JWoww’s estranged husband had a "nervous breakdown" when their son was diagnosed with autism.
The ‘Jersey Shore: Family Vacation’ star believes three-year-old Greyson’s battle with the disorder – which can cause problems with social skills and speech – put a strain of her and Roger Mathews’ marriage because he didn’t want to believe that there was anything wrong with the little one.
Speaking to Us Weekly magazine, the 33-year-old reality TV star said: "I took the initiative for getting [my son, Greyson] help. That was a huge argument between Roger and I. [He said], ‘He’s fine, he’s fine.’ [Roger] had a nervous breakdown in the paediatrician’s. My heart broke for him because he was like, ‘I just want my son to walk down an aisle and have a family of his own.’
"Roger believed that Greyson was a slow learner and he was going to learn on his own. That caused a lot of tension on our household because we have one parent like, ‘I need to get ahead of this and fix it,’ which is me, and then you got another parent like, ‘What are you doing? It’s not a big deal.’ "
JWoww revealed that Greyson had been diagnosed with the developmental disorder at the end of last year but admitted at the time that he was coming on "leaps and bounds" with his speech.
She said: "He’s non-verbal [but he’s making] positive, positive development! He has co-therapies [every] week but we’re going to step it up a notch soon and get him ABA treatments, speech therapy. He’s made leaps and bounds when it comes to speech … He’s understanding words better which was his issue. Not that he couldn’t speak, but he would never know what his shoe is or if you said, ‘Greyson,’ he actually didn’t even know his name at one point until he was a little over two. So now that he’s understanding simple words, he’s come so far."
However, Greyson still struggles to communicate with his four-year-old sister Meilani.
She explained: "It was really heartbreaking and frustrating as a mom when you see other two-year-olds that are speaking and living their best life. Greyson is living his best life. He just doesn’t know what you are saying!
"It’s just a challenge and it’s getting him to hang in with Meilani which is the biggest challenge. Whenever you have two kids that are on two different wave lengths, it’s always amusing, but Meilani still thinks she’s an only child which is also an issue."
JWoww and Roger split up in 2018 and the brunette beauty is now in a relationship with professional wrestler Clayton Carpinello.
JWoww’s estranged husband had ‘nervous breakdown’
