- [On screen text] Oklahoma Department of Human Services

- [KJ, Occupational Therapist] Anthony is currently 11 years old, about to turn 12. And he has 
been in DHS custody for over 10 years now.

- I could go on and on and on for hours talking about how special and unique Anthony is. 
There's so many things that he could bring, just not only to a potential family, just to anyone 
he's able to interact with.

- [KJ] First off, his smile. His smile is worth a million bucks and probably even more. It's a smile 
that can just light up this room and it's something that when you see his smile, you feel good.

- [KJ] His laughter is so contagious. He loves to be around other people. He thrives in like the 
school environment and being able to go to class each and every day and being around his 
peers. He is able to go in there and participate in different activities such as, like, music 
activities, and arts and crafts. He is not one who really prefers to just stay around in bed or just 
stay around the house all day. He loves to be out and about, so being able to go to school and 
be like a normal kid are things that are so important to him and just his success. And I know 
from different opportunities that we've taken him on, whether it's going to the zoo, or going to 
the park, or the science museum, he has so much fun and it's something that he loves to see. A 
typical day in the life of Anthony, he wakes up everyday, he will typically have some sort of 
therapy in the morning. Whether it's occupational therapy, or physical therapy, or speech 
therapy. Or even music therapy, like I said, the kids loves music, loves interaction like that.

- [KJ] After his therapy in the morning, he'll typically go to class around 10 o'clock, from 10 to 
11, and then his afternoon is filled up with different play activities as well. Routine is very 
important for him. He really benefits from structure.

- [KJ] Whenever his routine does get thrown off, it can be a little bit hard for him to kind of 
adjust to that. His diagnosis is he has a sever from a traumatic brain injury whenever he was 
younger and has cerebral palsy.

- [KJ] He has different hand splints and an elbow splint, and he also has ankle splints as well. All 
the splints, after the hand splints and the ankle splints, it's really to help put him in just a more 
functional and comfortable position to make sure we're not, his muscles aren't getting tighter, 
or we're kinda limiting, losing range of motion. So it's really to make sure he just stays in a 
good, comfortable position. Anthony has a gastrostomy tube bridge, E-tube. That's where he 
receives all of his feedings and his medications at, so that's somethin' you definitely kinda be 
aware of.

- [KJ] Anthony has a diagnosis of Cortical Visual Impairment, which is a visual diagnosis. Anthony 
actually has a hard time seeing certain things out in his environment. He really benefits from 
brighter lights, and kind of darker environments. His hearing is totally fine, and he hears really 
really well. So, whenever you come up to him, before you just come up and start,

- [KJ] if you like, touch him, or move him, or anything like that, just kinda use your voice and let 
him know that you're there, so that he's aware before anything else happens. It's not just a 
sudden change for him, so he's gonna know what's going on. And we wanna involve him in the 
care as much as possible.

- [KJ] I could go on for days talkin' about why he should be adopted. Better question is, why 
shouldn't he be adopted? Every kid deserves to be loved, every kid deserves to be part of a 
family. And Anthony is no different, no matter if they're a baby, or no matter if they're 30 years 
old, they deserve to be a part of a family.

- [KJ] Anthony has been in a few different homes throughout his life. And moving from home to 
home can be hard, so while the beginning might be a little bit difficult, because it is a big 
change for him, show him you love him and show him you care for him. Get him out, involve 
him in your family activities.

- [KJ] And he'll be so excited to finally have a mom and a dad, and brothers and sisters, and 
cousins, and aunts and uncles, and pets. For Anthony, the sky's the limit, it truly is. If he's put in 
the right situation, and given the right opportunities, there's so many things he could do.

- [KJ] He is someone that you want to be around, and someone that would bring so many 
endless and happy memories to your family. Just being committed to him and showing him that 
you're always there for him, you're gonna love him through everything.

- [KJ] Because I promise you, he's gonna love you more than you'll ever know, more than you 
could ever imagine. Your life is truly going to be better with Anthony in it.

- [On screen text] For more information about adopting Anthony M. Please call 1-800-376-9729 
or visit online at www.okfosters.com.  Recorded May 23, 2019.