Other Special Needs

March 2023 Update: Izzy is a bright, friendly girl who has cerebral palsy. She loves playing games such as hot potato, duck duck goose, and catch. She loves playing pretend. She has an infectious laugh and smile and brings a special energy and joy wherever she goes. She often seeks out trusted caregivers and requests hugs and kisses. She will turn her face from side to side to ensure she gets kisses on both cheeks. Izzy was our cookie artist this year at Christmas, very particular about her frosting color and decorating technique. But eventually, she started eating the cookies as rapidly as her friends were making them!

Izzy has grown so much in her communication skills. 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 uses a combination of speech and sign language to communicate. Verbally, she strings together 2-3 words and combines this with sign language. She can pull to a stand and is able to stand independently for over a half hour and can take many independent steps. She crawls or scoots around the house primarily or uses a walker. Izzy can walk up the stairs holding on to the railing. She can self-feed.

Izzy is just always laughing, always dancing, always singing, and always sharing her enthusiasm and love with those around her. She is highly motivated to learn new things and to gain new skills. She engages well in classes and therapy and seeks stimulation in her free play time. She loves to dance, to create art, to listen to music and to be outside. She loves sensory play, physical play, constructive play, imaginative play and games with rules. She understands play concepts really quickly such as turn taking, competition, etc. Currently she is really enjoying air hockey. She would be an incredible gift to any family and has a huge capacity to learn and grow in a family environment.

Family history: mother with thalassemia minor 

Josie currently lives in a group home. She is very small for her age. She can turn from her back to her stomach. She tracks objects with her eyes and reacts with smiles and positive movements/expressions when an adult interact with her.  

Jade was born in 2012 and is 10 years old. Jade’s favorite activities include playing dodgeball, cutting out shapes and gluing them to make colorful collages, writing and painting! Her foster mother has accumulated all of her artwork into a book as a keepsake. Jade also enjoys attending church activities, such as Sunday school and summer/winter camps. Those who know Jade describe her as easy going with the ability to easily adapt to new environments. Jade is enrolled in 5th grade, and her teacher stated she is an excellent student. Her favorite subjects being Mandarin and Science.

Jack was born in 2014 and is 8 years old. Jack lives in a foster family. He enjoys playing video games, jumping rope, playing ‘Go’ board game and singing. Jack is a little timid when meeting someone for the first time. Once he has warmed up to them, he will become lively and engaging. Jack is enrolled in 3rd grade and attends an afterschool program. His teacher described Jack as cheerful and smart. His favorite subject is Life Curriculum.

Jay was born in 2015 and is 7 years old. Playing with a diabolo, jumping rope and reading are some of Jay’s favorite activities. Those who know Jay describe him as cheerful and energetic. Jay resides at a children’s home where he shares a room with 3 other boys. Jay has a diagnosis of ADHD. He is enrolled in 2nd grade and makes good grades at school.

Jared was born in 2016 and is 6 years old. Jared’s favorite activities are acting and pretend play. On this particular day, Jared pretends he is a street vendor serving up foods to his customers! His caregivers state Jared is good at playing various roles at one time, while changing his voice and tone. Jared also enjoys playing with toy cars and making his caregivers laugh. Those who know Jared describe him as active and smart. Jared resides in a children’s home where he lives with 6 children of similar ages. Jared is enrolled in kindergarten.

While the siblings live in separate residences, they have occasional meetings and Skype calls.

The siblings need time, love and space to help them re-adjust to living with one another.

Mina, born in November 2016, is a beautiful little girl who likes to paint and play “sleepover” with her friends. Mina likes to go to the park and put together puzzles. She also loves to sing and listen to music of all genres, especially tango. Mina enjoys children’s stories and watching her favorite cartoons, which include Masha and the Bear, Puss in Boots, and Blue Shortcuts. Contact the agency to learn more about Mina and her listed medical needs!

Updated bio from Feb 2023:
Robert is much more easy going and independent now. He’s made a lot of progress in the last couple of years! He’s honestly such a happy boy who loves people, hugs, and music. He’s quite good at taking selfies on cell phones too.

He loves to play on his own, not in a way that he doesn’t play with others but meaning he doesn’t need someone to entertain him. He builds with magnetic tiles and enjoys creative play with his dolls/stuffed animals. Sometimes he sets up his stuffed animals and babies to pretend to feed them or do school. Other nights he’s hanging his sheet across the room to make a hammock swing. He makes his foster family laugh a lot!

