Samuel John Ward was born at 1.55am on 28th November 1998, weighing a hefty 10 pound 6 oz.
I remember our little boy Samuel John Ward turning 1. He'd been walking for one week and all was going well. He began throwing himself on the floor and banging his head on the tiles if he didn't get his own way. Oh my I thought, what do I do now?
At 18 months, I noticed no eye contact. I remember just wanting him to look at my face. Not knowing what lay ahead. All I could think of at the time was to have a positive connection for that 1 second. I often held his little face in my hands and said "I love you". Samuel was 4 when he first said "I love you" all by himself. Not just parroting, all by himself. We just cried. It was so beautiful.
Samuel's behaviour progressively got worse and worse. We avoided going out in public where possible. It wasn't arriving somewhere that was the problem. It was leaving the toy/toys that he'd attached himself to at any given location/house. Whoever we were visiting would say "Just take the toy home for now". We did try this but as far as Samuel was concerned as soon as it entered our home it was his.
Samuel was exactly 3 years and 2 days old when our daughter Kiana was born. Yes, two days apart, aren't we clever!
I used to take Kiana to Queensland Health to be weighed and measured. Samuel was approx 3 years and 2 months and still jibbering. I knew what he was trying to say so I would often speak for him. Many people said "boys speak late" etc etc etc. I asked them to test Samuel's speech. They weren't too concerned at the time, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. Queensland Health did ask if they wanted me to go on the public waiting list to have further tests done if I was still worried. They said the waiting list was 5 months wait to test his hearing and speech. So I thought, why not! I'm better to check things out and find nothings wrong hey!
Sam's behaviour was shocking. I felt I had absolutely no control at all. Every trip to the doctor and hairdresser was a nightmare. Samuel would freak out, crying, kicking and screaming that much, he would vomit. So we would end up walking out with half a haircut. This sounds horrible but I used to feel so embarrassed to be near him I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole. I'm sure the doctor thought he was demon possessed!
We tried all sorts of things. Like the hairdresser coming around to the house. No go. Toys, distractions, every possible bribe we could think of. No go. I remember saying to him "your name is Samuel not Samson. You need a haircut". As if he'd understand that . . . :)
Ian Shellshear - brought balance back into our lives. Basically looking after ourselves, adequate time out to be able to cope, emotionally, physically & mentally. One night out a fortnight. Time out! What was that?
