ETHAN’S HEALING FROM AUTISM By Sam Hays Page 1

Ethan’s First Two Years

Born in Jun 2003, Ethan was a very contented baby and people always marveled at his quite nature. He was
content in his own little world. As he grew, he became obsessed with Hot Wheels cars and playing with them in only
a few specific places in the lounge. My wife Jackie and I joked that he would make a great car park attendant. No
matter how many times we waved to him, we could not get Ethan to wave back. He did not say much for a long
time. Ethan did not walk until 19 months. When he finally did start, he loved walking down the aisles in a shopping
centre looking out the corner of his eyes. He walked like that for 12 months, looking sideways. Ethan would
consistently do the opposite of everything he was asked to do. We had his hearing tested and it was perfectly
normal. At one year old, Ethan became intolerant of loud noises or crowds of people. Although manageable, all this
was very confusing to us as parents, until his twin brothers were born…...

Ethan’s Brothers Arrive

When Ethan was 2.5 years old his twin brothers were born and all hell seemed to break loose. Ethan refused to
walk. We had to carry him everywhere. Any small progress he had made with words stopped. His eating and
sleeping habits and many other developments regressed. He refused toilet training. Tantrums were common. We
soldiered on through that first dizzy year with twin babies and Ethan’s difficult behaivour. Ethan was so
unmanageable in the church Sunday school I spent every Sunday morning isolated with him in the church coffee
lounge while Jackie looked after the twins. We almost stopped attending church for that reason but I’m glad we
didn’t. We understood the value of community and our need for it especially during this difficult time. My daughter
Ashleigh (then 19) nannied the boys 20 hours per week and this helped us survive that year.
One saving grace that year was Ethan starting long day care two days per week near my work on the RAAF Base.
This gave Jackie some dedicated time with the twin boys which really helped. Ethan loved driving in the front seat of
the car with me (not recommended with the passengers air bag as I later discovered) and watching and listening as
oncoming cars whizzed passed us. He insisted I drive with my window down so he could get the full effect of the
noise (this became quite a challenge in winter!). Not much conversation was had on those trips but we had a good
driving routine and we sang Ethan’s favourite songs (with a lot of help from CDs).

Moving House and Pre-School

When Ethan was 3.5 years and the twins were about to turn one, we moved house and community and renovated
the new place. Looking back, this upheaval was a significant change to Ethan’s routine and great stress for all of
us. As the twins boys got more active, Ethan became very territorial and aggressive towards them. He would kick
and hurt them constantly. When they began taking their first steps, Ethan would knock them down. There was no
emotional connection between Ethan and his little brothers at all. We constantly refereed between them. So the
twins did not walk until they were 18 months old. Ethan attended pre-school that year and he found one friend who
had ASD that he played with to the exclusion of all other children. His play was disruptive in the group setting. We
got prompts from his friend’s parents, the preschool staff and Ethan’s grandmother to have him assessed by a
pediatrician.

Ethan (left) and his friend Don at Pre-school in 2007

making rare eye contact
 ETHAN’S HEALING FROM AUTISM By Sam Hays Page 2

The Diagnosis
When Ethan was 4 yrs old, he was diagnosed with autism; in one way Jackie and I were sad but in another way we
were relieved that there was finally a reason for all these difficulties. We were told that Autism would be life long
disability for Ethan but with the right early intervention, Ethan would develop, but would always have challenges. We
spent the next six months getting all the early intervention support established while learning more about this
disability. There was a massive amount of information available and many agencies offering help so it was hard to
absorb the information and know what was most important at the time. Caused by deficiencies in neural pathways
in the brain, Autism generally manifests in three distinct areas: delayed speech development, delayed social
development (eg. No eye contact, lack of empathy, inability to read social cues and emotion), and
repetitive/obsessive behaivour (eg. Playing only with one toy to the exclusion of all others). Of course no children
will manifest all the same traits.

Ethan’s First Year at School

In 2008 when Ethan was 4.5 years, he attended the five day per week, fully funded early starters program at our
local public school. We knew this was going to be a challenge for Ethan but we had observed his positive progress
when mixing with kids who were more advanced than he was. Due to his diagnosis, Ethan qualified for 20 hours per
week of teacher’s aide support at school. This was essential for his survival in the classroom, toileting, and on the
play ground - I thank God for the government’s generosity. Ethan was at the bottom of his school class in every
respect; he had limited language, struggled to relate to his peers, and was very slow in his development.

