Waylon tries to follow rules but has difficulty following rules during lessons and concentrating on tasks. He sometimes
struggles to control his behavior and emotions. When angry, he behaves impulsively and uses verbal aggression. Seeks
leadership positions sometimes overestimating his own strength. He can become angry when he loses an activity and then
refuses to continue.
At first contact, the impression is that he is shy and withdrawn. After familiarizing himself with his
surroundings in a group of other children, he becomes bold and eager to make an impression. Waylon is able to make friends with other children, but is not always able to maintain them for long periods of time. Relationships with staff are generally warm, friendly and respectful. He is willing to interact, spontaneously develops a conversation and initiates conversations on topics of interest to him. Can distinguish, understand and relate emotions (sadness, anger, happiness, joy) to personal experience, although more often suppresses them and then acts them out on impulse. He lacks emotional self-regulation skills and sometimes has complex emotional experiences (loneliness, insecurity, anger, hopes and dreams about family life). Waylon is helpful, inquisitive, polite, generous, loves animals and likes to joke. He has age-appropriate decision-making skills, problem-solving skills. He has some signs of inappropriate behavior (swearing, insulting other children, not always responding to comments, etc.) due to being around older children. Waylon has been receiving psychological counselling since 2019. His caregivers say that it is likely that his mental health will improve significantly if he is provided with a safe, affectionate family environment.
Dawson is a 5 year old boy who is active and cheerful. He has been diagnosed with fetal hypotrophy, myopia, and nystagmus. He demonstrates curiosity and is very observant. His psychomotor development is good for his age. He moves independently, both walking and running. He struggles with maintaining balance, but he has improved in coordinating his movement. He hasn’t reached age-appropriate communication skills, but he has made significant progress in this area. He can imitate gestures and words and he understands basic commands. His emotions are becoming more complex. Dawson can remember the names of his peers and caregivers. He eats meals independently and is getting better at changing clothes without help. He is making steady progress and has demonstrated the ability to aquire new skills.
She is described as a radiant girl. She always has a smile on her face. She observes the games of the children from her group. She likes listening to children’s songs and dances. She rarely cries. Individual attention from an adult brings her happiness.
SN: VSD,ASD, epilepsy, optic nerve hypoplasia, hyperopic astigmatism in both eyes.
G is an eight year old boy with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which has left him with some dysmorphic facial features and difficulties with problem solving. In difficult situations he resorts to verbal and physical aggression. He enjoys helping out with household activities, specifically in the kitchen. He is visually impaired and has mild intellectual disability. He has been receiving preschool education since last September. He works with a psychologist, speech therapist, and physiotherapist on a daily basis.
G enjoys participating in group activities, but he works better when one-on-one with a therapist. He is capable of focusing for long periods of time on a single activity. When something doesn’t go his way, he can get upset, but with the right motivation he can easily return to his activity. G can’t read, but he can distinguish single letters of the alphabet, and can even copy letters. He can count to twenty. In the future, more focus will be put toward improving his knowledge of the alphabet and helping him manage his emotions.
Felicity was born in December 2009. The dominant emotions are the positive ones. She demonstrates active social behavior. Sometimes she still demonstrates weaker control of emotions. When frustrated, she reacts with irritation. There is no data for anxiety, depression, or aggression. She is doing well with the maternal language. There are some minimal grammar mistakes. She is able to lead and maintain dialog. She can express sequentially and logically her thoughts and feelings. She is able to express emotions though non-verbal communication. She demonstrates positive self-evaluation. She has the typical characteristics of an extrovert. She enjoys watching TV, drawing, playing computer games as well as playing outside. She is oriented in the behavior of the children and the adults within society. She can attune her behavior towards the requirements of the situation. She participates in games and in the communication of her peers. She is mostly taking the central role. She does not step back from her goals easily. During the school year 2022/2023 she graduated from eighth grade, a class with professional profile. Considering the neglect in her birth family she has some gaps in the knowledge which are expected for her age. At school she works with a resource teacher. She has self-serving skills. She has habits for maintaining personal and environmental hygiene. She has skills to participate in collectively organized household tasks. She wants to be adopted.
