When you have a baby there’s a list of developmental milestones to be ticked off. We as parents spend the first year or so worrying about the exact timing of each. We’re told not to compare our baby to others but we do it anyway. Is she crawling yet? Has he got teeth? If Big Sister were anything to go by it’s all over in a flash and it doesn’t really matter when they happen because eventually they all do.

Except in Quinns’ case they don’t. I threw out that list a very long time ago. It’s no longer important that he hasn’t met a milestone that he was supposed to have met at four months. Of course, we celebrate every small step he takes but he is nearly four and there’s no point dwelling on something that his friends are no longer working on. They’re onto bigger things like socialising with friends, learning to read, experiencing life and becoming more and more independent.

Even although he’s not met some of those first milestones (and no, we don’t know whether he ever will) he is just the same as anyone else his age.

It doesn’t matter that he can’t walk because The Bug helps him move around (and hopefully soon the Wizzybug!) It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t use words to talk. His body language, facial expressions and of course, the eye gaze computer all allow him to communicate with anyone willing to take the time.

We weren’t supposed to compare our babies and we’re not supposed to compare our children. However I actually find comparison a really useful tool in ensuring inclusion and independence for Quinns.

I often ask myself what was Big Sister doing at this age? What did we allow her to do or not allow her to do. Would we have taken her to Alton Towers at four; no, probably not. Would she be going to friends’ birthday parties; yes, she would.

Thankfully she helps uphold the rules. She grabs the toy from Quinns’ hand at the dinner table declaring ‘no toys at the table’ because that is what she was always told.

When I turn on the eye gaze for Quinns at mealtimes he immediately goes to the vehicles section. I hear truck, van, car, ferry, dinghy etc over and over again. That probably sounds familiar to any parent of an almost four-year-old boy.

That’s why it’s also really useful to compare with Best friend. So what activities is Best friend enjoying or not enjoying at the moment? Would he go for a sleepover at this age? Is he independent at a birthday party? What is he learning; the alphabet, his numbers?

I also compare myself to the other mums. Where are they at the party or in the swimming lesson? Where they are is where I need to be.

I don’t want to miss out on eating cake and chatting because I’m supporting Quinns to play party games although at this point I may not be the only mum sitting in the circle. At the swimming pool I need to ask myself what Quinns needs for me to be able to sit and watch while he has a swimming lesson.

How he gets places may be very different from his peers but with a little bit of help he will get there and hopefully, if I do my job right, he won’t have the embarrassment of his mum hanging around when he’s eighteen and in the pub with his mates!