Husband and wife team, Leila and Steve Souch of 3RS IT Solutions, have been living with autism as part of their family life since the birth of their middle son, Reuben in 2019 and are keen to highlight the positive aspects of autism during Autism Acceptance Week, which takes place until 6th April.
Both are candid about the challenges they have faced over the last six years in getting the answers to the questions they need to fully support their son but hope that by sharing their story, they will inspire others to understand and embrace the unique challenges and joys that raising a child with autism brings.
The family believe Reuben started to show signs of autism after being hospitalised with an infection when he was just six months old and they have since faced an uphill struggle to get answers they need for their little boy.
Thankfully, Reuben responded well to treatment, but Leila and Steve, who are also proud parents to Riley and Rory, with a daughter also due this month, became concerned when they noticed Reuben wasn’t hitting the usual development milestones.
Even with a diagnosis, Leila and Steve felt they were forced to fight a complicated system, and faced ignorance and prejudice from those who don’t understand autism.
“People sometimes underestimate those with autism but the fact is that they can be so smart, especially in Reuben’s case. In fact, he uses an iPad to help him communicate and Steve installed a range of security measures to help protect the device. But Reuben managed to uninstall it all. We’re not sure how he managed to do it but we really do think he has a bright career ahead of him around cyber security!”
Despite the challenges faced, Leila says that since Reuben started school in October, his communications skills have come on in leaps and bounds: “The special needs school that Reuben goes to is absolutely amazing. They are really caring and fully understand his needs.
“It’s only been a short amount of time since he started school, but having been non-verbal, his speech has come along massively. He is constantly saying ‘no’ and ‘mummy help’.
“Steve and I are so proud of how far Reuben has come. He is five now and it’s not been an easy ride to get where we are, but you just need to keep on fighting.
“For any parent out there living with a child with an autism diagnosis, my advice is don’t give up. It can be hard getting the answers you need and can feel like no one will help you, but bear with the process and never give up.
“By sharing our story, we hope to challenge employers to really think about the opportunities which are available to people with autism. Sometimes, just making small changes to the way you work can make huge a difference and open up doors for so many people.”
As parents to three boys, and having a daughter on the way, Leila and Steve also wanted to work with a charity that supported children and made a real difference to young lives and future generations. That’s why they chose Children’s Air Ambulance as their Charity of the Year for 2025/26.
The partnership reflects 3RS’ ongoing commitment to supporting vital community initiatives and making a meaningful impact on children's healthcare services.