
Adeline

In classes Zack is currently learning shapes, days of the week, numbers one through ten, and the first five letters of the English alphabet. In play time he often requests blocks in order to build towers. Once they are completed he will call his caregiver in order to proudly show off his creation. When he is not building blocks he loves coloring, making crafts and playing with toy cars. His new favorite sensory play is with shaving cream. On Christmas the staff in his home filled a plastic swimming pool with shaving cream so the children in his home could play with “snow.” Ever since he has begun asking for shaving cream daily in his sensory class.
Recently Zack was gifted a new wheelchair that allows him to more easily reach the wheels. He has begun learning how to push himself in his chair. He is thrilled! While he is still in the early stages of learning this skill, he is already showing amazing progress! Obtaining this skill will be huge in Zack’s independence! He loves practicing and will often request to be taken on walks. Zack often asks about his future family and is eager for the day that he is able to meet his mom and dad!
July 2019 update: Zack is the naughtiest and happiest boy in his home! He learned all his colours and is now learning his animals. He wants to be more independent! He can scoot backwards to get around by himself. He can make requests in both English and his local language and can translate English words to his local language for his caregiver! Zack loves his caregiver Ammama so much. He always scoots over to be near her and wants to be a part of what she is doing. One day he kept asking Ammama for a new shirt, so when she went on her monthly leave she brought him back a new blue shirt.
February 2020 Update: Tricia is a happy girl with lots of energy. She speaks her native language and English in simple sentences. She has classes every morning that includes learning the alphabet, colors, and simple words and their meanings. She has a difficult time concentrating for long periods of time so she has breaks where she listens to her favorite songs and dances around the house. Tricia loves listening to music, painting, and picking out her prettiest outfits for the day. You can find her most days jumping on the trampoline, spending time with her best friend, and/or drawing on any piece of paper she can find. Tricia thrives on individual attention and craves the love of being called daughter and having her very own family.
Tricia is a sweet, happy girl who loves dancing, music, and jumping on the trampoline. She loves to be with her caregivers, the other girls in her home, and is very friendly with new people. She is very affectionate. She struggles with writing her alphabet and therefore does not enjoy it very much. She is interested in fashion and looking her cutest in a pretty dress with a flower in her hair. She has lots of energy to run around and jump up for a hug. She has a sweet voice and likes to show you her work. She is very motivated by adult attention and is learning boundaries with adults she doesn’t know well. She desperately asks for a family.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Tatum has no active use of her arms or hands (they are flaccid). No official diagnosis has been given. Tatum is very skilled with using her feet for fine motor tasks and uses them to eat with a spoon and to write. She has beautiful penmanship! She can criss cross her legs and sit comfortably on the floor. She is not an independent walker and has weak core muscles. She gets around the home by scooting on her bottom and she can also scoot down stairs.
Tatum has a sweet and kind personality. She likes to play with and watch over the younger kids in the home. She is interested in painting and singing. She also enjoys entertaining her caregivers! Tatum has good language and communication skills and expresses her needs and feelings to her caregivers. Her caregivers report that she is a happy and content child with appropriate emotional behavior.
Tatum attends a local school. Due to a late start in formal education, she is behind where she should be but appears to have no intellectual delay. She loves school and typically receives A and A+ grades. She also enjoys participating in school activities and performances. Tatum is very bright and is eager to learn.
Tatum has a charming, endearing personality and is well liked by her teachers, her caregivers, and the other kids in the home. She is an absolute joy and would thrive with more resources and with the love and stability of a family.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Shiloh also enjoys water play. With the assistance of her teacher, she splashes water around a sensory bin; using cups, shovels, and other water toys to manipulate and move the water. Her favorite game is when her caregiver counts to three and then leans her backwards. As her caregiver starts to count, a grin will flash in anticipation of being “thrown” backwards. Shiloh is a deep lover of life and friendship and would thrive in a family of her own.
