On the surface, the Montague family is the definition of perfection when it comes to a family.
Mark and Annie are happy, loving and their two 11-year-old twin sons have the happiest grins when they’re running around playing on the beach. However when you see their home, especially what’s on their lawn, it seems as though things aren’t as perfect as they seem on the surface.
Let’s be clear here, Mark and Annie’s home is absolutely beautiful, with incredible attention to detail.
It lives in a beautiful neighborhood in Southeast England, but behind their home, on their lawn is another structure that looks a bit run down. If you just drove by their house, you might think it’s a shed that’s seen better days.
But when you look inside, you won’t see an assortment of lawn tools. Instead you’ll see a table, a couch, a few chairs and one lone painting screwed into the wall.
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So it isn’t a shed, but then what exactly is it? Well, Mark and Annie explain that it’s where their 11-year-old twins are ‘kept.’ Now your mind might immediately jump to the worst case scenario, however their reasoning for doing this is certainly not what you’d expect!
All the way back in 2006, Annie gave birth to her beautiful twin boys, Samuel and Jacob. After the celebrations of having two beautiful, happy and healthy boys, Mark and Annie both noticed that something just didn’t seem quite right. We all know that babies are supposed to be very expressive, often with big grins and huge eyes admiring the incredible world around them! But Samuel and Jacob had blank expressions most of the time and it seemed as though they lacked emotions.
Mark and Annie desperately struggled connecting with their babies, a crucial part to development. As the babies quickly passed their first birthday, the lack of emotions continued. Mark and Annie had tried everything, but when they ran out of ideas, they took the twins to the doctor.
The news was very bittersweet for Mark and Annie. They were relieved to know what was wrong, but it was difficult for them to accept.
At just two years old Samuel and Jacob were diagnosed with severe autism. With the diagnosis, Mark and Annie were able to learn how to handle their twin sons better, but as they would soon learn, things were only going to get worse from there. The twins would become destructive the older they would get. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they would also stage escapes, which forced Mark and Annie to surround their home with a high fence and even chicken wire.
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Mark and Annie were at wits’ end. They had no idea that their twin boys would be this difficult. Unfortunately, when they sought out professional aid, they were turned away. Professionals encouraged the parents to put their child in an institution. An incredibly tough choice for any parent, even Mark and Annie despite the troubles they were having with their sons.
But Mark and Annie weren’t about to give up on their young boys. Instead they remained determined and persevered.
But relief was soon on the horizon when Mark and Annie heard about the Son-Rise Program. After years upon years of struggling, Mark and Annie had finally found a program that would work for them. In fact, they can’t help but sing praises for the program now. Their boys are way more manageable now.
While the structure is intended to help improve the boys’ behavior, it also helps protect them.
It may not like look like much on the outside, but this seemingly run down structure has vastly improved the lives of Mark, Annie, and most importantly, their twin boys.
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