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May 2010
Carlos is looking forward to summer. He remembers some of the summer camps from last year and is already talking about attending this summer. Carlos is also looking forward to the Wild Rivers opening for the summer season later this month.
Carlos continues to make tremendous gains with his language. Although he continues to have tantrums when he is extremely frustrated, Carlos is now better able to use his words to get assistance solving his day-to-day conflicts. Being educated with his typical peers has helped Carlos increase his communication skills, as well as his social skills. After school Carlos frequents our local library where he loves to read and access the various learning materials.
November 2009
Carlos' adoption was finalized un late September. We were all happy that Carlos is finally an official member of the family. While I am certain that Carlos didn't really understand the adoption process but he was quite happy about his trip to the toy store after the court date!
Carlos continues to improve his speech and his language is growing and growing. Carlos can still be a very stubborn boy but at least now he can protest through his word and less through kicking and screaming. Carlos does love the holiday season and is on his best behavior so he can participate in all of the fun holiday activities. Carlos is adding to his Christmas list every day which gives us a daily opportunity to remind him that Santa appreciates when boys and girls are well-behaved!
July 2009
Carlos' adoption is ready to finalize. We are just waiting for a court date. His adoption will be finalized in San Diego which will be a new experience for me. I am looking forward to making Carlos my 43rd officially adopted son, and my second son with the last name of Belles!
Carlos finished a month of summer school and a week at Special Camp for Special Kids. Both Carlos' summer school teacher and his camp counselor noted how much speech Carlos had compared to last summer. Last year, this time, Carlos was wearing diapers and had a some single words and a few common phrases. He used his behavior mostly to communicate and was completely resistive to toilet training. This summer Carlos out of pull-ups and can use the bathroom with reminders. He is speaking in sentences and unique phrases. Carlos uses his words much more than is tantrums to let everyone know his thoughts and preferences. Like me, everyone is so excited about Carlos' growth.
April 2009
Carlos has just grown leaps and bounds since I last wrote. He is not only growing physically but also developmentally. Carlos is talking up a storm now. While he is not always understandable, he is definitely communicating, Carlos is talking in sentences and using a wide vocabulary. Carlos continues to work on his syntax and his articulation at home and at school. Carlos is also showing much more success with his toilet training. Yeah!! This has been a struggle for a long time so we are all thrilled to see such progress. Finally it is becoming easier and easier to take Carlos in the community. In the past he would dart out in the street or run away from the group. Lately Carlos has become much more cooperative and even interested in our various activities. Carlos especially loves outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing. Carlos loves going to the tide pools and the beach and will spend a long time focused on finding various sea life. Its wonderful to see Carlos' progress and we look forward to continued skill development.
November 2008
I am happy to say that we are close to being able to finalize Carlos' adoption. We have only a little more paperwork to complete and then a court report can be written. I hope the adoption will be complete no later than January 2009. It is amazing how far along Carlos has come in one short year. Carlos continues to grow by leaps and bounds in his communication and with his personal care. Though we still struggle with toilet training, in other areas Carlos is moving right along. Carlos has also improved his social skills. He can actually sit down and interact with an adult or a fair amount of time. In the past Carlos could be a little Tasmanian Devil. He was in constant motion with little regard for adult direction. Now Carlos will comply more times than not when adults give him direction. It has also been fun to watch Carlos with all of the holiday activities. He LOVED Halloween and is still drawing bats and witches whenever he gets a chance. I can wait to see Carlos' face when we start with all of the Christmas activities!
September 2008
Carlos started kindergarten this month. He is enrolled in both a special day class and a regular education class. Carlos continues to amaze us with his development of speech. Carlos had almost no words when he was placed with our family. Currently he is using lots of single words spontaneously to express himself. Carlos has even used a few sentences! Carlos is also learning some sign language to augment his oral speech. In school Carlos is learning how to draw shapes and use scissors. He is also working on his toilet training. Carlos continues to make good academic and social progress daily.
We are also ready to finalize Carlos' adoption but we have to wait for a developmental evaluation which is scheduled for December. Once this is completed we can move forward with Carlos' adoption. :-)
May 2008
Carlos has transitioned into our family very
well. He is playful and loving toward his new
brothers. Carlos loves the activities that our
family participates in, he especially enjoys
going to Legoland! Carlos loved having some many
brothers and so many presents at his recent 5th
birthday party!
Carlos also continues to do well in school where
he is working on increasing his communication
skills. Although he continues to make progress,
Carlos' lack of verbal communication has
hindered his social and academic growth.
Although we were worried that Carlos' lack of
language development might be due to a hearing
impaired, recent audiological tests confirmed
that his hearing is perfect. Next year we are
fighting to put Carlos in a regular kindergarten
class instead of a special day class, We were
actually shocked when his special day preschool
teacher disagreed with our desires. In any case
we will certainly fight for Carlos' right to be
educated in the least restrictive environment.
Its amazing in this day and age that we are
still fighting for such basic rights of
inclusion.
February 2008
Carlos is four years old and is the most recent member of our family. Carlos joined us at the end of the month from the San Diego area. Carlos has lots of biological family involvement so we are glad that we all live fairly close to each other. Despite his diagnosis of autism, Carlos is a very engaging little boy. While he has limited language skills Carlos is able to get his point across through pointing and vocalizations. Carlos is attending preschool at our local elementary school. He enjoys school and is happy to be taking the same school bus as Dylan. Carlos loves Disneyland and McNuggets! We are excited to have Carlos join our family at such a young age. We are very excited to be able to parent him and feel confident that with such a large and supportive "forever family" Carlos will thrive.
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