Big Brother My Life

Action. Hello, I'm Aidan and this is my mum.

-Hello.

-This is my brother.

-Hello.

-And this is my scary dad.

-Hello.

And this is where we all live.

-'Aidan and Ethan are brothers from Cambridge who have a unique relationship.'

-You all right?

'Ten-year-old Aidan has a form of dwarfism which affects his height and movement.

'He has inherited this bone condition from his mum, Michelle.'

The best thing about being smaller than everyone else

is that you can fit down the back of the sofa,

and it's handy for when you're playing hide and seek and things,

cos you can hide where everyone else can't.

While his dad works away from home, 14-year-old Ethan often has to cook,

do the housework and care for his mum and brother.

Ethan, can I have a drink?

Sometimes I am annoyed with looking after and doing jobs,

but I just have to do it and that's life.

Michelle and Aidan are shorter than average, so some people

see them as unusual and make fun of their appearance.

People at my old school used to take the Mick, like calling my mum a midget and Oompa Loompa.

And because his family is seen as being different,

Ethan has been severely bullied by other children to the point where he's had to change schools.

Both boys face very different personal challenges this year.

After an operation to straighten his legs, Aidan has to learn how to walk again.

Will he achieve his ambition of walking up the stairs at home completely by himself?

And will Ethan be able to put the bullying behind him, and fit in at his new school?

If I had to describe Aidan in three words it would be

cheeky, loud and full of big words.

He would describe me as irritating...

..like a mouse in the skirting board.

That's not fair.

The best thing about having a brother

is that you get to boss him about, and if I didn't I wouldn't be able to do anything when Dad's not here.

I'm a support worker for adults with learning disabilities

and my shifts range from early mornings to 9:30pm,

which means Ethan has to do things

that not every child has to do for his family.

I've been going for quite a long time for my mum and my brother.

I think it was since the age of eight or nine.

It ranges from day to day obviously, depending on how I am.

But he can cook meals, he empties and reloads the dishwasher.

He's very handy round the house.

Ethan, what's it like to care for your mum?

You've given me a bit of a difficult question.

Just say what you feel.

It's quite hard...

To know that I do more than any of my other friends...

looking after my mum and you.

It makes you quite handy as well though,

thinking of all the things you do.

-It will be all right when I'm older.

-You'll be set up for when you move out!

When Ethan needs a break, he goes out to his local Young Carers' group

where other children who look after their families can get together and relax.

I like being friends with Warren

because we can talk about our families and not be worried about what they think.

People at school just don't understand what

your mum's or some of your family's going through

and unless you tell them the whole story they won't understand.

People at my old school used to take the mick, like calling my mum a midget and Oompa Loompa.

I've found out not to tell anyone at school.

Over the years I've had quite a bit of bullying. In my old school.

How it started is they'd ask why my mum was small and I'd tell them

that she was born with a bone condition and...

they just thought it was funny cos she was small.

And then it just got worse and me, like, protecting myself,

shouting back, and then it started to get physical.

I found it quite hard with them bullying me cos I didn't know

how to take it and I used to not be able to go to school.

I did have anger management.

I couldn't really take it and one time I got rushed into hospital because I hit a window,

taking my anger out on the window,

cos I didn't want to hit anyone else.

At the height of the bullying, Ethan was walking with his mum when he was attacked in the street.

Me and Mum were walking back from a party and a boy just walked up to us and started shouting.

He then pushed me off my bike

and I hurt my knee and my hand,

and he started hitting me and kicking me,

asking me who I was.

I didn't reply

and he retaliated more.

I managed to get away on my bike

and he threw a glass bottle at me and it hit me in the back.

And then broke in front of me.

And then...

I phoned the police and they came about two minutes later.

It was a very scary night.

Yeah.

After I got attacked I had to go to court and I had to give evidence of what happened on the night.

I was quite frightened of seeing the guy in court.

But luckily I had a video link.

