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An Ottawa family was able to attend a momentous, once-in-a-lifetime event thanks to the can-do attitude and swift action by a CHEO social worker and her team.
Atreus Samra, who just turned six, was recently diagnosed with autism. He has significant sensory challenges that, for Atreus, means he doesn’t sleep very much, and he is very sensitive to stimuli like noise and water.
Atreus also requires a strict routine. For example, the family must do groceries on the same day, at the same location, each week.
“He likes consistency in all things. He doesn't deal well with new people. He doesn't deal well with new environments,” said his father, Roger Samra.
The idea of attending Roger’s eldest son’s wedding over the summer near Montreal seemed daunting at best.
This meant sitting in a car for several hours there and back, and the event itself — clapping, cheering, celebrating, and so many new faces— would be too challenging for Atreus.
“He gets very apprehensive ... and then he'll start to scream,” said Roger, who explained these outbursts can last several hours.
The family then shared their dilemma with CHEO social worker Julie Donais.
“I just said, ‘I think you'll regret it if you don't do this trip. ... You don't have to stay very long, even if it's for the ceremony,’” said Donais, who began problem-solving with the Samras.
Roger and his wife Janet, Atreus’s mom, mentioned that noise-cancelling headphones could possibly help, but they were too expensive.
Donais wanted to see if CHEO could help pay for them — and they could. The headphones were purchased thanks to donors from the CHEO Foundation who help families where government funding doesn’t support the cost of equipment they need.
The timing was tight, but the order was approved and delivered to CHEO just in time for Donais to jump in her car and deliver the headphones to the family.
Roger had Atreus test them out right away inside the home as their neighbour mowed his lawn.
“It was like night and day,” he said. Atreus didn’t even react to the noise.
On the drive to the wedding, he didn’t react when a loud motorcycle zoomed by.
“It doesn't solve everything, but it did give us the ability to go on this trip. And I mean, it meant everything to our eldest son, that we were able to make it,” Roger said.
“It was just an amazing, amazing feeling to be able to go.”
Atreus still had difficulty with certain things, which his parents expected, but the headphones helped him throughout the trip.
"It really kept him sort of confined into his own bubble, and he had his music because he has this playlist of 230 songs,” said Roger.
Atreus loves music on the calmer end, especially classical. When he enjoys a new song, it gets added to the playlist, including John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads, his grandma’s favourite.
That was playing as the family travelled home, down some country roads, as Roger reflected on attending his son’s wedding. And the fact he even delivered a speech.
"I felt such joy. My wife Janet cried and cried, and she was ecstatic. She couldn't believe it either.”
That feeling, and the Samra family’s experience, is why Donais finds the job so rewarding.
“I'm there to try and advocate and push to make sure that kids have everything that they deserve. And I think families just feel heard, and they're so appreciative,” she said.
“That's why I've been loving this job.”
Atreus now uses headphones for grocery trips, and they help him deal with unexpected noises. His dad calls this new tool a “miracle.”
On Sept. 17, 2024, Rehabilitation Day in Ottawa, we celebrate all staff within our Development & Rehabilitation teams who are dedicated to helping children, youth and families.