Rebekah feeds herself independently and calls people by name. She can identify objects and colors. She is independent in indicating her needs and independent in her self care. She is attending on site school where she can write numbers 1 to 200. She loves counting things. She knows and writes all of her upper and lower case letters. She is reading and writing 3 letter words. She can spell her name. She doesn’t want to miss out on what is happening, she is eager to be a part of the fun. She enjoys sitting with adults and telling stories. She loves to color, draw and write. She is proud to be a helper and to be independent. She is working on pre-vocational skills of washing dishes and sweeping and fine motor skills like beading, threading, and cutting with scissors. She is well liked by all the staff and is helpful in the home. She has several very close friends with whom she gets all very well.
Because of his oral motor challenges, he cannot speak and is on medication to control drooling. No seizures. He does classes every day at home with his tutor. He is very social and loves to be around other children. He is bright and learns a lot, when he applies himself. He knows the full English alphabet in ASL and knows many words. He communicates mostly in single words in ASL, as well as simple sentences like I want… He is potty trained day and night. He craves 1 on 1 attention and cries when the younger children get adopted and he has to say goodbye. He likes to be silly and play jokes. He likes to be a helper and enjoys doing chores. He is sensitive and his feelings are easily hurt. He can get frustrated by lack of ability to communicate and be understood. He would thrive in an environment where sign language is understood.
Naomi can identify colors and body parts. She can speak but her articulation is poor and speech is not very clear. She strings together 3-4 words in both English and her native language. Psychological evaluation in September 2015 reported a mild intellectual delay. She can write letters, numbers, and shapes. She comprehends reasonably well and follows simple instructions. She is independent for self care. Quiet, friendly, comical, obedient, sweet-tempered, hard-working. Naomi has a unique fashion sense and likes to choose her own outfits. Naomi attends on-site school. She is very quiet but is most talkative during games of her choosing. She is not clumsy and does well and is independent with sports/games night with activities including basketball, hula hoop, 3 legged race.
Jan 2019 Update: In March 2018, due to increasing hip pain and subluxation of her hip joints, Molly underwent a major double hip surgery: femoral derotation and osteotomy to correct the alignment of her hips and femurs. She was in a spica cast (immobilizing her hips and knees) for over a month. She then spent much of the year re-gaining the strength and movement that she had lost while immobilized. She is a fighter and persevered through significant discomfort over the past year. She maintained her joyful, sweet spirit throughout! Molly celebrated her 12th birthday in December. She was very excited to receive a new traditional dress for the occasion and to get henna designs drawn on her arms. She loves getting fancy and looked so gorgeous! Molly was also very enthusiastic about her cake as she loves all sweets. Over the past year, Molly developed a new interest in make-up and will request to wear it by reaching up and rubbing her hand on her lips and cheeks. She also was introduced to the movie “Frozen” and it has become a favorite. She will “sing” (vocalize) along to favorite songs such as “Let it Go”. Molly may not stand out as one of the youngest or one of the sickest, but she is so worthy of a family. She would be a beautiful addition to a family and a beloved daughter, sister, and cousin.
July 2020 Update: Molly has had a great summer! She is enjoying her classes where she is working on following patterns, reading, categorizing items, and using alternative communication and sign language to engage in pretend play. Molly’s teenage sass is undeniable! She is very insistent when she wants to watch a new movie or when she wants her make-up done. She also gets so excited whenever a new dress is brought to her home and she is persistent to have her photo taken and shown to everyone! She loves being with the little kids of the home, especially helping an adult to push them in the swing or dancing with them sitting in her lap on her wheelchair.
Mikayla has made wonderful, consistent progress since arriving at her current home. She is motivated to communicate and will babble and approximate some words. She is now more willing to engage in sensory experiences and has developed some independent play skills. She has good receptive communication and is spoken to in both English and her native language. She will use various vocalizations and behaviors to express some basic things, like making a kissy noise when she wants a kiss. She is gaining physical strength and can sit independently, move around by rolling, can stand with support and take steps using a mobility device.