He’s independent with getting dressed, showering, changing his sheets and etc. Occasionally, accidents at night but they are few and far between. He eats and drinks on his own but he doesn’t chew well. He could use OT for this.

He is such a kind helper and aware of routines or tasks needing to be done. For example, if his foster mom is getting another child ready, without prompting, he will go get clothes and socks/shoes for them too.

He LOVES his big bike! 3 years ago he was scared of a bike but now he rides around on his 24inch bike, no problem! He enjoys jumping on the trampoline and going on walks. He is still drawn to trees and shadows for sensory input.

He may cross his arms and refuse to cooperate. Sometimes shakes his head or cries. This used to happen frequently but it is not frequent anymore. We can work through it much easier now though. He mostly does it when he is trying to express something he needs/wants or doesn’t want. So he is using it to try to communicate where his speech is limited. He makes noises or talks with the handful of phrases he can say. He is learning to expand his vocabulary.

His natural response used to be to run when he was scared but very rarely does he do that now too. For example, medical appointments were always difficult for him, needing days to prepare ahead. Now he is fine to go and doesn’t need much prepping.

He’s such a joy to live with and he would flourish even more in a family!

School update: Robert loves school! He is such a fun student to have because he is excited about everything he does, and other kids too. He is constantly cheering for himself or for his friends and wanting to help them out in any way! He has transitioned to a full day of school easily.

He is very good at sorting. He can match or sort any colors, letters, and numbers. He has delays but we are continuing to work with him. He likes sensory play like kinetic sand, shaving cream, and water beads.

He has so much potential to learn so many things if he were to have access to more services!

Bodie has a diagnosis of moderately impaired general condition which requires constant adult attention and supervision. He was born prematurely. He has congenital hydronephrosis grade 3 of both kidneys with congenital mega-ureters and is underdeveloped in his neurological and mental development.  He does not make eye contact and does not have developed speech — although he does not use words, he hums and shouts to express himself. He is interested in toys but without creative play. He began sitting independently at 2 years 9 months. He stands but cannot walk independently, and uses diapers day and night due to kidney condition, and requires constant adult supervision for his daily needs.   Additional photos and a brief video are available upon request.

Bodie responds to his name with a smile, to sounds and noise. He keeps an eye on the movement of people and objects in the room. He is described as a calm and pleasant child. He is well attached to his caregivers and responds well to them. When given attention, he reacts positively and with a smile. Most of the time, the child is energetic and physically active. It is difficult for him to stay in one place, constantly moving and exploring.

The child expresses his joy by erratically clapping his hands and by making noises. When held by the hand he makes several steps.  (was previously also listed as Barron).

January 2022 Update: Tatum is an incredibly bright, resourceful, and happy teenage girl!

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 feeds herself, holding the spoon with her toes. She is independent in her toileting and helps with tasks in the home like folding clothes.

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 and she saves all her paintings. She received a Barbie for Christmas and really enjoys playing with it. 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 used to go to a local school but is learning at home now due to covid restrictions. 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. Tatum is very bright and is eager to learn, and very diligent in completing her work. She is fluent in her local language, progressing in English, and now learning a 3rd language.She says she likes math the best.

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.

Freeman’s social worker reports that he has good behavior and plays well with other children. He attends preschool and does not currently have any developmental concerns.

Photos are available through the agency for qualified families.

Initial testing shows that Luann has Sickle Cell Anemia. Her pediatrician has made the determination to not conduct further testing until after her first birthday. She is currently developing on target for her age.

Photos are available through the agency for qualified families.

Feb 2023 Update:  Malachi is a very happy, friendly, active child! He loves to play with the other children in his home, jump on the trampoline, ride his bike, and listen to music. His home recently got gymnastics rings and he loves learning stunts on them and going upside down. Malachi is blind, but has good awareness of his surroundings in familiar settings. Malachi is independent in all his daily living skills. He is very motivated to learn new skills and new information – one of his favorite activities is listening to the news on the radio and also making up his own pretend news broadcasts. Malachi reads braille and is currently at around a 4th grade level. He says his favorite subjects in school are math and social studies. Malachi speaks English and his local language. In English he can communicate his needs and wants, tell stories, as well as explain and understand more in-depth concepts. His schooling is mainly done in English. He attended a school for the blind until class 5 but now attends a mainstream private school.  Malachi has been working on multiplication, subtraction, basic money skills, and continuing to improve his braille reading skills.

