LAURA & EVAN
The extraordinary strength of an inspirational single mum to a child with additional needs
After years of unsuccessfully trying to conceive, my partner and I were thrilled to discover I was finally pregnant. We did all of the things people usually do when preparing for a first baby, it was exciting and daunting in equal measures but we braved it together. When Evan arrived, he was everything I could have hoped for and we were instantly smitten. Our journey had begun, only it wasn’t the journey I thought it was going to be.
I noticed Evan wasn’t developing typically fairly early, and he was not meeting the expected developmental milestones. Evan’s gross motor skills did not develop any further over the following months and his
communication and language skills did not develop as anticipated either. At 13 months, after hoping he would ‘catch up’, and after battling with several health professionals and being made to feel like I was ‘just another neurotic first-time mum’, I finally managed to get a referral from our GP to a Paediatrician and Evan underwent all kinds of tests and assessments. This was new territory for us all and it took its toll; we had to make difficult decisions and sometimes Evan’s dad and I did not agree on the best course of action. Sadly, the relationship broke down; there were many contributing factors but our son’s differences/needs were part of that. I became a single parent, trying to navigate a new unknown without the support of Evan’s father.
At 14 months, Evan began receiving regular therapy sessions from physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy. We were also referred to the portage service (preschool education service for children with SEN) who visited us weekly. It was Evan’s portage worker that first broached the subject of Evan