Melanie enjoys playing with musical toys, toys that stack, toys with small parts that fit inside, trying to trace letters with chalk, and throwing and trying to catch balls. Able to concentrate on one toy for a sustained period of time. Follows directions well. Prefers soft solid foods and favorite food is eggs. Loves the beach. She can go up and down stairs by herself holding the railing. She enjoys being with other people and is friendly with adults and children.
March 2020 Update: Melanie is working on a number of daily living skills. She is eating independently, able to wash her hands with verbal prompts, and working on other skills such as getting dressed independently. She is able to identify colors as well. Melanie is currently working towards the goals of saying her name, drawing shapes, and increasing her sounds and words.
Malachi enjoys playing independently as well as in groups of his peers. His favorite activities revolve around music, including learning new songs and playing the piano. Malachi has an ear for notes and can listen to a song and figure out the melody on the piano, without any instruction. Within a few days of starting on the piano he had figured out to play “Happy Birthday” and “Jingle Bells” just by listening to the songs. He has expressed interest in piano lessons as well as learning other instruments.
Malachi is a very sweet and spirited child who has formed healthy attachments with his current caregivers. He has a close relationship with a few of the other boys in his home and enjoys including everyone, regardless of ability, into his play. Malachi is finding his sense of humor and likes to try out different jokes and funny sounds to make others around him laugh. He is a very bright child who would do incredibly well in a family!
Kristy rarely wears her hearing aids as she does not tolerate them due to her sensory aversion for them. In classes, Kristy’s teachers are beginning to work with her to teach her basic sign language. Currently they are working specifically on saying “more,” “finished,” “yes,” and “no.”
Kristy would make a valuable addition to a family as she has so much love and affection to share with others. Video available!
Keaton takes daily medication and uses a catheter throughout the day. Keaton is incredibly independent in his medical care and daily catheterizations requiring only some supervision to make sure his catheter is cleaned properly. More information available about Keaton’s continence care for seriously interested families.
Keaton is a very spirited, sweet, and creative child who has formed healthy attachments with his current caregivers. He is independent in all of his daily living tasks and likes to make a good impression at school by making sure he dresses nicely. He has a great sense of humor and will laugh at his own jokes with the sweetest smile and biggest, belly laugh. Keaton loves building in sand and playing in mud. Keaton honestly just loves all things outdoors in general! Keaton is such a clever child with an incredible future ahead of him, especially in a family to call his own!
February 2020 Update: Julie is just as friendly as ever! When people she knows or visitors enter the room, she grins from ear to ear and calls them over to say hi. Julie is a girl who can make everyone laugh! She is spunky, funny, and oh, so sassy. Julie continues to work on her letters, numbers, shapes, and colors in class. She can now count to 10, she can identify 15% of the English alphabet, and identify basic colors. She is bonded to her primary caregiver and gets along with the other children in her home. She loves to hold babies and play with other children her age. She can sit independently and crawl. She receives physical therapy 5 times a week where she working on tall kneeling and strengthening her back muscles. She can bear weight on her legs during physical therapy with the help of AFOs. Julie had hip surgery in July 2019. She is working daily with her physical therapist to regain strength in her legs, core, and arms. Through a variety of exercises, she is sitting independently again and has started to crawl. Julie also stands with assistance while wearing AFOs during therapy. Julie is one tough cookie and she is working hard to be even stronger than she was before.
Julie is funny and sassy. She is a friendly child and always greets visitors with a big smile and waves them over to say hello. She has good use of her hands and is able to complete tasks such as feeding herself and is working on pre-writing skills. Julie attends an on-site school where she works with her teacher on learning her English alphabet and shapes. She can count up to 5 and identifies basic colors. Julie likes to look at books and play with toys, especially baby dolls and blocks. She speaks full sentences in her native language, and speaks 70 plus English words. She understands most of what is being said to her in both English and her native language. She is bonded to her primary caregiver and gets along with the other children. She loves to hold the babies and play with other children her age. She can sit independently and crawl. She receives physical therapy 3-4 times a week where she working on tall kneeling and strengthening her back muscles. She has recently started bearing weight on her legs during physical therapy with the help of AFOs. Julie is also in the progress of potty training and has been doing really well with this.
