6-year-old Chuck is described as an energetic and curious boy with a lively personality. He is attached to his caregivers and teachers, and tends to prefer adult relationships over playing with other children. Chuck was originally cared for by his parents, both in their 40s, as a baby. Sadly, his mother became terminally ill and she asked her friend to care for him before she died in May 2020. His mother knew his father would not be able to care for him, and ultimately, his father soon died as well in September 2020. After the father’s death, the friend brought him to authorities and said she could no longer care for him, and no other relatives accepted care of him. It is known that his mother had two children previously—one that is an adult with an unknown disability, and another child who is a teenager and lives with the mother’s younger sister in Indonesia. Unfortunately, Chuck has had a few different placements, including being moved from one children’s residential home after it was determined that five different caregivers had physically abused him.
In May 2021 at the age of 27 months, Chuck had a cognitive functional age of 17 months. He has shown slow progress over time. During the October 2024 visit by the social worker, he was able to identify shapes, name colors and select certain colored pens from a group, but occasionally struggled with matching colors correctly though he has significantly improved since previous visits. A psychologist noted in October 2024 that he is able to learn basic concepts one at a time, but struggles to learn multiple things simultaneously and often forgets what has been learned the previous day. They will evaluate his developmental progress. Even though he has problems remembering what was learned, he has a strong memory in daily life matters. While at the age of 2 years old, Chuck was noted to have significant delay in both gross and fine motor skills, Chuck has shown improvement in both areas. As of August 2024, he could walk independently, jump with both feet, and throw balls/beanbags; however, he still needed help climbing stairs and balancing on one leg. While he used to loose his balance and fall when walking, he is now steady without assistance. With regard to fine motor skills, he can thread beads, unscrew bottle lids, hold a pen to connect dots, and is learning to draw vertical and horizontal lines. Tasks that involve hand coordination such as folding paper, fastening buttons and using scissors are areas he struggles in, but he is receiving therapy services. CHI is seeking updated information on his skills.
Chuck wears glasses due to astigmatism in both eyes as well as refractive errors. He has normal hearing. When he was 2, he was noted to have significant speech delay, but this too has progressed substantially. At the age of 4, he was mainly using single words or sometimes very short phrases, but by August 2024 he was able to express his needs and wants in simple sentences as well as being able to respond to questions. As stated above, CHI is seeking updated information.
While Chuck has learned to express his needs and wants with words and simple sentences, he still gets frustrated and cries or sometimes has a tantrum when he is upset over something. It has been found that he responds well to tangible rewards and consistent boundaries to help him learn to manage his desires and emotions when he can’t have something he wants and to know what to expect. Chuck is sensitive to loud noises which leads him to be hyperalert and scared. Chuck is also afraid of unknown males and of dogs. However, once he knows a man he is more at ease around them.
Currently, Chuck is scheduled for testing regarding suspected Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder due to observed behaviors and tendencies and also suspected Autistic Spectrum Disorder due to hypotonia in his legs, for which his also getting an MRI and genetic testing.
