When we first met Stephen Barton, we met a strong-willed 3-year-old toddler trying to understand and apply the incomprehensible adult world in which he is growing up.
When we meet him today, we find a more self-confident little boy, growing older and meeting new experiences. He proudly revels in his role as mascot of his local football team but can run away and hide when faced by a not very scary dog.
Stephen is proud of his dad, but more often he does things with his mother, who takes him every day to the school which he has recently joined. He is also very close to his grandma and to both his granddads, who all think the world of him. However, he has found it difficult to build up friendships with other children in his class.
He has a sort of love/hate relationship with his big sister, Gladys, who can sometimes treat him as a pesky encumbrance.
Even before Stephen started school, he had learnt to swim and can now, by a mile, outdo his classmates in the pool. Come and meet him again.