On a scale of one to ten, I think confidence-wise I'm about six.

During the bullying, it would probably be about two.

Now that Ethan has told his story in court, he faces a long wait to find out the court's sentence.

Ethan and his parents have decided he needs a fresh start to get away from the bullies.

To build up his confidence at his new school, Ethan is learning how to DJ.

OK, so we've been asked to put on an event, and it's a big event

that we're going to hold in the hall for end of term.

This time we're going to do a club DJ event.

How are we going to make that more exciting? Ethan.

-Use different effects like scratching and mixing.

-That's it,

you're going to engage the audience through your music.

Aidan faces a very different challenge.

Aidan and I both have the same bone condition.

Aidan and Michelle have a condition called skeletal dysplasia in which their bones don't develop properly.

It affects all our joints and it's a curvature of the spine which Aidan

has had corrected, and also all the long bones are curved as well.

The other operation Aidan's had is to straighten his legs.

And...

What's it like to be small?

I've always been small, obviously, so...

it's hard to say.

It's very annoying with things like cash point machines,

when you can't reach to get your own money out of the wall.

It used to bother me a bit when I was younger, didn't like always being the smallest,

but yeah, it's not too bad being small, really.

What's it like having a son the same as you?

I used to feel a bit guilty that I'd obviously been the one who'd given you the condition,

but...

you are a lovely boy and you've got a brilliant life,

and you get on with things as well, like I do.

This is my favourite book and it's called

Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.

And I like it because it's got lots of

creatures and things.

And there's a sprite,

a knocker, it's very creepy.

Here is a dragon.

This is my favourite,

cos he's a bit like me, and he makes lovely jewellery, and it's a dwarf.

Aidan is desperate to regain his independence and walk upstairs by himself,

and so he has to undergo intensive treatment to build up the strength in his legs.

Push through your legs, good boy.

'He is certainly pushing much better through his legs and he's moving'

much better with his elbow crutches so he's progressing really well.

Big step from just last week.

So just to recap, Aidan, the short-term goal

is for you to walk upstairs to your room without any walking aid.

And then for next year, the aim is for you to go out and play football.

That'll be fab, won't it?

But the next stage in the treatment means that Aidan

will have to confront one of his biggest fears.

'Working in the pool would be easier for Aidan at this stage

because of the buoyancy of the water, so it will support his weight

a little bit better than working in the gym.

There is hydrotherapy planned for Aidan,

but he's petrified of water due to the fact that he had

a tracheostomy - which is a breathing tube in the neck -

a few years ago, which means he couldn't go in water.

-I don't want to.

-Do you know what, you have to.

It's going to be quite a big hurdle for him to get over that.

Ethan has been trying to support Aidan at the hospital and at home

but Aidan doesn't always want his brother's help.

Aidan had a fall this morning. He slipped while using his crutches,

which upset him quite a bit, and then Ethan was trying to help him get up off the floor.

And Aidan kind of took it out on Ethan, even though it wasn't Ethan's fault.

We just started shouting and having a go at each other.

And after a while he did let Ethan pick him and up and put him in his wheelchair,

but he was in quite a bad mood for a quite a bit of the time till we got to school, really.

It can be a bit frustrating when

I want to do something myself but Ethan comes and helps.

Sometimes it can be good because you don't have to do everything

when you can't sort of do it yourself.

That's the first beat of the bar and that's what we're always looking for as a club DJ...

'But Ethan has his own problems too.

'It's just two weeks till the Club night and his solo DJ spot.

'Will he ready in time?'

'When you're mixing you've got to make sure the speed is the same

'and you got to make sure you cue up the tracks.'

And then we have to scratch or mix it in with different songs.

Me and Harry talk about the event quite a lot, planning out

what songs we are going to play how we're going to play them.

The challenge for Ethan is finding five or six suitable tracks for his audience to listen to,

finding a creative way to mix one into the other

and hopefully satisfying his year group in the process.

I think they've probably got quite good reason to be nervous.