Kayla was born in December 2012. She is an emotional child. She does not demonstrate aggression. She is empathic towards the problems of the other kids. She is eager to help her peers if they need it. She is doing well with the maternal language. There are some minimal grammar mistakes. She is able to lead and maintain dialog. She can express sequentially and logically her thoughts and feelings. She can express emotions though non-verbal communication. She is building a positive self-evaluation. She has the typical for her age curiosity and she demonstrates characteristics of an extrovert. She enjoys watching cartoons, drawing, playing board games and computer games as well as playing outside. She is oriented in the behavior of the children and the adults within society. She can attune her behavior towards the requirements of the situation. She is adjusting well in the group of her peers. She participates with big interest in all organized games and events. She can step back from her own goals and actions in line with those of her peers. She can wait for her turn to come. Considering the neglect in her birth family she has some gaps in the knowledge which are expected for her age. She is able to read and write under dictation. She makes minimal mistakes. She is well oriented into her school. During the school year 2022/2023 she graduated from fourth grade. She has self-serving skills. She has habits for maintaining personal and environmental hygiene. She wants to be adopted.
Yuki was born in February 2011. In December 2012, Yuki was a victim in a road accident and suffered a right lower leg fracture. Considering the changes that happened in his life, the adjustment process into the residential facility and in school went with some challenges. In November 2022 he was consulted with pediatric psychiatrist who put the diagnosis for “Other mixed behavior and emotional disorders”. His condition is being followed and therapy may be prescribed as well as work with psychologist. Now he is calm, he is acting with respect towards peers and adults. He observes the rules. With desire he performs all the given tasks in school and in the residential center. The speech and the language skills are well-developed. He was raised in a bilingual environment where d both Bulgarian and Turkish language. He can lead and maintain dialog and he provides enough verbal information. During conversation he communicates freely, he enters contact easily. He is able to express emotions though non-verbal communication. He demonstrates positive self-evaluation. He has the typical characteristics of an extrovert. He enjoys playing on the computer, playing soccer and going for walks outside. With desire he participates in the group activities. He performs the tasks according to his abilities. He likes being praised and to feel helpful, to be in the center of the attention. He is oriented in the behavior of the children and the adults within the society. He can adjust to new conditions. When disappointed he reacts emotionally. He participates in the games of his peers. Not always able to adjust his goals and actions around those of his partners in the game and he may react emotionally and enters into conflict. He finds challenges accepting the failures. During the school year 2022/2023 he graduated from sixth grade, a class with a profile in boxing. He works with a resource teacher there, After the incident he had he has been educating remotely. He is doing well and within the timeframe. He has self-serving skills. He has hygiene habits, but he needs to be reminded. He participates with desire in the activities related to maintaining environmental hygiene. He wants to be adopted.
The brothers have been in foster care for many years now and they are such great kids. They want to have a family and to be together as brothers. Next year, because the older one will become 14 in the summer, they will have to move to another town because of his school. There are no options for foster families there and they will have to go to an institution. The social worker is very hopeful this won’t need to happen and that they will be adopted instead.
IRIO – He is social and communicative. He easily makes new friends. In most cases his relationships with the children and the adults are good. According to the foster parents, he communicates well with the children and the adults. They describe him as a well-mannered child, who can assess different situations and adjust his behavior with them. He is aware that there are many social roles in society, which warrant a certain behavior. He participates adequately in the games of his peers. He can follow the instructions and the rules. He prefers games with physical activity, but he can participate in some role plays, too, and symbolic games (he gets into the role of a policeman or a criminal). He seeks the attention of the other children. He enjoys drawing, riding his bicycle, and games with a ball and other sport games. He only likes to be alone if he is using the computer. He fits in well among his peers.
HAMILTON – The boy is calm, observant, and curious about the surrounding world. He is attached to his brother, who is placed in the same foster family. Together they take care of each other, communicate, and play. He talks about his biological family calmly and talks about how they used to live. He did not like the conditions in his home then. He is attached to the foster family, their children, and their grandchild. It is hard for him to accept the pain of others and is always ready to help. When in conflict situations he defends his opinion, he is stubborn. He follows the rules at home and at school. He sometimes presents himself with stubbornness, but he does not argue and is not aggressive. He has an idea of good and bad, and for punishment and justice. He shares his experiences with the foster family and respects them. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies, listening to music, and dancing.