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 how 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. He plays around on the xylophone and ukelele and watches tutorials on YouTube to learn to play. At the end of 2022 he began learning to play the ukelele at school, and he performed the song Count On Me at a school sports day concert. He beamed with pride as everyone applauded for him.

Malachi got Bop It for Christmas and loves playing with that, as well as the Simon handheld memory game. At Christmas he performed “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” at the party in both English and his local language. He is a great singer!

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 says when he is an adult he wants to make robots! When asked what he likes about himself, he says he likes his strong brain that is good at math. His favourite animal is a parrot and he wants to learn more about parrots in school. When asked his favourite thing to do, he responded he likes to cook soup with playdough!

He had a best friend in the home and they liked to wear matching outfits and call themselves twins. This friend was recently adopted, and Malachi would love to be adopted too. He is a very bright child who would do incredibly well in a family!

Christopher is 13 years old. He has learning difficulties in school and says he wants to participate in an apprenticeship program to learn a trade for a career. Samuel is 10 years old and Stephen is 7 years old. Both Samuel & Stephan are doing well in school. Neither of the boys have any health concerns or known disabilities.

Adam uses a wheelchair and can also move around using his hands and arms. He does not have any cognitive delays or health concerns. He was born missing both lower limbs and was abandoned shortly after birth as a result.

Adam attends school. He is doing very well in math class. He enjoys helping with housework, especially washing clothes. He enjoys going to church. He loves to dance and performs with a group from the orphanage. He gets frustrated when he cannot perform certain dance steps like his friends. He is self-conscious about people looking at him due to his missing legs. He needs a family that will help him grow into confidence with who he is. His favorite extracurricular activity is swimming. His social worker believes he can develop into a very good swimmer and that swimming is a great activity to help his confidence.

Meet Lacey, a beautiful young girl with a bright smile! MAA staff met Lacey in October of 2022. Lacey, born in December of 2007, cannot talk but she interacts through her facial expressions. She has a beautiful smile, and she raises her arm when she is having a really good time. She was diagnosed with neurodevelopmental delays and congenital cardiopathy. She eats by feeding tube. Due to having an accelerated heartrate, she doesn’t gain weight. We hope her forever family sees her soon! Contact the agency to learn more about Lacey!

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Feb 2023 Update: Priscilla arrived in her care home in July 2021 and has become more alert and engaged since her arrival. She can roll on her sides. Since arriving in her current home, she sits with support much more easily and is lifting her head more purposefully. She also laughs more often and smiles when her name is called! She doesn’t yet appear to have very developed receptive language but communicates with her caregiver with cooing sounds and smiles when they interact together. If she is upset, she visibly relaxes when her caregiver talks to her. She knows when it is mealtime and gets very cranky if the food is late!

At the Christmas party in 2021, Priscilla moved from lap to lap of all the aunties in the home, as they each wanted to take part in watching Priscilla experience her first Christmas! She received a swing for her gift and seems to enjoy the soothing motion of being pushed in the swing. The following year in 2022, Priscilla had a chance to perform in a group dance with the support of her caregiver!

Priscilla prefers a slow morning, easing into her day by her caregiver’s side or in her arms for a snuggle. After her morning snack, Priscilla has a PT session and then spends time in her Zing stander. When she is in it, she interacts with her peers and caregivers at a higher level compared to when she is on the floor or in her wheelchair. Priscilla is tired after all that exercising, so after lunch she has a nap. In the afternoons, Priscilla takes part in tummy time which she likes to do while watching TV or listening to music. Then she joins group sensory play time! Priscilla’s favourite is kinetic sand. She will squish it in her hand or fling it all over the room, laughing. Evenings are a little more relaxed and our sweet girl ends up in her favourite spot, right back with her caregiver. She has a sweet relationship with her caregiver, who loves dressing her up in the very fanciest of outfits, no matter what the occasion! Priscilla is always the best dressed girl in the room!

Polly has been given a diagnosis of childhood Autism and is on several medications. She is now in a day program for children with disabilities and is receiving therapy services. As a result, she’s made progress in all aspects of her development. Polly speaks using simple words and small sentences. She understands everything said to her and can follow 2 and 3-step directions. She is able to express her wants and needs either through words or gestures. She asks questions. She learns new tasks best when a combination of verbal directions and visual demonstrations are used. She prefers playing alone and can play or work on a task for 10-15 minutes at a time uninterrupted. She plays appropriately with toys that interest her: coloring, building with blocks, kitchen/household toys (play kitchen, etc). She feeds herself with a spoon and drinks from an open cup. She’s toilet trained during the day, but still has some accidents when sleeping.

