A BOY born with a rare disorder will be donning denim for a cause close to his heart.

After years spent trying to find out what was causing her son’s diverse medical issues, Tidworth resident Joanne Lockwood made a surprising discovery.

When her son Jack was 18-months-old, Joanne raised concerns about his development with her health visitors.

Joanne said: “Jack wasn’t doing what other children were doing. He wasn’t walking, in fact he didn’t walk until he was two, and his speech wasn’t there.

“He was referred to a paediatrician in Germany, where I was living with my then husband. The paediatrician noticed Jack had a wide bridge of the nose and eyebrows that merged together. Jack also had a heart murmur.

“He [the doctor] commented on how sociable he was with a stranger – an ‘over sociability’ - which he found unusual.

“Jack was tested for the genetic disorders Fragile X and Angelman Syndrome, which both came back negative.

“We finally got a diagnosis of Kleefstra Syndrome on Valentine’s Day 2017. It helped to find out the answer, to know it wasn’t something I had done in pregnancy. It happened as a ‘one off’ when he was conceived.”

The genetic disorder is so rare it is thought only 200 people in the world have it. Geneticists had been searching for a cause of Jack’s diverse health problems – dental abnormalities, dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech and learning delays, when the diagnosis was made.

The family are supporting Jeans for Genes day in order to raise awareness for those with genetic disorders such as Jack’s.

Jeans for Genes day encourages people to wear jeans to raise money for children all over the UK with a genetic disorders.

Jack, who is now 13, is just one of many children the charity supports and both him and his mum want to highlight the work the charity does.

Jeans for Genes day will take place on Friday, September 21, with people encouraged to wear their best denim and donate.

For more information visit jeansforgenesday.org