To some extent, he maintains friendships. He wants to impose himself on the other children. Seeks encouragement and approval. Responds to praise and scolding. Sometimes he imposes his wishes, and when he is not satisfied, he shows aggression. In general, good integration in the team, good communication skills. Irritable at times. Follows verbal instructions and briefly answers questions. Makes eye contact. He also enters into verbal contact, but is poorly informed, quickly diverts the topic to something interesting for him. When asked a question, he answers shortly after a certain time. He understands the speech of others. Maddox often talks too much, at a slow pace, unable to listen during a conversation. In communication and communication with other children, Maddox experiences difficulties. He does not have well-developed skills for observing order and discipline. Involves and participates in the life of the family-type home for children with disabilities and beyond – celebrations, theater and concert visits, walks, excursions, camps, sports events, etc.
He likes to participate in various role-playing games. He has difficulties in communicating and interacting with other children. Prefers to dominate other children. He lacks the skills to play with them. Irritable at times. When he is restless, his behavior is slightly provocative. Has a tendency to get annoyed with children. When he is calm, he prefers to play with toys by himself. He likes to draw while explaining what he is doing at the moment. He likes
watching cartoons.
In the 2022/2023 school year, Maddox is a 7th grade student. He studies in a mass class with a resource teacher for children with special educational needs. He has a positive attitude towards the learning activity. Can write the letters he knows – printed and handwritten. The child has many gaps and lags behind in his educational level, according to
his individual skills and abilities. He loves to draw and is quite good at it. He has not mastered the minimum knowledge for his age, he cannot read. He attends two centers for accompanying social services – psychological support and social rehabilitation and speech therapy.
Maddox has developed elementary hygiene habits – he washes his hands, face, teeth, bathes with help. Performs daily household activities under instructions but needs reminders and control. Works willingly, but sometimes does not comply with instructions. Maddox does not have an opinion about adoption.
Nilo has diverse interests.
Nilo experiences attachment to children and therapists. She is sad when separated from someone. She seeks contact with adults, classmates and older students and engages in joint activities with them, she participates in role-playing games. She has mastered the social role of a student and classmate. Nilo helps her classmates when she sees that they are having a hard time. The comfort zone is the classroom and Montessori room.
The child communicates verbally, expresses wishes, and is often persistent about them, especially about things that spark her interest. When asked a question, she needs time to think about it and reproduce an answer; she constantly asks questions and seeks approval. The answer is not always adequate to the situation. She doesn’t always
understand the meaning of what was said and the execution of a relevant instruction.
Nilo likes a variety of toys, and she possesses different ones. She can play with other children and is cooperative, she shares her belongings. Nilo has developed self-service skills and readiness for academic work. She has established hygiene habits. She eats independently; dresses and undresses; unfastens and fastens; puts on and takes off shoes; she knows the parts of clothing. She can’t tie shoelaces.
She can say that she is in a foster family and that the foster mother raised her. The girl partially understands that foster care is temporary. She listens and accepts information related to the possibility of being adopted and meets potential adoptive parents, but still, she cannot imagine living in a different place.
Ivory walks steadily alone. She goes up and down the stairs by herself, tapping the banister. She is mobile – she runs, climbs, and jumps. She has developed fine motor skills. Manipulates objects as intended. She knows how to braid, string beads, etc. Her movements are careful. Can arrange puzzles, constructor sets, and mosaic. Flips through books, turning the pages slowly and carefully. She holds a pencil with a proper grip, colors slowly, trying not to go beyond the outline of the picture. The intellectual level is lower than normal for her age. She understands the information she is given, but it needs to be presented in short and simple sentences. The imagination is developed. Her speech consists of simple sentences that are difficult to understand.
