From someone who works with him: Zeke is such a happy little guy. He loves to sit outside and watch the leaves blow in the wind. His eyes light up each time he is given attention. He loves to be held and even more loves to be tickled. Zeke has the cutest little dimples and a beautiful smile that can melt any ones heart! He is always in a good mood and very rarely cries. Even though his name was given to him recently, he already response to it! Zeke is a picky little guy and often requires special meals made for him as he doesn’t like what the other kids are having. He has only been here with us a short time, but has already touched many people’s lives. He is such a joy to be around and is loved dearly by his nannies, volunteers, and the other children! Zeke has very little control of his muscles. We are hopeful that with the right therapy he will improve in these areas.

Update Feb 2018: Getting to know Zeke is like unlocking a vault of hidden treasures. We have learned that he was picky about his food because even though he can chew, it’s a lot of work for him and he didn’t like having to put that much effort into every meal. Now when his food is blended he’ll eat pretty much anything! We had been figuring out what he wants by facial expressions and body language but his new special education teacher made him a board with yes/no buttons to press. He’s not always in the mood for it, but much of the time he can communicate well with this tool. It takes a lot of effort and concentration but he does have control of the movements in his right hand. We’ve also learned that in all his time in school over the years he has learned his letters and numbers. We are excited to see how he can continue to progress! With his board he has told us he doesn’t like his physical therapists because they make him work hard, but I think he knows it is helping him because he still goes without fussing.

Update Feb 2018: Quint has become quite mobile and is very steady walking, sometimes even trying to run. He hasn’t figured out the pedals, but loves to scoot around on his tricycle. While he still puts everything in his mouth, he does know the difference between food and other things and will always take it back out if it’s not food. He is learning to feed himself and does pretty well with a fork and is getting better with a spoon. He also holds his own sippy cup. We have been working on using the toilet and he still urinated mostly in his diaper but has many bowel movements on the toilet. His problems with making eye contact have greatly improved and he has been able to make some strong connections and attachments. He loves to cuddle and hold hands. One thing he struggles with is sleeping through the night, which has gotten a little better since he started taking melatonin but he’s still a pretty early riser!

Update Jan 2015: Peter has lived with us for the past several years. He has cerebral palsy and sickle cell anemia. He cannot sit independently, but he can hold his head up in his chair or during tummy time. He has a skin condition called, “kerion,” but this is usually fairly well controlled with special creams and shampoos. He has frequent muscle spasms and is on medication for seizures. In the past several months, we have seen Peter learn to express himself more, and are seeing more of his adorable smile! Peter recently had a g-tube placed and is now getting fed through this. He can also eat soft foods by mouth and these are offered to him regularly. Peter enjoys receiving special care and attention and really responds well to being able to attach to certain people he can trust. His favorite nanny tells us that he calls her, “grandma”.

Update Feb 2018: “Peter” is so alert and aware of everything going on around him. He is great at visual tracking and watches everyone carefully. He’s also starting to use eye gaze to communicate between choices and his new special education teacher has learned through this method that he knows his letters and numbers. He can’t control his movements well but can sometimes communicate on the yes/no board using eye gaze. Even though he is one of the oldest boys in the house, he still enjoys some cuddle time and will really relax if we hold him in the right position.

Carlton can move his wheelchair independently with his one good arm, or can turn around and go backwards using his feet to push (and looking backwards where he is going). He uses a gait trainer to run/walk, and when he is not in one of those he is always scooting or crawling on the floor. He can get in and out of his wheelchair, bed, and shower by himself.

Right now Carlton gets fed by an adult with a spoon. He can put food in his mouth with a fork if you put the food on the fork for him. He can pick up and drink his water by himself. He is a very fast eater, it might take him 5 minutes to eat his whole big bowl of food if it’s something he really likes. He is not a picky eater at all, and can eat all textures but does seem to prefer things that are softer like oatmeal or spaghetti.

Carlton  uses an iPad and a cookie sheet with magnetic letters/numbers/words in school to answer questions and do his work. He is very good at showing people what he wants by pointing to things and “grunting”. He just got an iPad all to himself so will start to use that at home too to communicate!

Carlton picks up on things extremely quickly! He had never worked on reading before, but one day about 6 months into going to school when he was 9 I realized he could read and rearrange letters on a cookie sheet to spell words in creole! After that he needed very little help to learn to read English. He is currently working on about a 6th grade level curriculum and learning algebra so that he has something to challenge him. He has a short attention span and needs to be reminded to stay on task quite often. He has a very low-tech “keyboard” which is just some papers that we can fit all the letters on and he can reach easily with his motor skills and he can type maybe one word at a time in response to a question now. He uses his left hand which he can move a lot less for school activities because when he uses his right hand he tends to get excited and not have as much control when touching answers.

Carlton needs help brushing his teeth, changing, and eating right now. He currently wears cloth diapers but tells us when he needs to be changed and goes down the hall to his room to get his pants and bring them to an adult.  Carlton is extremely healthy. In the almost 4 years I’ve known him he has only had a cold once. He used to have some halitosis but that has improved immensely.

Carlton has a lot of attention seeking behaviors. He plays on a much younger level than a 13 year old. He is always so excited to play with everyone, and receive attention from his friends or adults he loves. Carlton is extremely joyful and excitable! He needs lots of reminders to be gentle because he can get overexcited very easily.

Carlton likes to do anything that you are doing!  He likes helping when he receives a lot of encouragement and hanging out with his friends, foster parent, and nannies. His most favorite activities are singing, dancing, playing in the water at a pool/beach/sprinkler, going for walks in a stroller or his gait trainer, jumping and doing tricks on the trampoline, going for bike rides in his bike trailer, pushing his friends on swings, and chasing people.
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Update August 2019: Carlton has taught himself to read in Creole, and needed very little help learning to read in English. He can do multi-step word problems inside his head. Although school is very easy for him, he is not very motivated to do his schoolwork or find different ways to communicate. He has shown a little interest in a keyboard to type out words, but mostly he prefers to communicate what he wants with signs, gestures, and noises. He loves one on one attention but can also play quietly by himself if he is not competing for attention.

He can get in and out of his chair and bed by himself, and can independently move around in his wheelchair. He wears diapers and still needs help with eating. There is a very funny video of some things Carlton can do if you would like to see more

Update Jan 2015: Breckin has cerebral palsy, but he can sit up and stand with assistance. He can even take a few steps if you hold onto his hands. He has been receiving regular therapy and loves this time. Breckin is making great improvements – he now has a modified crawl that he uses to get all around his house and can quickly move to wherever he wants to be. He can also pull himself up to stand and does this often. Breckin does not yet feed himself, but he has practiced holding his own spoon and sippy cup and has made great progress. Breckin is a happy little guy who loves to play.