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See Jonathon's Graduation Pictures!
December 2011
Jonathan has finally moved back into his house. After a long summer of remodeling and repairs the house was ready in November. Jonathan was thrilled to be back in his room. He loves all of the changes and was especially excited about the remodeled bathrooms and the new beige carpet, although he said he would have preferred "red carpet." Jonathan enjoyed decorating his house for Christmas and next year wants to enter the neighborhood contest for the best decorated house.
Since Jonathan quit his structured day program last year he has been working with some of his younger and more disabled brothers in their home school program. Jonathan helps out by pushing his brothers' wheelchairs and assisting with their toileting and feeding program. Jonathan says he enjoys the work and of course he loves getting an I-Tunes gift card at the end of every week! Despite Jonathan's struggles with mental health issues he is generally happy with his life.
December 2010
Jonathan enjoyed a trip to Colorado to celebrate his sister, Bethany's, birthday. Sallie escorted Jeffrey and Jonathan on the trip. The guys got to spend some quality time with their sister. They were able to see where she lives and even got to meet her adoptive parents. This trip was definitely the highlight of Jonathan's year.
Jonathan continues to make improvements on his house. The previous owners ha a lot of shoddy work done and now Jonathan has to replace everything from the floorboards to the furnace. The process of hiring contractors, waiting for approval and the construction itself is very stressful to Jonathan. In fact he has spent a lot of time at Sallie's house while much of the work is being completed. Poor Jonathan, any extra stress can definitely trigger significant mental health issues. We are trying to accomplish most of the construction as quickly as possible so that Jonathan can return to living full-time at his house.
May 2010
Jonathan is having plumbing and structural problems with his house. We have been working steadily with the plumbers, electricians, painters and contractors to get the house in ship. With so many workers in and out of his house, Jonathan has been a little stressed out lately. Luckily Jonathan has lots of support and he has been keeping it together, mental health wise. We are helping Jonathan choose activities to do during the day that keep him out of the house and away from the chaos. Jonathan has been taking adult swim classes with one-to-one support and he is also participating in adapted rowing classes. Jonathan has also been receiving some intensive vocational training in hopes of getting paid supported employment in the near future.
November 2009
Jonathan continues to be stable with his mental health. He has even dropped some of the weight that he gained as a result of his psychotropic medication. He is looking good and feeling good. This really makes all of us in Jonathan's circle of support very happy. Jonathan continues to participate in his Special Olympic bowling league and attend church on a regular basis. In his free time, Jonathan is working on his Christmas wish list as well as preparing his Christmas cards. We hope he can make it through the holiday season without an major mental health episodes.
April 2009
Jonathan's mental health has been stable for the past few months. He seems better able to follow a conversation and to contribute to a conversation in an appropriate way. Jonathan has also lost a little weight that he put on due to his medication. All in all Jonathan seems the healthiest he has been in a while. Jonathan's struggles with mental illness can be both scary and sad. He has had many severe episodes of mental health breakdowns over the past five years that any period of time Jonathan can go without an episode requiring hospitalization is a time for our family to celebrate!
Jonathan has enjoyed keeping in contact with his biological sister through weekly phone calls and e-mails. Of course Jonathan has lots of contact with Jeffrey, as they live less than five miles away from each other. Jonathan wishes he could keep in contact with his biological brother, Justin, but has been unable to do so. Family is very important to Jonathan both his birth family and his adoptive family. I am happy that Jonathan has been able to maintain some healthy relationships with his specific members of his birth family while happily supported by us his adoptive family...
November 2008
Jonathan is looking forward to the holidays. Jonathan loves our Thanksgiving tradition of eating at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant which serves a fabulous holiday buffet. During the month of December Jonathan also enjoys searching the Internet to find items to put on his Christmas list. He participates in the Christmas parties were are invited to and loves to still take his picture with Santa Claus. Most of all, Jonathan enjoys all of the extra church activities that happen during this season. in the meanwhile Jonathan continues to participate in volunteer work with SUCCESS Day program although he continues to want paid employment.
