Watching your child star alongside some of the world's acting greats in a Hollywood blockbuster would make any parent proud. But Sandy Lewis knew Max had more to prove than most, writes Caron Kemp

Max Lewis has Down's syndrome and he made his film debut as Cate Blanchett's son, Ben Hart, in British film Notes on a Scandal, realising his acting dream at just 12 years old.

Sandy Lewis and husband Paul were completely unprepared to raise a child with Down's syndrome. They knew very little about the condition and had no warning that Max might be affected.

The 44-year-old who lives in North Finchley, said: "It was a very traumatic time even though I had this overwhelming sense of love for him. My husband and I welcomed him into our family but I didn't know anything about the condition so it was a big learning curve and we hit the ground running.

"I was 29 when I had Max so I wasn't offered any tests for the condition as routine, but I am grateful for that."

After giving up work as an insolvency administrator to care for Max, Sandy - who describes having a child with Down's syndrome as both the best and worst thing that ever happened to her - started to keep a diary of her thoughts, fears and worries.

"It's very challenging having a child with special needs," she said.

"It's very difficult to watch him struggle with things that you and I take for granted. He has low muscle tone so things like writing are very difficult for him and his balance is poor and he finds it hard to articulate what he wants sometimes.

"But also it's really shaken up my world and made me reassess what's important. I have reprioritised my list of values in a much better way than I had before. We have to try to be far more realistic about our goals. So he has shown me another world that I wouldn't have looked at before."

And Max, now 15 and a pupil at Oak Lodge specialist school in East Finchley, inspired his mother to realise a dream of her own.

After landing the role in Notes on a Scandal following his involvement in Southgate-based theatre company Chickenshed, Max's drive and determination motivated Sandy to turn her private diary notes into a published book.

She said: "When I was on the set of Notes on a Scandal I figured that these actors are just normal lovely people and I could do something too, like write a book, so I set out to write it but never thought I would get it published."

Living With Max charts the first 12 years of his life, culminating in his acting debut, and Sandy has high hopes for the effect it could have.

She said: "The book is aimed at any person facing the future with a child who has Down's syndrome. It looks to paint them a very honest picture but a very humorous one. But it is also for the rest of society. Not in a judgmental way, but I'd like to educate the ignorance that is out there, those who think that people with Down's syndrome are a burden and there's no future for them."

And Sandy, who has another son Charlie, aged 12, is full of praise for Max and what he has achieved.

"He's a really big personality. He has a great sense of humour and he's very cute. He is very sociable but he is also content in his own company."

"We are very proud of him. It goes to show that Max was born into the world with a learning difficulty but everyone can contribute something and enjoy a wonderful life."

m To read more from Sandy Lewis, visit her blog at livingwithmax.blogspot.com Living With Max by Sandy Lewis is published by Vermilion (£12.99 hardback).