Katie Price’s son Harvey rejected by residential care for being ‘too difficult’
He was weeks away from moving.
Katie Price feels ‘let down’ after being told she would need to find a new living facility for her eldest son Harvey Price.
He has been supported with part-time and full-time care since he was in his teens when his famous mum felt they were no longer able to cope alone.
Harvey, 22, was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome, autism, and septo-optic dysplasia, a condition that affects vision and brain function.
Recently, Katie revealed he was taking weight-loss jabs to save his life as he now weighs 28 stone, due to his PWS impacting his appetite.
Now the reality star, 46, has shared he is ‘too difficult’ for his new housing arrangement weeks before he was due to move.
On her podcast, Katie explained: ‘Harvey is supposed to be moving in four-and-a-half weeks, they’ve changed management and said they won’t be able to cater for Harv, because he’s too difficult.
Katie Price revealed he was supposed to move in a month (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock) Harvey was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome, autism, and septo-optic dysplasia (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)‘So now I’ve got to find another placement for him… so yeah, more drama to deal with.’
She later added that this move had been ‘months and months’ in the works but with a month left to go, the arrangement collapsed.
‘He was told four-and-a-half weeks before that he couldn’t go there, and Harvey has been doing the countdown,’ Katie said.
‘Well it’s stressful because you want the right thing for your child and it is a lot of time and effort to go back and do more meetings, more forms, it is very time-consuming because you want the best for your child.’
Due to Harvey’s complex medical needs, finding the correct care for him has been difficult and in 2021 he moved to a £350,000 per year National Star College.
Katie had her heart set on the Gloucestershire college after visiting for her documentary Harvey & Me even though it is three hours away from her West Sussex home.
Katie is an incredibly hands-on carer for her son (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Last spring, Katie revealed they had been given three months to find somewhere new to live after a report allegedly found Harvey to have ‘no health issues’.
At the time, she said on her podcast: ‘With someone like Harvey, you need a transitional move, you need to do it slowly.’
‘I’m trying to find somewhere nearer for Harvey, but three months isn’t a long time.’
Katie has long been a huge advocate for her son, who she shares with former footballer Dwight Yorke, although he initially denied paternity of him.
They dated for a brief period between 2000 and 2001, during which time Katie became pregnant with Harvey, resulting in a traumatic birth.
She has been the full-time caregiver for most of Harvey’s life, and in 2020 discussed the difficult decision to enrol him in a boarding facility to receive special care when she was struggling to cope.
The then-16-year-old was a ‘danger to himself’, with Katie adding: ‘I don’t want him to go, but the doctors, mum, everyone is saying that it’s the best thing for him.’
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