Meet Alfie and Bertie
“I’m Alfie and I’m a four-years-old. I have a huge smile and my eyes light up when I’m happy. I have a younger brother Bertie who is very chatty and loves to cuddle up. He enjoys having a book read to him. We love playing together as well as being with our carers.”
What do the people who care about us say?
The brothers have a good daily routine and enjoy a slow start to their day, playing together in their bedroom before breakfast.
Alfie will seek attention through negative and controlling behaviour if his needs are not being met.
Bertie can become distressed at very little things, he will become very expressive using his hands and voice, this can become repetitive and take some time and support from his carers to regulate him.
They are both very active brothers who love to be outside exploring the beach and swimming. They love being on the moors and horse riding, and both enjoy riding their bikes and scooters.
You can help Alfie and Bertie by…
- providing a routine helps us to know what is going to happen each day and makes us feel safe
- parenting us Therapeutically and supporting us to understand and express our feelings
- anticipating our needs and giving us clear and consistent boundaries
- keeping us physically active, we are at our happiest when we are outside exploring whatever the weather
- giving praise, we like to be helpful, and we thrive on praise
- supporting us to stay in contact with the important people in our lives and understanding the loss and separation we will be experiencing
- supporting us with our Life Story by talking about it to us and continuing to add to it
Help and support available can include:
- adoption pay and leave
- a copy of your child’s permanence report
- a ‘life-story’ book to help your child understand their early life
- a summary of your child’s health from Adopt South West’s medical adviser
- Adoption Support Fund to pay for essential therapeutic services
- an assessment of your child/ren’s needs from Adopt South West
- a means-tested adoption allowance until age 18 to provide ongoing financial support for prospective adopters to continue to provide a high level of care and support
- referral by local council to the local council’s Children with Disabilities Team in home area
- referral to local Speech and Language Team
- Education Plan for Adopted Children, virtual schools
- regular events and activities for families
- free or subsidised courses, clinics and workshops regularly run by Adopt South West
- support from our Letterbox Service team with ongoing contact with birth family
- we can ask about: Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children from GOV.UK
- we can ask about: Carer’s Allowance from GOV.UK
- and usually for brothers and sisters, we can look at a Settling In Allowance from the council to help you buy additional items, such as two beds or even three!
Funding and resources do change. It is best to check directly with source for up to date information or contact us.
You can adopt
Considering adopting? There are very few barriers to adopting. If you can open your heart and your home to a child, we want to hear from you. There are safeguarding checks and there is a process but we don’t judge by lifestyles. We will support you all the way through the adoption process and beyond. Make the first step to adoption and please do talk to a member of our friendly Adopt South West team today.