Keith's joy on Mia's Communion day

24th May 2008

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/keiths-joy-on-mias-communion-day-1397888.html

The same weekend the Boyzone star takes to the stage with his bandmates after an eight-year absence, the proud Dublin dad watched his autistic daughter celebrate the special ceremony with her class-mates.

Keith, who previously hailed her astonishing progress as a "miracle", was joined at the local church in Rolestown, in north county Dublin with his wife Lisa and son Jordan (12).

What made the occasion even more special is that Keith has fought a long, hard battle to receive the appropriate treatment for Mia, who was diagnosed with the condition when she was just 18 months old.

"My daughter is in a mainstream setting now and it's more than we ever hoped or dreamed of," he explained.

And it's thanks to the support that she received in schools like ABACAS in Kilbarrack, which uses the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) method, that she could join a mainstream school near Swords last year.

Miracle

Given that extent of her condition, he described it as a "miracle" when Mia walked through the gates of Rolestown National School last September for her first day of school.

He told the Herald that at one stage, he feared that she would be dependent on her parents for the rest of her life.

But after receiving intensive treatment from the north Dublin school, she has progressed in leaps and bounds, resulting in her celebrating her First Holy Communion today.

Keith, who has raised more than €4m for Irish autism charities, also credits his daughter with helping him see what really counts in life and was partly responsible for helping him re-unite with his bandmates.

"Mia taught me a lesson: that's what a real problem is -- and that has to be dealt with emotionally. The childish bitterness and upsets you have in relationships are insignificant and it all made me realise how lucky Ronan (Keating) and I were. The childish bickering was just that: childish bickering."

While he spent today helping his daughter celebrate, he'll be up in Belfast tomorrow for the opening night of Boyzone's long-awaited reunion tour at the Odyssey Arena.