2nd April 2025 Roman’s Story – Rediscovering expression with Rose Road
Nine year old Roman lives with his mum Sam and sister Eden, 6.
Roman has been diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, OCD and Tourettes. Although when he was younger he would talk, write and he loved to draw, in the last few years he’d started to lose these skills in what is known as an ‘autistic regression’.
Sam says: “Seeing these skills disappear was quite distressing, because it came with increasingly challenging behaviour from Roman as he struggled to express himself".
"Meltdowns increased and I think his mental health was getting worse as he got so frustrated. I could no longer take him out with his sister, he never had an outlet or chance to reset. The house felt like a bit of a prison.”
In August 2024, Roman was referred to Rose Road’s outreach service, which offered flexible after school and weekend sessions. He started to visit the Bradbury Centre’s soft play – a safe, quiet space where Roman can burn off some energy and play safely. He also takes trips out with specialist two-to-one support, which gives him the freedom to explore.
She continues: “Rose Road have become an extended part of the family. Roman has had opportunities to do new things that wouldn’t be safe for me to try alone, like swimming or going to the park. He’s built real friendships with his support workers too – they’ve taken the time to understand him and they’re people he feels safe with and trusts because of this.”
One heartwarming achievement for Roman is a return to drawing since enjoying new experiences with Rose Road.
During a recent trip to the park with Rose Road, Roman spent a long time whistling to a robin and picking daisies. Not only was his focus and interaction lovely to see, but when he came back to Rose Road, he drew the robin, daisy and himself in the park.
His mum also described his fascination with drawing flags and looking up words in the flags’ languages to write down. It’s a rare activity they have started to enjoy together.
Drawing like this is a vital way for Roman to express himself, process his experiences of the day, and give him opportunities for meaningful interaction, which supports better mental health, reduces his frustration and helps him to feel safe.
His mum concludes, “Roman’s regression means he’s still struggling and his behaviour at home is still challenging, but I’m happy that he’s getting that valuable outlet with Rose Road now to do new things and have fun”.
“Vitally, Rose Road’s support also gives me and Eden a snippet of freedom to do things she can’t do when Roman is at home. He had his first overnight stay at Rose Road recently, which he loved, and Eden and I went camping; a completely new experience for her and valuable time for us to share together".
"It allowed us to press the reset button to carry on. I can’t thank Rose Road staff enough, it’s been a godsend.”
This #WorldAutismDay we're raising awareness of the needs of young people like Roman, and his family.
Roman receives specialist 2-to-1 outreach support and overnight stays with from Rose Road so that he can safely access and explore the world around him. This also gives his family with much-needed respite so that they can spend valuable time together knowing Roman is having fun too.
Rose Road becomes a vital lifeline for families and we can only continue to make special moments for young people like Roman thanks to the support of our generous community, who help to enrich our services and create more opportunities for play and adventure.
