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May 2010
Kyle is looking forward to sharing his house with his brothers, Jimmy and William. Jimmy may live with Kyle on a long term basis and William just needs a temporary place to live while his house is having major plumbing work. Kyle will certainly enjoy the company especially since William loves video games as much as Kyle. We are just hoping that Kyle will be willing to share his various video game systems with William, even for a short period of time!
Kyle continues to do well in his day program. He enjoys the variety of work that he gets to do. Kyle, like the other guys, wishes he could have steady paid employment. SUCCESS is working hard to develop work sites where the participants can provide a needed service while supported by job coaches. Kyle does receive a small stipend for working with a laundry crew a couple days a week, and also mowing lawns once a week. Kyle uses his hard earned money to buy--what else?--more video games!
November 2009
Kyle is doing well in his new home with roommate, Kevin. Kevin and a team of support staff help Kyle with his daily living issues and his behavioral challenges. Kyle is thrilled with the people who support him. Everyone uses American Sign Language to communicate, which of course is necessary when working with Kyle. Even better, however, is that EVERYONE loves video games. Video games are Kyle's passion so you can imagine Kyle's happiness knowing that he has video game playing buddies around the clock!
May 2009
Kyle is struggling with his sleep disorder.
Unfortunately he only gets two hours of sleep at any one
time. This sleep pattern makes supporting him very
difficult. We are trying all sorts of natural and holistic
medication as the traditional medication didn't help at all.
Kyle also struggles with severe impulse control issues. My
goal is to get Kyle to a point where he sleeps through the
night and can get through the day without stealing
electronic equipment and crashing computers. it is a daily
struggle with Kyle.
This type of
behavior makes finding Kyle an appropriate roommate very
difficult. Although Kyle is smart his hyperactivity and
impulsiveness make having even a basic conversation almost
impossible. I wish we could just think of some way to
channel that energy in same way. Well, I am still committed
to keep trying even though spending time with Kyle can
really tire me out!
November 2008
Kyle finally found a house to rent in Fountain Valley which isn't too far from our house. Kyle is excited about moving and thinks all of the things that go along with moving are exciting and fun. While most of us might get tired just thinking of packing and unpacking our personal items, Lyle seems to get energized by the process. For the past few weeks, Kyle has been helping unpack his personal items as well as the household items. Kyle has enjoyed arranging and rearranging his bedroom, Hopefully after everyone is settled in, Kyle will have a house warming party!
September 2008
Kyle has been looking for a new place to live. Unfortunately his landlord did not renew Kyle's lease so for the past two months he and his roommate have been looking for suitable living arrangements. Of course, rents in Orange County can be outrageous especially in Huntington Beach. It can also be difficult for our guys who live on Social Security payments and have no credit. In the meantime Kyle continues to attend SUCCESS Day Program where he enjoys a variety of volunteer opportunities.
May 2008
Kyle had an enjoyable 30th birthday at one of his
favorite places, "Nickel Nickel." Many of his friends from
our supported living program and his brothers showed up.
Kyle is looking forward to a trip to Las Vegas later in the
month. Kyle loves the slot machines. Kyle can burn through a
bucket full of nickels in minutes. We are not sure that Kyle
understands the various ways he can win (and lose!) money on
the slot machines but it is sure to pull him away once he
gets started. This trip Kyle will be entering a couple of
slot tournaments. If the contests winners are selected based
on the speed in which hands are played then Kyle would win
hands down!
February 2008
Kyle is turning 30 years old next month! Kyle is our oldest son and he joined our family at 18 years old. Its hard to believe that we have a son who is 30 years old and a son who is four years old --- a 26 year age span! Kyle is excited about his birthday. He and Nathan will be celebrating their birthdays together at Nickel Nickel. Most of Kyle's adoptive and biological brothers will be at his birthday party! Kyle continues to participate in volunteer work through his day program. Kyle is also taking private karate classes weekly and will soon join an adult group class as well.
November 2007
Kyle enjoyed a Thanksgiving brunch with the whole family at Mrs. Knott's restaurant. This has become a family tradition that Kyle really enjoys. Not only does Kyle love the idea of a buffet, Kyle really enjoys spending time with the family, especially his biological brother Nathan. These two guys really like spending time together and look forward to all of the family and supported living get-togethers. Last month Kyle and Nathan's biological maternal grandmother passed away. The boys attended the funeral, and while it was a sad time both Kyle and Nathan enjoyed spending time with their biological family members.
