
Julee

Introducing six-year-old Addy! Addy’s foster family and social workers describe her as a gentle, quiet, and introverted young girl who is kind and affectionate towards familiar people. Addy enjoys working puzzles, making handicrafts such as origami and paper cutting, and skipping rope. We have videos of Addy performing all three tasks above and she really is quite talented! Addy has speech and developmental delays as well as suspected autism, although it is noted in a more recent medical update that she has made noticeable improvements in general knowledge, verbal language comprehension and abstract concepts. She is currently receiving speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy once per week, as well as physical programs to help increase her muscle strength. She can name daily life objects and their uses and respond to questions in complete sentences. Addy has much potential but lacks self-confidence.
Update Sep 2021:
According to her special education counselor, 7-year-old Addy has made remarkable improvements in self-confidence thanks to the support of her teacher and past learning experiences. Most recently, she is learning the concept of money through shopping activities and is training to enhance her muscle coordination and strength through arts and crafts. Addy has an intrinsic motivation to learn and doesn’t let her limitations of near sighted and borderline sensory integration disorder prevent her from trying new things. She is currently enrolled in gymnastics classes and focuses on four major exercises: horizontal bar, trampoline, balance beam, and floor.
Addy has an excellent relationship with her foster mother. She chats with people and laughs at funny things too. She likes to amuse a younger foster child at home and will protect her like a sister as well. Addy has been receiving extra visual training from her teacher at school. Her teacher reports that she is cooperative and will complete tasks that are required of her, even if she doesn’t enjoy them—like writing. She interacts enthusiastically and cheerfully with her classmates and enjoys taking part in activities with adults. When we asked Addy how she would describe herself, she responded beautiful, gentle, and introverted, whereas her classmates would describe her as a kind and generous person, who can be serious in class.
Update 2022:
Natala participated in our February 2022 Virtual Superkids trip. She was 2 1/2 years old during the visit. Natala is a special girl who will require lifelong care by her adoptive parents.
Natala expresses her joy through smiling and laughing. She enjoys toys that make sounds and lights up when playing with dolls. She expresses sadness through crying. Natala has global delays in development and non-verbal. She is most comforted and connected to her foster mother.
Kelsey:
She did well on all of the tasks asked of her. She even did some simple multiplication!
Kelsey told us her favorite color is pink and she loves bread. Her favorite animal is a water buffalo, which she had recently seen at the zoo. She likes playing outside, and when she gets to play frisbee in PE class at school. Kelsey is in the 2nd grade and her foster parents told us she especially excels in Mandarin and math.
Kelsey has been living with her current foster family for about year. Foster mom and dad both came to meet with us – which is rare, we usually just get to meet foster mom. It was clear that Kelsey has a good, trusting relationship with her foster parents – who we learned are both social workers! Kelsey has had a bit of a tough past, but it seemed to us that she is in a wonderful place now. Her foster parents confirmed that they have seen positive changes in Kelsey throughout the last few months.
Update 2022:
Keller is described as a lively, cuddly child. To view his original post, click here. Keller was seen by virtual SuperKids in February 2022 and wow, he has developed into a happy kid, loving to learn new things and share his knowledge! Shy and reserved around the video camera, he was hesitant to sing for us but did hum the tunes of Paw Patrol while playing and interacting. Some of his favorite cartoons are Paw Patrol, Robocar Poli, Masha and the Bear and Shimajiro!
Keller is almost 5 1/2 years old and learning in kindergarten class. He is now able to participate in sports, ride a bike, paint, build towers, and enjoys watching cartoons. He is receiving early intervention services and has an IEP, with goals of maintaining focus while in groups, improving fine motor skills and interpersonal interactions- all goals he is working hard to achieve! He receives weekly speech therapy.
On a recent outing, Keller was able to go to Ocean World to watch the dolphin and sea lion show. He really enjoyed this experience and seems to enjoy learning about animals and nature! How amazing would it be for him to be home next years with his forever family, enjoying theme parks, aquariums, and the zoo?!
Keller is progressing in multiple areas, including language and motor skills – he enjoys singing songs, counting to 30, and working on fine motor skills such as using scissors. Keller has received speech services for since 2019. While he is working on various goals, there have been gains as he is able to shown ability to problem solve, and speaks in more complete sentences! Keller responds to reward and encouragements in his day to day life. He is encouraged by receiving stickers when he learns something new!
Keller has quite the sweet tooth! He likes cakes, cookies and pudding. He shared that they are yummy treats and shares his treats with his caregivers. Keller wants to bake and eat cookies with you!
Kelsey: Kelsey will be nine years old soon and is still waiting for her family. When we met with her, she kept a steady smile on her face and appeared to be in good spirits. She told us that her favorite class in school is P.E. and she finds English class to be the most difficult. It certainly isn’t easy learning a second language, but she put her skills to use saying ‘thank you’ several times during our visit. We learned that Kelsey’s favorite sports are dodgeball and frisbee, and summertime is her favorite time of year. Kelsey showed off her knowledge by correctly answering our multiplication math problems without hesitation. Kelsey’s favorite colors are yellow and blue, and she told us she wants to be a dancing police officer when she grows up! Kelsey is a medically healthy and active young girl waiting for the loving family she deserves. She has been diagnosed with ADHD which is controlled with medication.