
Sven #







Update 10/24
He has several special needs including congenital internal hydrocephalus and spina bifida aperta (thoraco-lumbar). Vernon is undergoing daily rehabilitation. His condition is monitored by a pediatric neurologist, a neurosurgeon and a pediatrician.
Vernon can turn independently from his back to his stomach and vice versa. He has good head control. He can purposefully grab a toy and hold it. He enjoys personal attention from an adult, laughs loudly at teasing and reacts with displeasure when left unattended. He is mostly calm. No aggressive behavior was recorded. When he is called by name, he turns toward the direction of the sound. He reacts to a noise stimulus. He speaks syllables and long sound combinations.


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At first contact, the impression is that he is shy and withdrawn.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.










Galen 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.
Galen 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. Galen 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.


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.

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.

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.

Currently, the child has no apparent epileptic seizures, and the EEG shows no epileptiform changes. Remedial nutrition with KetoCal is recommended; reduction of carbohydrate intake. A new hospitalization is forthcoming to start a ketogenic diet with KetoCal.

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.

Unedited pictures are available from the agency
















Congenital pneumonia, Type II – III respiratory failure; Premature, born at 36 weeks

Update 2024: Polly now displays some self injurious behaviors. They have seen improvements with the addition of multiple medications, but her behaviors can decline as the meds begin to wear off each day and before an additional dose can be given.