Arthur: Miracle in the Making

Arthur: Miracle in the Making

The conscientiously neat, quiet boy carefully prints out his name on a sheet of paper: Arthur. Unremarkable and ordinary at first, yes. But like his namesake storybook king, looks can be deceiving.
Arthur came to CCFT in 2007, a temperamental, distrustful child. Among the rest of the children, he was a puzzle – a stickler for rules and neatness and impatient with his siblings at the Children’s Home, yet

he would retort back at anyone who reprimanded him for a mistake. He would run away when angered, hiding inside cabinets or underneath the CCFT staff house. In addition to this, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), a condition that makes it difficult to him to concentrate in school, slowing down his academic development.

These, however, were challenges accepted by the Children’s Home. Recognizing his leadership potential, he was assigned assistant lead child in his family, and he has since learned responsibility, trust, and tolerance for his fellow children. Therapist Viviene Francisco, through several weeks of therapy, helped him to express his emotions and manage his anger.

Nowadays seven-year-old Arthur is improving in school, showing a keen interest in writing and drawing. He has a better sense of humor, takes teasing in stride, and bends a bit when things don’t turn out as planned. Instead of running away when annoyed, he asks to be taken to a quiet room, or walks about the Children’s Home to calm down.

During both the International Day and the December CCFT Christmas Night in Coron, he shone in his performance along with his fellow members of the Grade I speech choir.

Our Art hasn’t pulled out any swords from stones yet, but looking at the miracle of his life in CCFT, we wouldn’t be surprised if he did one day.