She is mostly calm. She has imitative behavior. She can be persuaded by words. Accepts contact from adults – acquaintances, behaves reserved towards strangers. At times, she is insecure in unfamiliar situations, but she adapts relatively quickly. Unease is mainly expressed in hand-biting, plucking, and shouting. She is a calm and radiant child. She is adaptive, sociable, and willing to play with children. She likes to help with housework, very often showing childish stubbornness when refused by an adult. Ivory likes to play with stuffed toys and do hair. She has favorite animations and shows that she follows with interest. When the weather is right, she likes to swing on the swing in the yard. She likes to dance. She prefers to do mostly puzzles. She often plays with mosaics or colors.
She eats slowly, neatly, and independently. She can drink by herself from a cup and a bottle. She can wash her body and hair, but still needs adult supervision and assistance. Ivory can dress and undress herself and folds and arranges her clothes. She can tie her shoes. Ivory still does not know how to choose her clothes according to the season and coordinate them by color. She can wash her face and teeth by herself, but still needs the support of an adult. She can wash her hands on her own with minimal help. In the evening, she falls asleep alone and her sleep is peaceful. She controls her physiological needs.
Ivory wants to be adopted.
Walt has been diagnosed with autism and developmental delays. He is nonverbal, does not engage with peers, and prefers to play with rotating, round objects. Walt does not show aggression and expresses warmth toward others on his own initiative. He likes to receive hugs from his foster parent.
Saber is a sweet little boy. His main diagnoses/conditions are: epilepsy – grand mal seizures. Infantile cerebral palsy – spastic quadriparesis, severe degree; ROP; cataract in the left eye – condition following surgical treatment; brain cysts; hypotrophy; mixed specific disorders of the psychological development; severely impaired general condition, with severe delay in all areas of development. He is fed via nasogastric tube. He needs constant care, active monitoring by a pediatric neurologist, an ophthalmologist and a physiotherapist.
Sweet Saber truly deserves a wonderful family! He expresses emotional conditions through mimics. He understands when an adult is in the room and he looks for him with his gaze. He smiles when someone speaks to him or when he is jested. He does not interact with other children, but individual attention by an adult brings him pleasure which he expresses through smiling.
Please help us find this smiley little boy his forever family!
After complex surgical intervention, Miriam walks independently and can go up and down stairs while holding on to a railing and sits without support. She uses primarily her right hand and is independently able to eat with utensils, drink from a cup, brush her teeth and use the restroom. She requires assistance with bathing. Miriam is well oriented in the spaces, routines and among the people of her group home. She is emotionally stable but likes to be the center of attention and may show jealousy when other children are prioritized. Although she appears to have an unspecified speech/articulation disorder, Miriam is able to communicate verbally, constantly and curiously asks questions, and can participate in dialogues.
Miriam attends an auxiliary school and says she cannot imagine her life without the opportunity for education. Her academic knowledge is on a preschool level: she can count to 20 and name all the letters of the alphabet as well as identify colors and everyday objects. She works with more focus in a one on one setting but can get overwhelmed when tasks are too demanding. She needs many repetitions to acquire new skills. Miriam’s thinking is concrete and situational and her greatest delays are cognitive.
Miriam is friendly, sociable and trusting. She interacts preferably with adults, but also establishes warm connections with peers and joins group activities. Although she is reported to be selective with her relationships, she is well attached to her social worker. She likes to listen to music, play games, and spend time with the group home’s parakeets and yard dog. Through the services of a non-profit organization, Miriam has the opportunity to go swimming and indoor rock climbing both of which she enjoys very much.
Miriam’s social worker and family therapist note that Miriam is willing to learn new things and would make continued and noticeable progress in a family that can offer her more appropriate interventions and individualized resources as well as a warm and loving home. Seven years ago, Miriam experienced a disrupted adoption procedure, but her care team believes now that she is more mature, she would understand better the meaning and benefits of adoption and would seriously consider a family interested in making her their daughter.
Miriam has waited for a forever family for over eight years. A family interested in adopting Miriam must file their I-800A with USCIS before her 16th birthday in early December.
