Parenting a child with intellectual disability can come with untold challenges. When that child grows up, what little support that may exist often disappears.
Colin Farrell is bringing awareness to this issue by sharing his experience as a special-needs parent. His 21-year-old son, James, has a rare genetic disorder called Angelman syndrome, which causes intellectual disability. The actor opened up for the first time about the joys and struggles of his life with James in a People cover story in August. “Once your child turns 21, they’re kind of on their own,” Farrell told the magazine. “All the safeguards that are put in place, special ed classes, that all goes away, so you’re left with a young adult who should be an integrated part of our modern society and more often than not is left behind.”
James is the reason why, in 2024, he started the Colin Farrell Foundation to help people with intellectual disabilities and their families. The organization plans to support community-based housing and day programs and, eventually, a camp for kids and young adults and their caregivers.