'If I'd been DJ-ing just a few weeks then I'd be feeling nervous as well. But nerves are definitely'

a good thing when it comes to performance. That means they care about what they do.

I'll probably play fast and beaty music, Harry plays the older kind of music.

# I don't want another pretty face I don't want just anyone to hold

# I don't want my love to go to waste

# I want you and you're beautiful So you're the one I want to chase

# You're the one I want to hold... #

'Harry's a good friend. He's funny.

'He embarrasses me a few times.'

These are the tracks I'm going to be doing on the disco on Wednesday.

Ethan has to run his final selection of tracks past his fiercest critic, his brother.

-You don't like it?

-It's rubbish. It sounds like the record's stuck.

Cool.

That's wicked.

All right!

This is where we get all the audience on the dance floor, dancing.

'Aidan is coming to the club night. How will Ethan's new classmates react to

'seeing his brother for the first time? And will it lead to a repeat

'of the bullying he suffered at his last school?'

Boring!

I'm feeling all right about Aidan coming in, cos maybe they'll understand

what he's like and how he is.

I'm a DJ!

I think the worst thing about it going wrong is me messing up,

when I've got an audience and if they're jumping about and then I mess it up and it stops...

they all boo

and don't like it.

# Electrify my body and you're making me feel like I'm so electric

# Everything you do... #

Ethan and his friends have come to see top club DJ N-Type

to get some advice on mixing tracks for their event.

-What inspired you to be a DJ?

-A love of music, really.

I love playing tunes and wanted to interact with the music and basically play to people and get the vibe.

Do you have to have a big personality to be a DJ?

I think it's most important to play the music you want to play and play it the way you want to play it.

'Ethan and Harry have learned the basics of how to mix from one track into another at school.

'DJ N-Type will show them how to use special effects to make their mixes more dynamic.'

I'll cue the tune and then you can do the effects on the filter and then we'll do

some bass juggles as well cos this tunes got a nice bit of bass that comes in on the intro.

If you take the bass down, I'll take the bass up on this mix, yeah?

Now you can do the bass lines on here.

So if you turn that one down, I'll turn this one up. This one.

Ready? Now.

Wicked, that made a nice little blend at the end.

It was really exciting to meet DJ N-Type. I really enjoyed it.

It has inspired me to be a DJ when I'm older.

-We're all quite nervous about the disco.

-I'm not.

Ethan has to leave his rehearsals to help Aidan, who has outgrown his old wheelchair

and wants the family to help him choose a new one.

-Hi, Michelle, I'm Barry.

-Pleased to meet you.

-And you.

-Hi, Aidan.

-Hello.

-All right, mate?

-Yeah.

-Jolly good.

Shake my hand. School boy error. MICHELLE LAUGHS

-Right, so we'll look at the day chair today?

-Yeah.

You can get really cool wheelchairs.

When I was first in a wheelchair we had wheelchairs that weren't so cool, then they brought out

the modern ultra light wheelchairs, which revolutionised peoples' lives.

You've got to be practical obviously,

and meet your needs, but being cool...

It's vital, absolutely. Especially when you're an Arsenal supporter.

Right, it's torture time.

Cool!

-I like it.

-You're getting faster.

It's really light.

I want to buy the shop.

You can if offer me the right money you can, and I can retire then.

-How much?

-Oh, a couple of million would do it. MICHELLE LAUGHS

I've only go 120.

What, 120 million?

-No, £120.

-What do you think they'll think of your wheelchair at school?

-Wicked.

-It would make your life easier, wouldn't it?

-A lot of people spend their money on cars,

I'll spend all my money on a wheelchair.

'Although, with luck, Aidan won't be using his new chair as much.

'After another physio session, he's a lot more confident on his crutches.'

Do you want to go and get the newspaper for me?

I think that's been delivered.

Well done, you.

You're getting good at that, aren't you? Shall I take that from you?

Thank you very much. Well done.

