SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - They are big milestones for any baby -- flipping from the tummy to back, transferring toys from hand to hand and crawling. But for two-year-old Matthew, who has special needs, these milestones are amazing accomplishments. Matthew's foster mom is his biggest fan, but what the little tyke needs now is a forever family.
Matthew, who has unexplained head trauma and significant developmental delays, has made incredible progress since being placed in the care of his foster mom Sue six months ago.
"He came to us only drinking from baby bottles, and now he's eating food," Sue said.
She says Matthew is a good sleeper and a fast learner, quickly realizing that screaming in the morning for food was counterproductive.
"I said, Matt, it's Mamma Sue, and he would get real quiet, and I said, call me Matty, and he would go ahhh and that's our signal now, he ah's in the morning and I get up and take him the bottle," Sue said. "The fact he could learn to call the morning for food instead of screaming was amazing to me."
Doctors are still working to diagnose Matthew and hope to learn more through genetic testing. They do know he has a seizure disorder and is visually impaired, though no one really knows how much he can see.
"We've turned on the ceiling fan at home and he looks up, he looks up immediately. We walk out into the sunshine and he looks up. He knows it's different," Sue said.
Matthew has very little upper body strength and the 68-year-old foster mom worries Matthew will soon grow too big for her to easily carry, and so she's hoping a forever family will step up and take him in.
Sue says Matthew has brought her indescribable joy.
"Oh, amazing. I can't even tell you, you know. I'd been a social worker for 30 years. I thought I knew it all. Nothing like this, nothing," she said.
But what this little guy needs now is a forever family who can give him a lifetime of love.
"I just think he's perfect, he's just a sweet little boy, he has a few little special needs but other than that, he's just a sweet little boy who needs to be cuddled and nurtured and bonded to," Sue said.
If you are interested in adopting from foster care or becoming a foster family, call 1-877-I-ADOPT-U or visit IAdoptU.org to take that first step and fill out an adoption inquiry form.
We'd like to thank Michael Spengler with Studio M in La Jolla for letting us use part of his studio for this Adopt 8 segment.