Oct 2020 Update: Jamila had recurring illnesses this year and it was discovered that she was aspirating. A feeding tube was placed and she has been healthy since! Even when she was in the hospital she always had a smile on her face. Jamila loves being silly and loves being the center of attention! Jamila has been talking so much more lately! It can’t always be understood exactly what she’s saying, but she’s really trying hard to speak and is making a lot of progress. Jamila loves wearing fancy shoes all the time. She picks out her outfits every day and knows what she likes!
December 2018 update: Izzy is learning and making progress steadily! She is now potty trained. She is making strength gains, and her ability to use her walker is improving. She is able to go up and down stairs by crawling/scooting. Her receptive language is growing and she now responds to many commands and knows the English words for many household objects. She has learned her body parts and picked up more sign language. She can match colors and do simple puzzles. She knows the names of all the other kids in the house. She is beginning to use a program on her iPad to expand her communication. She enjoys coloring and is beginning to engage in imaginative play with dolls. She loves to dance and has learned the motions to multiple action songs. She anticipates the next activity in her daily routine. Her social nature and love of life continue to be so endearing! Izzy is so bright and would THRIVE in a family! Videos available.
Aug 2020 Update: Izzy has grown so much in her communication skills. In class, Izzy uses alternative communication and sign language to participate in imaginary play with friends. She is great at answering questions about her day or week. She has also developed a lot of confidence to ask for very specific things. Izzy is just always laughing, always dancing, always singing, and always sharing her enthusiasm and love with those around her.
Update January 2018: Heidi is identifying her ABCs and is able to write her alphabet. With some assistance she is able to write numbers 1 through 10. She receives tutoring from in home teachers and participates in other various learning activities at home as well as a special education class every morning at a local institute. Her speech has improved greatly, but she would benefit from speech therapy. She is verbal, but not everything is understood by those who don’t know her well. She speaks in sentences of 3-4 words in both English and her native language, and can name caregivers and other children in the home. She uses sign language to communicate things like wanting food, water, or the bathroom. She attends the washroom independently. Heidi is observant and reserved when getting to know new people, but she does warm up to people and likes to share with her friends. She is comfortable playing independently and enjoys coloring. She loves to help around the home and can often be found cleaning or helping other kids. She has a wonderful imagination and likes to invite others to join in on her play.
UPDATE July 2020: Georgie has been making steady progress in his language skills. Lately, he has begun to make requests on his own or make jokes in conversations with his teachers, caregivers, and house mom. Georgie’s favorite little joke right now is to reply “JUICE” to each and every question asked of him. He erupts into giggles and repeats the word over and over until tickles and exclamations prompt him to give the real answer that we were looking for. We recently celebrated Georgie’s 6th birthday, and when asked what he wanted to do for his party he answered without hesitation: “DANCE PARTY!” Georgie can count to 10 and is learning his first braille characters!
Evi is a happy, fun-loving child and loves to listen to music and play with her friends within the home. She enjoys being held and rocked, and being in the sunshine. Evi is able to independently lift her head up and makes purposeful eye contact, laughing and smiling at those she is familiar with. Evi is nonverbal and appears to understand some basic words in both English and her native language as she often smiles or laughs in response. Evi flaps her hands when she is excited. She is able to grab and pick up various items, and is working on both hand strength and mobility in physical therapy weekly. She is also working with physical therapy to prepare her body for a double hip surgery to help increase both her mobility and function.