Are you worn out now?

And that's a wrap!

But the stairs he so badly wants to climb are, for now, still too steep for him to manage.

So he has to take the lift instead.

Hello.

In order to achieve his goal, Aidan has to face his biggest fear, the hydrotherapy pool.

To start with he was very, very nervous,

clinging to the side of the pool and didn't want to get in.

Lots of kicking.

Once he was in there and he felt secure because I was in the pool with him,

I think the next few sessions will boost his confidence immensely.

I want you to turn round and put your bottom on there. Well done.

Shall we book another session next week?

'When I got in the pool for the first time,'

I was very worried before I was going to go in it.

But then afterwards

I didn't want to get out again.

'The biggest test for Aidan now is whether he can walk down the steps unaided.'

You can sit down on that step can't you? That step you're on...

You can sit down.

Well done. Very good.

Then turn round onto there.

You're in.

Don't fall through the hole.

Ethan's first big challenge at his new school is still to come.

It's a few short hours before Club Night,

and just time to make his final preparations for the gig.

-Nervous?

-Yeah.

Why?

You've done it once before.

Yeah, I know.

I've done a Shakespearian monologue on here before.

I'm a Shakespearian actor, I think you can do some... black banging beats, lads.

Ethan's quite nervous - he hasn't been on the stage much before, and his name's on the poster.

'It's quite a big thing for him tonight.'

I'm feeling quite nervous about the audience watching and listening.

Aidan's coming along a bit later, so I think that will make me less nervous.

I think Ethan's going to be nervous about doing the DJ-ing tonight

because he's going to be doing it in front of all his friends.

It's more pressure for Ethan because Mum and Dad will be watching.

How are the levels for you, guys, are you OK up there?

The whole school has turned out for the club night. Harry plays the first set

and warms up the crowd.

# Baby, you're all that I want When you're lying here... #

Michelle, Lee and Aidan arrive, waiting for Ethan's big moment.

# I'm finding it hard to believe We're in heaven... #

Ethan comes on stage and plays his first track.

It's time for Ethan's crucial first mix.

Will he get the timing right?

MUSIC: "I need air" by Magnetic Man

With the crowd cheering him on, Ethan feels confident enough to invite his special guest on stage.

How will Ethan's classmates react to seeing Aidan for the first time?

# You're makin' it hard for me I need air...

# I need air... #

CHEERING

THEY CHANT: Ethan!

The boys have gone down a storm and Michelle is really proud of her sons' achievements.

It's quite scary but once Aidan came on I really enjoyed it.

It really helped me when I was helping him

and I weren't scared no more.

Ethan did a good job...ish.

Ish?!

Ethan has made a great start at his new school,

but he is still finding it hard to put the attack behind him.

But now Michelle has had a telephone call from the court where Ethan had to give evidence.

He is about to find out how the court has sentenced his attacker.

They said he could either have a tag and/or a curfew.

He's got 80 hours of community service, which is unpaid work.

If you think about that, 80 hours is quite a lot, isn't it?

He's also got a 24-hour attendance centre order,

which is basically like school at the weekends,

and he's got to pay £100 compensation to you.

Finally, Ethan can put the attack behind him and move on.

It's over.

The advice I'd give someone who's getting bullied

is to tell someone and not suffer in silence.

After another successful hydrotherapy session in the pool,

Aidan feels ready to tackle his personal goal.

He wants to attempt to climb the stairs completely on his own,

even though it is a month before he was expected to be fit enough.

Has he set himself too hard a challenge?

-Are you going to give it a go up the stairs, Aidan?

-Yeah.

Go on, then.

-You OK?

-Yeah.

Aidan is only halfway there and already he is struggling and out of breath.

Well done.

Come on,

nearly there.

-Tiring?

-Yes.

-That good?

-Hard.

When I climbed up the stairs I felt really proud and happy with myself.

Aidan's done it and no-one could be more proud than his big brother.

I'd like to play football next.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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