Learning disabilities Chris and Sam’s married life!
Meet Sam and Chris Dixon, a married couple we support at Elmsmead, one of our specialist autism services in Somerset. They both have learning disabilities and require support in different areas of daily life.
Sam and Chris met at Elmsmead in 2004 and it was love at first sight! As their eyes met, sparks flew and, six months later, Chris popped the question!
Now, they live as a happily married couple at Elmsmead and are thriving with support from their specialist team. Even though they still require some support with daily living tasks, Chris and Sam are each other’s biggest fans.
Always on hand to boost each other’s self-esteem or provide essential emotional support, they empower each other to be the best versions of themselves!
Meet the love birds!
Behind this sweet love story, are two special people. Both loving and kind, they complement each other perfectly as they’re both outgoing individuals. But it hasn’t always been this way…
Super Sam!
Before Chris came into Sam’s life, she needed continued support from the team at Elmsmead. However, with the love of her life by her side, she can now confidently live a happy and fulfilling life with support from her husband!
Chris is truly Sam’s inspiration, and he has supported her to be where she is today with her independence.
Sam was brought up by her nan and had little exposure to social settings. This, coupled with her learning disability, meant she felt nervous going out by herself; a trait that stuck with her into her adult life.
When she first moved to Elmsmead, Sam wouldn’t go out into the community alone and needed the support of her team. Since Chris came into her life, there’s been a big shift in Sam’s confidence. Feeling safe and secure with her loving husband, Sam now regularly ventures into the community with Chris.
Chris empowers Sam to be the women she wants to be, and she is grateful of his support. So much so, they’re never far apart from each other! While this works well most of the time, Sam knows the importance of having time to herself – something her support team have helped her, and Chris, to understand.
With their support, Sam is reassured that she can enjoy some ‘me’ time, with her team on hand if she needs them. And, if she wants to nip out for a girl’s day, they’re more than happy to help!
Sam loves pampering herself and getting her hair and nails done at the salon. She loves perfume and has around 60 bottles! She could easily go through a bottle a week: Calvin Klein being one of her favourites!
With support from the team at Elmsmead, and with help from Chris, Sam has come out of her shell, getting out and about, participating in activities, and making memories with Chris.
Confident Chris
Chris has always been a confident extrovert, despite having a variety of challenges as a result of a mild learning disability and spilt personality disorder. He accesses the community independently and loves being involved in a variety of activities and events. His favourite thing to do is people watching over a coffee in the local town – something he now does with Sam!
An ambitious man, Chris likes to earn his own money and has previously worked as a cleaner, taking great pride in his work.
A couple of cuties!
Together, Sam and Chris are a vibrant couple and have a big impact on the local community. Saskia Reed, Service Manager at Elmsmead said “Everyone in the local community knows Chris and Sam and they are liked by everyone they meet. Wherever they go in the community there is always somebody waving or saying hi!”
Even though they are both confident when out and about in the local area, their learning disabilities mean they trust people too easily. Therefore, the team at Elmsmead ensure they’re both aware of the risks out in the local community and regularly check in with them on how they’ve spent their day.
Saskia and the team have built warm and honest connections with Sam and Chris – the couple know the team at Elmsmead have their best interests at heart.
Cherished memories
In 2015, Chris and Sam were happily married at their local church in Taunton, with many of their friends, family, and team members from Elmsmead in attendance as they tied the knot. They had a big celebration after the ceremony and the whole day was perfect – they couldn’t have been happier!
Growing together as a couple, they’ve now celebrated many anniversaries with their team at Elmsmead. Alongside their fellow housemates, Chris and Sam are encouraged and supported to navigate married life together.
Since they said their vows and made a commitment to each other, they’ve set to work making many happy memories! They both love to travel and have ventured to lots of exciting places across the south of England – their next stop is London! They’re determined to take a trip there to celebrate their birthdays and anniversary!
Sam and Chris have learnt about open and honest communication and use this both with each other and to interact with the team at Elmsmead. This means they’re supported and empowered to lead a fulfilling married life from a distance, helping them to continue making memories while enjoying some privacy.
Support and celebrations
For Sam and Chris, Elmsmead is where it all began. Their paths crossed and they haven’t looked back since. With the support of an established, long-term team who have been with them from the very beginning of their journey, they’ve built a strong bond and an even stronger marriage.
Our team at Elmsmead have also built a deep connection with Sam and Chris as both individuals and as a couple, offering the right support whenever they need it.
Using person-centred care techniques, the team have got to know both Chris and Sam inside out, which has supported them to blossom into a connected couple.
Their support for the couple knows no end, so much so, the team at Elmsmead throw an annual party to celebrate Sam and Chris’ anniversary, marking the moment they made their vows and sharing in the wonderful love they have built.
Goals for the future
As part of our specialist support, we’ve encouraged Sam and Chris to set some goals they’d like to achieve together in the future. They’re excited about making it to their 25th wedding anniversary in 2035, which will mark their ‘Silver’ anniversary!
The team at Elmsmead will continue to nurture their marriage to help them reach this huge milestone, breaking down the misconception that people with learning disabilities can’t form long-term, meaningful relationships.
Sam and Chris also want to continue enjoying trips away together. As part of this, we will ensure their future trips are planned in advance, budgeted for and achieved with the level of support that works for them.
But their goals don’t stop there! They both want to be able to share the same bedroom and move all their things together – a step our team at Elmsmead is working on with them as part of a seamless transition.
Chris has always wanted to express to Sam how he feels about her through his actions. He is excited to learn to cook dinner in the kitchen for Sam and take her on a special holiday!
A match made in heaven, Sam and Chris complete each other. With the unconditional love they share, and support from their expert team, they empower each other to thrive – and their families couldn’t be happier about the progress they’ve made since their wedding day!
Find out more about our learning disabilities support:
To find out more about our learning disabilities support and how we can help you, a loved one, or a client, fill out our simple enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.
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