In April 2008 during a Christian conference in Sydney, I had a revelation that God wanted to heal my son from
Autism. As a Christian I always understood that Jesus was in the healing business, but I had not paused long
enough throughout the diagnosis and support establishment period to consider that God’s healing might be
applicable to Ethan’s autism. I sensed God asking me this question:” Sam, what do you want me to do?” I said
“Lord, I want you to heal Ethan of his Autism”. So from that moment on, I began praying in faith over Ethan for his
healing. A special team of staff at the conference also prayed for Ethan’s healing.

Ethan’s Healing Begins

When I returned home that weekend, I immediately saw small improvements in Ethan’s speech and behaivour. It
was nothing spectacular but the changes were real and I was encouraged. God had heard my prayer by giving me
a small sign within Ethan. I continued praying regularly for just a minute or so by laying hands on Ethan and
declaring God's healing truth over his mind and nervous system, just as he was getting ready to sleep. There were
many ups and downs in the months that followed but I thanked God for every small step forward for my son.
Relatively rapid improvements kept happening in his speech, social skills, school work, and many other areas. By
mid 2008 his teacher reported that Ethan had been accepted by his peer group and that she was pleased with his
progress. Although he was still at the bottom of the class in every area, we were encouraged by this report. I could
see how God was working in Ethan and through his therapists, his teacher and our friends to accelerate his
development. See below how Ethan had a dramatic improvement is his colouring ability from Feb 08 to Sep 08.

Ethan’s colouring March 2008 Ethan’s colouring September 2008

 ETHAN’S HEALING FROM AUTISM By Sam Hays Page 3

By the end of 2008, Ethan continued to improve and he actually scored a few Average marks. He developed
severe constipation during this period and this affected his behaivour and stress levels and slowed his rate of
progress. I continued to regularly declare healing over Ethan and thanked God for his incremental progress.

Kindergarten and Accelerated Healing

In 2009, at 5.5 years Ethan started Kindergarten and continued to develop in all areas although he really struggled
with phonics and sounds. To my horror, Jackie took Ethan to the Newcastle Show in Feb 09 (Sydney Easter Show
2007 had been such a disaster I could never face taking him somewhere like that ever again) and much to my
surprise, he actually enjoyed the event and was not at all stressed by the crowd and noise levels. Ethan said to his
mum as they whirled up and down on the roller coaster: “this is the best fun mum” Wow, what a change - that was
amazing! By May 09, Ethan’s s occupational therapist reviewed Ethan’s progress at school both in the classroom
and in the playground and concluded that there was no need for further OT early intervention. Ethan’s teacher also
advised that his most of his teacher's aide support in the classroom was being used for other more needy children.
By mid 2009, Ethan’s report showed that 80% of his marks were now Average and 20% were Below Average. This
was a remarkable improvement relative to his peer group (remember every score was Below Average last year).
His teacher was also amazed at his progress - Ethan had even begun to have conversations with her. He was also
getting along exceptionally well with his peers and his aggression towards his twin brothers had reduced. Ethan
had even begun to be affectionate towards his brothers and they began playing very well together. His play at home
had expanded to a large variety of toys from the previous few repetitive things.

Changing Schools and Continued Healing

With Ethan’s encouraging progress, we took a leap of faith and transferred him to an Independent Christian School
in Medowie in Term 3 of Kindergarten (2009). Ethan’s government funded support was reduced from $17,000 per
p.a. to just $1000 p.a. due to the discriminatory nature of the State and Federal system education support for
learning difficulties. Despite this lack of government support and through the generosity of staff in his new school,
Ethan actually received better support (another answer to prayer) and he continued to thrive and develop in all
areas.

2010 and 2011 Update

Ethan has grown into a beautiful boy who loves school and is
very popular with his peers. He loves Soccer, trampolining, and
just recently learnt the joy of riding a bicycle. Ethan still has a
few challenges with English expression and comprehension but
his overall healing has been remarkable. His younger twin
brothers have both been diagnosed with ASD and are also
progressing well. We continue to thank God for all these
remarkable improvements and for God healing Ethan’s neural
pathways in his brain and nervous system. Ethan's healing
continues today and I praise God for His Word that is powerful
and active.
Ethan and his Mum
Want to Know More?

I am so convinced that God wants to heal many more people of Autism (and all sickness for that matter) that we
have included a prayer support service for healing and other needs within the Hunter Connect support group that
was established in 2009 to support families affected ASD. For more info on Hunter Connect see
www.hunterconnect.org.au or find us on Face Book.

The manifestation of Ethan’s healing is on-going so if you would like an update on Ethan or want to know more
about God’s desire to heal you or your child, please email sam@hunterconnect.org.au or call 61-414-456572
(Australia).

Regards,
Sam Hays
May 2010