September 2007
Jonathan had a wonderful time on his Alaskan cruise and land trip. He spent weeks traveling with his roommate. Jonathan loved cruising and amazingly had no significant behavioral challenges. He enjoyed taking pictures of the wildlife and watching the cool Las Vegas-type shows on the ship. Jonathan made good work of the ship's buffets and dessert extravaganza! Jonathan says he would like to take another cruise in the future! Jonathan recently celebrated his birthday with about 40 people. He had a bar-b-que dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs along with a whole slew of other salads and chips. Jonathan received a lot of nice
birthday gifts including gift certificates, a digital camera and clothes. What a great month for Jonathan!
May 2008
Jonathan has a wonderful time in Las Vegas. He liked
walking the strip at night and seeing the sites during
the day. Jonathan also found enough food that he would
eat at the various buffets to make each meal enjoyable.
Jonathan continues to make slow but steady improvement
with his behavior, Jonathan has a wonderful and caring
heart but his mental health issues often challenge the
people who support Jonathan throughout his day. Everyone
who supports Jonathan has to be very tuned in to
Jonathan's daily moods and behaviors. When something
isn't right with Jonathan it must be addressed
immediately before a full-blown mental health crisis
occurs. Keeping Jonathan on a steady track takes lots of
work and dedication. We can not thank Jonathan's
circle-of-support enough for their continued efforts on
behalf of our son. With the full support of everyone
involved in Jonathan's care we are sure our son would
not be able to live in the community safely and
successfully. Every day Jonathan gets through without a
serious mental health crisis is a blessing for Jonathan
and our whole family.
February 2008
Jonathan has been doing well at home and in his day program. His behavior has been stable both at home and in his day program. Jonathan has eyes-on supervision at all times. Even though its hard to predict when Jonathan might have serious mental health issues we have been successful keeping him stable with constant supervision.
Jonathan still enjoys attending church and going to the movies. He loves to research the latest movies and has a regular movie date with Sallie on Monday afternoon. Jonathan continues to bowl on the weekends and is planning a weekend trip to Laughlin in a few months.
November 2007
Jonathan is still struggling with a bland and depressive affect. We believe that Jonathan needs different medication to help him maintain appropriate behavior but allow his personality to come through. Jonathan continues to participate in a bowling league and looks forward to going to church every week. Thanksgiving he spent with the whole family at Mrs. Knott's Restaurant for a holiday buffet. Even with these favorite activities Jonathan shows very little emotion. We are keeping our fingers crossed that a better medication combination can be found for Jonathan.
September 2007
Jonathan continues to struggle with mental health issues. Jonathan was fortunate enough to be accepted into our local mental health clinic which specializes in care of dual diagnosis patients. Some of our past struggles were finding psychiatrists who had experience with individuals who have both developmental delays and serious mental health challenges. Jonathan has already received an extensive multi-team evaluation from this clinic and is experiencing some success with the recommendations of medication changes. We are hoping to see our "old Jonathan" again. In the past Jonathan was a quick-witted and alert guy. He was funny and interesting to be around. Recently Jonathan has been much more quiet and subdued. It is often difficult for him to hold an extended conversation and he is frequently tired. We hope with the right support we can help Jonathan return to his fun-loving self!
July 2007
Jonathan is enjoying his day program now that he has graduated from high school. Due to his mental health issues, Jonathan requires quite a bit of support to be successful. Currently he is participating in various volunteer work. Eventually Jonathan would like a paid job, possibly in a movie theater. We are trying to stabilize Jonathan's behavioral issues so that he can work at a job that he prefers. Besides working this summer, Jonathan is also enjoying a visit from his biological sister, Bethany. Bethany visits with Jonathan and Jeffrey once a year and both boys really look forward to her visits. Jonathan was most excited that he was able to take Bethany to his church on Sunday!
