Singer and actress Ho, 31, wrote on Instagram on Saturday that Asher, now two years old, was diagnosed with the condition after being tested last year.
People with Angelman Syndrome tend to have happy demeanours but are non-verbal and prone to seizures, she said.
The condition is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by the absence of a functional UBE3A gene, and results in developmental, behavioural and medical challenges.
“Finding out about his disorder broke our hearts and we grieved for the healthy child we once imagined, running, playing music, going to college, but it also gave us a clearer direction in ways to support him in the future,” Ho wrote.
“We found out that his condition was randomly genetically mutated and was falsely identified as negative during early pregnancy tests, but this gives us insight into family planning for the future.”