September 2007
Kyle continues to keep busy. His attention deficit disorder makes it almost impossible for him to slow down, even with medication. Kyle's roommate struggles to find ways to help him settle down, most especially at bedtime. Kyle has the hardest time settling in for the evening. Even well into the night Kyle is frantically moving from one activity to the next. The whole household can hear Kyle late at night shuffling papers, moving furniture and worse...taking apart his own electronic devices (televisions, DVD players, game systems, and even computers). Kyle has tried a host of medications to help with his sleep disorder but to no avail. Interestingly, Nathan, Kyle's biological half-brother, has similar sleep issues. It wouldn't be too bad if Kyle didn't require eyes-on supervision when he is awake. Because Kyle doesn't always make safe choices he must be supervised at all times, as a result may nights Kyle's roommate gets very little sleep herself. We are continuing to try different medication and other ideas to help Kyle fall asleep at a reasonable time to stay asleep throughout the night. Please e-mail us if anyone has any ideas, we could definitely use some suggestions!
August 2007
Kyle is enjoying his summer even though he still goes to his day program Monday through Friday. In Kyle's spare time his is enjoying learning how to ride a bike and to bar-b-que. Kyle is practicing is bike riding on a tandem bicycle. He loves it! This works out better for Kyle since he can't hear possible hazards on the road. Over summer Kyle has attended several birthday parties for his friends, many movies, and he went to the Orange County Fair which is an annual favorite of his. Kyle has also prepared his Christmas Wish-List! That Kyle, he always likes to stay ahead of the game!
April 2007
Kyle enjoyed a visit and photo session with his biological mother and half brothers. Kyle enjoys visiting with his biological family members. Besides Nathan, Kyle has another younger brother who is also Deaf. Its great when the three brothers get together and are able to communicate with each other. Most of Kyle's biological family does not know sign language even though there are three Deaf family members. Kyle and Nathan often feel isolated from the other members so we always provide an interpreter during these visits. Kyle's biological family gets together usually once or twice a year.
February 2007
Kyle is starting to help plan his birthday party in March. He and Nathan generally celebrate their birthdays together. Kyle is thinking that he would like to go to "Goofy's Kitchen" which is a buffet restaurant near Disneyland. Goofy is Kyle's favorite cartoon character so it seems an appropriate setting for Kyle's 29th birthday. Kyle's birthday list will surely contain lots of Goofy collectibles! Kyle and Nathan, both, get very excited when their birthday rolls around. They are enthusiastic and appreciative of every gift they receive. Everyone in the family is looking forward to the party.
December 2006
Kyle enjoys spending time at our house and especially help Jim around the house. Since Kyle lives in a rented house behind our house it is very easy for Kyle to come over for a visit. Kyle also enjoys playing with Daniel. Kyle is amazingly calm and loving with Daniel. Daniel seems to look forward to Kyle's visits. Kyle continues to progress in Karate lessons and seems to be gaining skills and confidence. This month Kyle and Nathan also spent some supervised time with their biological mother and brothers. Kyle seemed to enjoy the visit.
July 2006
Kyle has enjoyed visiting with his friend, Kelly. Once a week Kelly comes to Kyle's house for dinner and Kyle visits Kelly at her home once a week as well. Kyle has known Kelly for years and we are very pleased that Kyle is interested in maintaining his friendship with her.
Kyle has also been visiting his younger brothers at home at least once a week. Kyle is especially very playful with Shawn and Dylan. It is very cool to see Kyle, the oldest Silcock son, be so involved with the youngest Silcock brothers, Dylan and Shawn. Despite his limited oral speech and use of American Sign Language to communicate, Kyle is quite capable of "talking" with his younger brothers. We are very excited that ever since Kyle has been spending time at home, Dylan and some of the younger boys have really improved their signing skills.
March 2006
Kyle (24) continues to take Karate lessons several times a week. He also enjoys visiting with his friend, Kelly, at her home and at his home. Kyle and Kelly are good friends and enjoy eating dinner at each other's houses. Kyle kind of gets a kick out of making Bob jealous, as Kelly is officially Robert's girlfriend! Kyle also has many opportunities to visit with his brothers. He attends all of the family parties and celebrations.
As Kyle gets ready for his own birthday, he made a point of getting his wish list out to everyone in the family at least a month in advance. Good planning by Kyle!
 Kyle still misses "Dottie", his dog. He has not decided on another dog at the moment but loves playing with and caring for his cat, "Andy." Kyle enjoys caring for animals. He even does volunteer work at a local farm.
January 2006
Kyle recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas with Vita. As usual Kyle had a great
time moving from slot machine to slot machine! A trip to Las Vegas with Kyle can really keep Vita on her toes! Kyle gets so distracted by the slot machines, the lights, the people and the loud noises its hard to keep track of him!
The sad news for Kyle was that his dog Dottie died. Unfortunately she got out of the house when no one was home and was hit by a car. Obviously Kyle was very sad about this situation as were Vita and her boys. The household is discussing the type of dog they would like to get now and are checking out the local shelters.
Kyle continues to participate in community volunteer projects with the
SUCCESS Day Program. He enjoys working and especially delivering Meals-On-Wheels to the local senior citizens.
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