This update and new photos were added in October 2022.

Vivian is a beautiful girl who has been living at her children’s home since she was an infant. She has multiple disabilities including a Traumatic Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, and Epilepsy. It’s believed that Vivian has some level of both a hearing and vision impairment, although her caretakers are not sure of a specific diagnosis. Vivian also had her right hand amputated as a baby and uses a g-tube to eat. Despite all this Vivian is a happy, lovable girl who continues to make daily progress towards understanding her world and communicating with those around her.

Vivian spends most of her days sleeping. But when she’s awake she will use facial expressions and verbal sounds to indicate her feelings towards something. She enjoys soft and warm textures, music, and being snuggled by her favorite people. She enjoys getting out of her wheelchair and stretching out on the couch. Vivian is the sweetest, most content girl, and a family would be lucky to call her a daughter. She would bring a sense of peace and joy into any household, and find so much safety in having a family of her own.

Wynonna has suffered from mental health issues associated with the grief and loss around the death of her mother. She has made improvements in the orphanage and needs a family who can support her through the process of grief. She lives in the institution since 2021. She is an average student.  She is a medically healthy and active young girl waiting for the loving family she deserves.

Update: Jan 2023:  Agency reported the boy is will waiting on the list as available for adoption, but neither of his sisters are.   The agency assumption is that she has been adopted.

Update Sept 2022: Agency reported the oldest girl was no longer listed as available for adoption. The younger girl & the boy are still on their country’s list, and listed as available for adoption together or separately.

Original listing for “Andy, Izzy & Kayla”:
Currently, Andy & Kayla are being raised together in a foster home, while Izzy is being raised in a different foster home in the same town. The children see each other often and want to be adopted together so that they can all live in the same home. The foster families do not speak the country’s native language in the home, so the children speak one language while at home and a 2nd language at school.

Andy tested at age appropriate levels on all psychological and emotional testing. He does well in school and does not have any behavioral concerns. He has age appropriate friendships, social skills, communication skills, and self-help skills. He likes to play football and eat French fries. When he grows up, he wants to be a policeman.

Izzy tested at age appropriate levels on all psychological and emotional testing. She does well in school and does not have any behavioral concerns. She has age appropriate friendships, social skills, communication skills, and self-help skills. She enjoys playing outside with her friends. When she grows up, she wants to be a teacher.

Kayla has speech delays that make it difficult to understand what she is saying. She is working with a speech therapist and learning to make the correct sounds so that her words are more easily understood. She is very active and takes medication to control impulsive behaviors and to help her attention span. Her foster mother reports that her behaviors have greatly improved with the addition of medication. She is attending kindergarten and responds well to play based learning.

Ashton is an adorable little boy who is described as a social child who loves to be around others who give him affection. He shares with the people around him. He loves to hear music and pleasant sounds. He likes painting and watching animated shows. Contact the agency to learn more about Ashton and his special needs!

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Jordan is an affectionate little guy with a beautiful smile and bright eyes. He loves attention. Jordan also likes to spend time in his walker and being massaged.

Contact the adoption agency to learn more about Jordan and his special needs! We sure hope someone brings this cutie pie home while he’s still so little!

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Katherine is a sweet, quiet girl with cerebral palsy and mild scoliosis. She is also profoundly deaf. She received a cochlear implant in 2016.

Katherine struggles with keeping her head up, but when she is very motivated she is physically able to find the strength. Katherine is non-verbal and requires full support for all her acts of daily living. She had a hip correction surgery for hip dislocation and this has helped a lot with positioning and pain management. She receives PT where her muscles are stretched and she works on core strengthening.

Katherine is calm and quiet. Her caregiver loves her a lot. For Christmas, she bought her lipstick and jewelry and did a photoshoot! Katherine enjoys basking in the sun on the balcony and likes when her teachers help her finger paint or read touch and feel books. She likes being held and when her caregiver kisses her forehead. She also seems to really enjoy water play and is always content and soothed.

Katherine would be a wonderful addition to a family!

