Single dad raising four children with special needs considers adopting fifth

Ben Carpenter is dad to Joseph, Lily, Ruby and Jack and has been hailed as “extraordinary” for his effort to raise awareness about adoption. The 33-year-old from Huddersfield, England has been called an “adopter extraordinaire” and “something of a unique individual” by the British Citizenship Awards (BCA).

via Mirror

Ben, a single gay dad who has adopted four children with special needs, will receive his award at a ceremony at the Palace of Westminster.

A spokesman for the BCA said: “When he started his adoption journey 12 years ago, Benjamin was the youngest gay adopter in the UK. Now the single dad has four children.

“Each of them has special needs: 10-year-old Jack is autistic with autism-related OCD. Ruby, seven, has Pierre Robin syndrome, scoliosis and limited use of her arms as a result of missing radius bones and is registered blind.

“Lily, Ruby’s five-year-old half-sister, is profoundly deaf and uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.

“Most recently adopted three-year-old Joseph has Down’s syndrome and uses a colostomy bag.

“And it doesn’t stop there; Benjamin is currently considering adopting child number five.”

(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)