When Jo Bourne from Wigan first started sharing videos of life with her son Harry on TikTok two years ago, she never imagined it would grow into a community of more than 200,000 followers.
Harry, now 12, is autistic and also has ADHD. He is bright, funny and full of energy — but he has no sense of danger. In crowded or unfamiliar places, he can suddenly bolt, which makes outings not only overwhelming but potentially dangerous.
Now taller and stronger than his mum, keeping him safe has become even more challenging, but as Jo told us when we met her, she “likes a challenge”, and she has certainly risen to it.
Jo began her TikTok account, PrinceHarryHasAutism (@joannebourne12), to educate people about autism. Too often, when they were out together, she noticed strangers staring or making hurtful comments.
By sharing their real family life online, Jo hoped to replace judgement with understanding — and her honesty has resonated with thousands of parents and carers across the world.
She told us: “Being the parent of a child with SEN (Special Educational Needs) is hard, and I set this up to show people what Harry CAN do, instead of what he can’t. There is enough doom and gloom in the world, and we have an amazing community.
“People have really taken Harry into their hearts and it’s just amazing. We have a lot of SEN parents, probably the biggest part of the following, we have people who are autistic, and we have people who just want to learn about autism.
“They say they understand why that child maybe isn’t a ‘naughty child’ and now we get a lot less of those judgemental looks that can be heart-breaking as a SEN parent”.
Harry, meanwhile, loves being outdoors. He enjoys the everyday things other children take for granted — like trips to Tesco — as well as more adventurous activities such as paddle-boarding.
Jo is determined that he should have the chance to enjoy those experiences, just like his peers. But without extra support, it was often too risky. On days out, hand-holding wasn’t always possible, reins felt babyish, and wrist straps often triggered meltdowns.
When Harry was about 4, she developed her own harness, describing it as a “waist to waist device, cobbled together from all sorts of paraphernalia, which kind of worked, but it wasn’t practical, and was terrible to look at”.
So, she designed a prototype, and with the help of a small factory in Ashton-in-Makerfield, The Harry Harness was born.
The way it works:
Both the parent and child wear a strap around their waist, connected by a secure Freedom Attachment about one metre long. By shifting the connection to the waist rather than the hand or wrist, it feels less restrictive while still ensuring safety.
For Jo, it was the difference between staying at home and being able to enjoy life again: “Without the harness, we would never leave the house,” she explained.
Jo quickly noticed that people began asking her where she got the harness – friends, teachers, strangers in the park, and many of her followers on TikTok. She began to realise it could help other families and carers, and made the brave decision to go into mass production.
Jo and Harry hosted the official launch via a TikTok Live, going live at 5:45 PM ahead of the product becoming available at 6:00 PM on Wednesday 13th August.
I actually watched the launch on TikTok myself, I’ve been a long time follower of Harry, and, it was emotional, to say the least, with Jo freely admitting her emotions were all over the place.. and saying she’s so proud of Harry, and what they’ve achieved. And rightly so. Even before the live started, people had The Harry Harness in their baskets!
"I hope we're making a difference, it doesn't matter how small, as long as it's something and we're moving forward where autism and other disabilities are concerned. I just want Harry to have a happy life where he can live his life how he needs to live it and not how other people think he should be living it."
Jo told me: “I don’t care if I sell ten or ten million, if it makes a difference to once family it’s worth it.”
I personally think she’s incredible, and told her so when I met her, her reply was “I’m not, I’m just Harry’s mum.”
And this is what this is about for Jo, at the heart of it is her Harry, who she’s dubbed Prince Harry as he has ‘always been treated like a prince’, the boy who loves Tesco trips and paddle-boarding, and who “keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn’t have him any other way”.
You can find out more about the The Harry Harness here.
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