Samantha loves collecting things. Whether it’s shells on a beach, or rocks on a trail, she will spend hours searching for that special prize. Many, many pencils and erasers have also been collected and are carefully hidden away.

When Samantha was a baby she was as sweet as can be. As a toddler, she was happy and easygoing. She was diagnosed with Fragile X at age 5. For us, it was somewhat of a relief to find out. We knew something wasn’t quite “normal”, but had no idea what was wrong. Now, Fragile X is simply a part of who she is and we work together to meet each new challenge as it comes.

We feel very lucky to be her parents. We know in our hearts that we were specially chosen to be Sam’s mom and dad. Watching Samantha navigate through the world with such success is nothing less than amazing. Each day as she continues to function with high anxiety, we see more and more skills developing. The future looks bright, and we know there is a place out there for Sam to fit into. But for now… we’d like to just keep helping her find the next treasure to collect.