April 2007
Jonathan "graduated" from Westminster High School last month. Jonathan was having some behavioral challenges at school and it was determined that a change of programming would be best for Jonathan. Jonathan was actually scheduled to age out of the public school system in June. Currently Jonathan is attending the SUCCESS Day Program with two staff supporting him. Jonathan seems to enjoy this day program and the variety of activities in which he gets to participate. Jonathan was happy to graduate and start "work." Eventually Jonathan would like to work in a movie theater.
February 2007
Jonathan is excited about his up-coming trip to Reno. He and his support staff along with a couple of brothers will be taking a five day trip to Reno. The guys will check-out the local sights, eat in a variety of restaurants, and of course do a little gambling! Jonathan says he has never been to Reno before so he is especially looking forward to this experience.
Jonathan continues to talk to his biological brother, Justin, on the phone.
Jonathan continues to encourage Justin to move to Southern California. Jonathan would like to set-up a reunion visit with his biological sister and brother this summer. The siblings enjoy reminiscing about the times that they were all together in the same family. They also enjoy sharing new experiences together as well.
December 2006
Jonathan has enjoyed Christmas shopping for his biological siblings, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jim, and other family members. Jonathan also wants to make sure EVERYONE has a copy of his Christmas list! Jonathan also enjoyed seeing the new movie "The Nativity." For months, Jonathan had been looking forward to that movie coming out. Jonathan reported that the movie was "great" and that he "recommends it" to everyone!
October 2006
Jonathan enjoyed celebrating his 21st birthday with several birthday parties. Jonathan had hoped that his biological brother could come down from Northern California to celebrate with him.. Despite that disappointment, Jonathan was delighted with all of the attention and presents that his birthday brought. Jonathan is now thinking about what movies and video games he would like for Christmas!
Jonathan continues to do well in school. With one-to-one support and eyes-on supervision at school many of Jonathan issues can be redirected before they become bigger problems. Jonathan has finally accepted that this level of support is needed to help keep him save. Jonathan is looking forward to graduating from high school during June 2007.
 
July 2006
Jonathan was disappointed last month when his
biological brother Justin decided to continue to live in
Northern California rather than to join Jonathan in
Southern California. Jonathan has always wanted his
biological younger siblings to be together. The good
news in that Jonathan is looking forward to a visit from
his biological sister, Bethany, later in the month.
Jonathan has all sorts of ideas of places to take his
sister. He and Shelley are making a schedule so that
Bethany can have lots of fun on her visit.
March 2006
Jonathan (20) has been enjoying decorating his home with new furniture and other household items. Jonathan really likes where he lives. He enjoys frequent walks around the neighborhood and to the beach.
Now that his house is almost set-up to his liking he is in the process starting a young adults Bible Study in his home. Jonathan is working with a facilitator and the Bible Study should be up and going by the summer. At church, Jonathan is transitioning from the high school ministry to the young adult ministry. This is a big step because Jonathan is very used to the high school ministry program. He has been attending the Saddleback program since he was 15 years old. Luckily, over the years, Jonathan has met several friends at church who will also be transitioning from the high school to the young adult program at the end of the school year.
January 2006
Jonathan started a new job at Toys-R-Us this school year. Jonathan says he likes his new job and especially enjoyed helping all of the shoppers during the holidays. Currently Jonathan assists with stocking and straightening the shelves and directing
customers to the appropriate aisles.
Several months ago Jonathan was able to visit with his biological brother, Justin, and his biological sister, Bethany, together for one
weekend. Both Jonathan and Jeffrey were very excited about this opportunity. Jonathan said it felt like it was a family reunion. All of the kids enjoyed the visit and the opportunity to catch-up with each other. They had not been all together at one time for over four years.
Jonathan is hopeful to be able to schedule to another visit with his biological siblings this summer. Jonathan is also happy to be able to
correspond with his biological grandmother and uncle though e-mail and
occasional phone calls.
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