Life with my autistic sons: ‘How do you explain all the worries, the sleepless nights?’

‘How do you explain meltdowns, all the worries and sleepless nights?’: James Hunt, father of two autistic sons. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

My conversation with James Hunt begins the usual way: an exchange of hellos, followed by the most mundane of questions. “How are you?” I ask.

Although he responds predictably – “I’m all right … I’m good” – we both know that underneath this answer lurks a whole world of experience, and the plain fact that some people’s everyday lives are lived in extraordinary circumstances.