Aryan’s Story - Young Dads Project

(The names in this case study have been changed, but the case remains the same).

Aryan is a 20 year old Dad living with his partner and their son Rohan (now 5 months old) all together in his parents home. 

Dads Rock project worker, Amy, first met Aryan when his son Rohan was a month and a half old. Their Social Worker contacted us because she felt Aryan needed more support to express his feelings and come to terms with being a new Dad. This was Aryan’s first proper relationship and he was just getting used to being with someone when after 3 months she fell pregnant. Due to his partner’s home life the baby was placed on the child protection register before birth and Mum decided to move into Aryan’s home with his parents where they still live with their son. 

It was clear to Amy that Aryan was struggling to acclimatise - from being a single young man to now being a father with a live in partner. The young family were having a really tough time coping with their baby son's multiple health issues as he had to undergo procedures in hospital and had a milk allergy. Understandably all this was making Rohan a very fractious baby. This would be a difficult situation for any parents to cope with, but Aryan found it particularly stressful and was struggling to interact with his son and support his partner. Aryan felt unable to show any emotions and recognised that he came across as uncaring - he did not want to upset his partner but couldn’t understand what was needed from him. On top of all this, the baby was born during the initial lockdown, which posed a significant issue and was really impacting Aryan who was unable to work or take Rohan out and about.

Aryan didn’t think he could play with his son until he got older. Now he can make his baby laugh and they have bonded well.

Aryan believed that he couldn't really do anything with Rohan until he was older and could walk and talk and play football etc. With Amy’s support, he was able to understand the importance of early interaction and play and was shown many engagement techniques to try out. Being able to make Rohan laugh and smile has been a huge encouragement for Aryan and he has continued trying out various activities and techniques from Amy’s suggestions resulting in a much closer bond with his son. He is still looking forward to the day when he will be able to play football with Rohan but is now able to enjoy the early days too.  

Amy has also been engaging and cooperating with the many agencies involved with the family. She was able to help Aryan understand the need for a social worker to be involved as he was very apprehensive about it. Although he had a good relationship with the social worker assigned to them, he was unsure of the purpose and how long they would be with them. 

Due to the progress made and the actions Aryan and his partner have taken to ensure their child is safe, Rohan has now been removed from the child protection register. The child is thriving, the parents are enjoying being parents and together they are finding their way as a family.