Why I adopted 6 KIDS WITH DISABILITIES

Ben Carpenter always knew he was destined to be a father to some very special children

- FRANCES LEATE, ANN CUSACK.

From the outside, we don’t look like the typical family. For starters, I’m a single gay man who has adopted six children – Jack, 13, Ruby, 10, Lily, eight, Joseph, five, Noah, and Louis, two. And with no mum around, it’s not exactly a traditional set-up. Then there’s the fact all my children have disabilities, ranging from severe autism, to being deaf and blind. Only, as different as we may appear, if you got a glimpse inside the home I share with my wonderful kids you’d soon see, in many ways, we are the same as everyone else.

The same grumpy protests from my eldest, Jack, when I get him up for school, same battles to get Joseph to settle in bed at night, and the same chaos when they come home wanting snacks and demanding different things to watch on the TV. And then the same sigh of exhaustion when they’re all finally in bed, I’ve cleaned and tidied and can settle on the sofa for a precious half hour to myself.

From 5.30am, when my youngest, Louis, wakes up, stretching and smiling, to the moment I hear silence from their bedrooms, save for the odd snore, and know they’re all finally asleep, my life is dedicated to my children. But, despite the undeniable challenges, I live for those precious family moments when we’re all cuddling up and I read and sign them their favourite stories-The Gruffalo or The Tiger Who Came to Tea. And when one puts their arms around me and utters those magic words, ‘I love you, Daddy’, it makes everything worthwhile.