Evi is a joy and would benefit and grow exponentially in a family of her own.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Esther speaks her native language fluently and understands some English. Her sentences in both languages are not clear and she needs the support of a speech therapist. She is on medication to control seizures and is seizure free. She tends to have trouble concentrating and attending to conversation. Social skills are delayed but she is well liked by the other girls and plays nicely. She has memorized her alphabet and numbers 1 to 200. She is writing four letter words neatly. She thrives from having adult attention and asks desperately when her family is coming. She is learning appropriate boundaries with strangers and tends to request hugs from any adult. Esther likes jumping on the trampoline, cuddling with caregivers, coloring, dancing and singing. Esther likes to be active with the other children in her house, but she also is comfortable entertaining herself with books and other quiet activities.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Eden continues to take daily morning walks with her teacher to continue to practice her cane skills. Eden is now able to climb a flight of stairs while holding onto the railing and receiving promptings from her teacher. Recently, Eden has shown an increase in desire to explore her surroundings. Eden’s teacher has been working with her on spatial recognition and her ability to find new landmarks in her home. Eden is currently working on self-feedings skills. At first she was reluctant to hold her spoon during meal times, but now she is able to hold it with assistance for her entire meal. She is doing incredible! We are optimistic that this is a skill she will master this year! Eden continues to wear her processors daily. Recently Eden has begun attending speech therapy three days a week. She has begun babbling more. We hope that with speech therapy she will be able to begin to associate more meaning with the noises that she hears.
Jan 2019 update: Eden has started moving around the home with purpose more independently. She is now able to climb up 3 flights of stairs while holding onto the rail for support. She is also able to come down the stairs, also holding onto the rail for support. Eden has always been quite the acrobat and has now learned to climb on the sofa in the home and will stand while holding onto the back and jump and giggle. She has also learned to find a low hanging disc swing in the home and climb on it. She loves the swing and will vocalize sweet sounds as she enjoys the motion. Eden continues to work with her guide cane and still needs encouraging and prompting to use the guide cane throughout the day. She takes daily walks down the street with her teacher. She mostly enjoys the walks, unless she is tired, then she cries to be picked up and comforted. Eden continues to wear her processors allowing her to hear and she often responds to the sounds of toys falling on the floor, familiar voices, and music. She does require frequent prompting to complete activities in her classes. Eden also continues to demonstrate some aversions to a lot of textures. This is addressed in the home through a lot of opportunity for sensory play. She enjoys having lotion rubbed on her, sensory brush actives and water play.
Aug 2020 Update: Most weekdays, after breakfast, Dinah spends time working on self-care skills.. She also has class where she works on a variety of skills, especially her gross motor and O&M skills. Dinah radiates joy and excitement when she dances!
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Connor is incredibly smart. While he is nonverbal, he is very communicative and expressive. He makes his needs known clearly and is never afraid to express exactly what he wants from you. Connor uses switch toys and certain iPad apps in classes. He loves doing activities that allow him to make independent choices. Connor has learned how to identify and point to different body parts when asked. In therapy, Connor is working on sitting independently. Currently, he is able to do so for ten, consecutive seconds. During free play, he likes to roll around next to his friends and often rolls into them, laughing. Connor would make such a wonderful son. His heart longs for family and deep connection with others.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
Last December, Blaire had a feeding tube placed. At the end of February she had a second surgery to have her feeding tube replaced due to minor complications. Ever since, she has been doing so well! Her cheeks are getting nice and plump! Blaire is deeply loved by everyone in the home, especially by her caregiver. She is very bonded with her current caregiver and will follow her throughout the room as she moves!
Blaire is a sweet child who lights up with 1:1 attention and would thrive in a family who will love and advocate for her.
At a recent trip to the park, Bhanu wanted to try out all the equipment! She sneakily tried to cut the lines to get to the front and made sure her caregivers were beside her to help her out so she could take part! Bhanu stands and walks with support and works very hard in PT towards her goal of learning to walk independently. She feeds herself. She loves dancing to music!
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.
The agency has photos to share at the appropriate point in a family’s adoption process.