She does not respond to sound signals. She does not blink. She often suffers from respiratory diseases. Bless turns from her back to her stomach and vice versa but prefers to remain in a supine position. From a supine position, she pushes herself up with her legs and shoulders and moves into space. She obliges herself in a passive sitting position in a walker. She has control over her head. She steps on her toes, but there is no support for her legs. The child holds a toy placed by the adult in her hand, puts it in her mouth, but for a short time. Undeveloped impressive and expressive vocabulary. Increased sound sensitivity. Spontaneously utters vocals and guttural sounds. She does not pay attention to her surroundings. The child is fed by an adult. She falls asleep on her own. She is completely dependent on the adult.
Archibald cannot walk independently. He moves by pushing when placed in a walker. Stands up on his own and stands on his feet when in his crib. He can get out of bed by himself. He can go around the whole game room. He can sit for about 15-20 minutes. In terms of fine motor skills, he can pick up a toy himself if it is nearby; he plays for a long time and prefers to manipulate with his left hand. If the toy is at a distance, he tries to reach it. He likes musical toys. He recognizes adults. He has a good emotional tone, he enjoys contact with adults he knows; he loves when they praise him. He gets angry if his toy is taken away and tries to keep it in his possession. Archibald cannot speak but he makes long sounds. In interpersonal relationships he shows preferences for certain adults and initiates contact with them. He plays with toys. The child doesn’t have independent household hygiene habits. He is calm when changing and bathing, as well as in his sleep. Archibald does not take an afternoon nap, he eats everything. He is very stubborn and when he decides that he wants to pick up an object, no matter how heavy and large, he does his best. He still uses a diaper, potty several times a day. His sleep at night is
peaceful. He has daily kinesitherapy and sessions with a teacher. He is followed by a
neurosurgeon.
She shared that her passion is currently drama performances and classes and she has already some experience playing on stage at the local theaters. Nikki says that if she has to choose she would prefer the stage rather than playing in a movie because she likes to have interaction with the audience. However she has a favorite movie and it's a movie which she admits she watched like hundreds of time – Titanic. She shared that she likes Leonardo Di Caprio and Angelina Jolie as actors.
Nikki seems to be one very sensitive and romantic soul, she enjoys more peaceful activities, she likes the rain and she admits that some movies make her cry. However she does not spare any smiles and she loves to smile and have fun with her friends. Nikki likes the colors black, red and purple, she said that pink is definitely not a favorite color. She said that she is not a picky eater and she likes all kinds of food. She shared that she does not like lamb meat. Nikki enjoys the music of the singer Arianna Grande and she dreams to visit Paris one day.
Nikki's hope is that she will have a family. She was adopted years ago through the national adoption process but her parents seemed to be much older and at the end they saw that they feel much more comfortable without having a child at home, they had a hard time creating emotional bond with her and they disrupted the adoption after four years. Nikki seems to have processed the trauma from that separation and she now realizes that what happened maybe was in her interest as she felt undesired in their home.
Since 2021 she is in the current group home and she is now looking in the future and the possibility to have a new family. She said that it does not bother her if the family is from another country even though she admits she will feel sad for leaving her friends and the people who take care for her now.
When asked about how she is imagining her family, she said that she wants they to be good people and to treat her well. She is ok with both having other siblings or not. Nikki shared that she loves animals ( her favorite is a cat) and she would like her family to like animals too. Nikki believes that you can tell a lot about the people just watching them how they act and interact around animals and that it is always a good person the one who admits that likes animals.
Demi has resided in a group home for 4 years. Her case was stuck in the system, and she was just recently registered for adoption. She gets along well with peers and adults. She can be a leader. She has good self-awareness and positive self-esteem. She is honest and able to admit her mistakes. She has no anxiety or depression.
She loves to dance, participate in role plays, symbolic games and art activities and she has the required skills and desire. Due to not having early academic exposure, Demi is a student in sixth grade. Her knowledge, skills, and competencies do not correspond to the expected at this grade and she is enrolled in resource teaching. Bulgarian is her second language. She has a good attitude in school though.
She is independent, she has good hygiene habits and skills for self-serving. Demi is prepared for the adoption procedure, she is positive about it, she is seeking future with good living conditions, where her needs will be met, she will feel secure, she will feel love and to be part of something, she will experience respect, and she will be able to assert herself as a person.
