Roran Unrau

Kenton

Roran was born August of 2015. He is our second born son, and came into this world a bright-blue eyed, roly-poly little thing. In the first year of Roran’s life, we started to notice that he was hitting milestones late. Rolling from back to front and front to back took longer than is typical. He didn’t seem to want to crawl. We didn’t worry much that first year. Babies all develop at their own rates, everyone said. He’ll get there soon, we told ourselves. But he continued to stay behind. Around a year and a half old, through the advice of an Early Childhood Educator acquaintance, we sought a developmental evaluation. January of 2017,  we were slightly surprised to receive Roran’s diagnosis of autism.

Autism is a unique thing. There is a saying in the world of autism, “If you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism.” The meaning is this: there are different levels of severity on the autism spectrum. Many people with autism can advocate for themselves, live an independent life, and in many ways, live what one might consider an outwardly typical life. On the other end of the spectrum, you will find individuals who more closely resemble our son; Non-verbal, eloping, intense sensory needs, highly selective food preferences, the list could go on. For these difficult to overcome behaviours, Roran receives Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and is enrolled in the RELATE program. This a unique, RDI therapy based program, where parents are educated in childhood development, and the focus is building a foundation of trust, and reinforcing the parent-child relationships in our home. We are currently waiting to learn of his eligibility for a communications device.

Although Roran doesn’t communicate verbally, he certainly communicates. Occasionally we get small glimpses into his incredible mind through what he is able to convey. His resilience in his pursuit of connection with others is somewhat a rare find in severe autism. People often remark that his eye contact is a pleasant surprise, and more than once we have said and heard “I wish I loved anything as much as Roran loves ________”. His unbridled enthusiasm for the things he enjoys is a source of joy to anyone fortunate enough to witness it.  Some of his favourite things include swimming, trampolines, Pixar movies, nearly any dessert, and nearly any form of carbohydrate, especially potatoes.

As Roran matures and develops, his cognitive abilities and skills also develop. We continue to teach him whatever we are able, with the assistance of his therapists. It is a difficult to explain experience, as Roran’s cognitive development is not linear as you would find in a neurotypical child. His milestones and achievements do not follow the largely established timeline of typical childhood growth. Despite this, one can be certain that Roran will keep you on your toes! He is quick and he is clever. He has a distinct knack for finding things he ought not, or that most wouldn’t. He frequently has his friends and family shaking their heads in wonder and possibly frustration at his unusual accomplishments.

Roran is fortunate to have 4 siblings- an older brother, Garrus (9), and younger siblings Naomi(6), Beren(4)and Androl(1). It makes us very proud as parents as we often overhear Garrus and Naomi introducing themselves and their brother to others. They instinctively explain Roran’s differences to others in the same breath that they share their own names. We all love him so much and are so grateful to Little Valley Jamboree for walking with our family through this part of our autism journey.