Zoey is one of the most beautiful little girls you’ll ever meet. She was born with some developmental delays, but then experienced a stroke when she was two and a half. This greatly set back her abilities. However, since then she’s been in a foster family where she’s relearned how to sit, roll, and grasp toys. She is working on self-feeding and becoming verbal again. Although Zoey had a seizure with her stroke she hasn’t had one since, and rarely requires medical care now. However, she may benefit from a better neurologist to understand her brain’s unique functions and abilities. Zoey is not short of opinions and will let you know exactly how she is feeling with tears or laughter! She loves to play and her giggle is absolutely infectious. She loves playing with water, musical instruments, and anything that makes noise. Zoey also loves to eat and isn’t picky at all! She is a social girl who has loved having two foster brothers. Zoey will bring an abundance of joy to any family who chooses to love her forever!

June is a little girl, but she can make a lot of noise! You can often hear her in every room of the children’s home. Just when you start reading a story or giving directions June will start up, blowing raspberries or just experimenting with how high she can yell. When she’s feeling less feisty June loves to cuddle. She enjoys spending time in someone’s arms or a carrier, and will often fall asleep there. June cannot see well so she prefers toys that make lots of noise- she’s especially good at using her legs to kick the piano mat or crinkle wrapping paper. She also enjoys being tickled or gently bounced on a lap. June is working very hard at sitting up on her own- she has fantastic head control, can flip herself onto her stomach, and is also improving at grasping toys independently. June would benefit from good medical care to better control her epilepsy. She will bring lots of noise and fun, as well as an abundance of love to any family that chooses to bring her home.

February 2022 Update: Shilo is a precious little girl who loves to be held and cuddled. She enjoys dancing to music and being twirled around the room.

Shilo vocalizes a lot but doesn’t speak any words yet. She shows the ability to form healthy attachments. She loves her caregiver and tracks her with her eyes as she walks around the room and kicks her legs and moves her arms when she needs her attention.

Shilo’s dosage for her spasticity has been altered and her muscle tone has really improved. Shilo has greater than partial head control and is learning to sit well by herself with her hands propping her up on the ground. Her therapist is working on core strengthening with her and helping her to balance on all fours. She also spends a lot of time in functional standing.

Shilo 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. When her teacher sings the I Love You, You Love Me song, Shilo smiles and vocalizes. When her teacher hugs her in the song, Shilo leans in for a kiss too! Shilo is a deep lover of life and friendship and would thrive in a family of her own.

This is the case of a male child born from a pathological pregnancy with very low weight and indications of congenital cytomegalovirus infection. In the early neonatal period posthemorrhagic internal hydrocephaly was found and at the age of 2 months a VP shunt was implanted. Due to malfunctioning of the shunt, it was replaced when the child was 9 months old.

Dean is in a stationed impaired general state of health with a severe quadriparetic syndrome, pseudobulbar paresis and cortical blindness. Also, total cataract of both eyes has been found which cannot be treated surgically due to the severely damaged state of health of the child. He is fed via a nasogastric tube. He is severely delayed in his physical and neuro-psychic development. His condition is being monitored by medical professionals.

February 2022 Update: Kristy is such a precious girl! She loves when she is with people that she knows care for her. Kristy eagerly seeks out physical touch from her teachers and caregivers. She crawls up to them and slowly stretches out her body until she is fully in their lap, then she hugs them tightly. It is very endearing. Kristy is very friendly and enjoys having visitors in her home. While Kristy loves to cuddle with her friends, she tends to prefer independent play. She loves to play with musical instruments, swing, jump on the trampoline, and play with balls. She enjoys standing on the balcony and watching the trees. Her favourite song is I Love You, You Love Me and she gets excited when she sees her teacher doing the actions.

Kristy has hearing loss but stopped wearing hearing aids due to her sensory aversion to wearing them. She explores the house and bangs the chairs on the floor to listen to the loud sound! She is a queen of exploration and crawls all over the house, looking for interesting things. Kristy is non-verbal and needs full support in her acts of daily living. She is able to pull herself to a stand holding onto furniture and can walk using a gait trainer under the supervision of her therapist. Right now in PT, she is working on independent standing. She is also working on some activities to strengthen her fine motor skills with the eventual goal of starting to work on more independent living skills. Kristy would make a valuable addition to a family as she has so much love and affection to share with others.

February 2022 Update: Bhanu is a teensy tiny girl with a bigger than life smile! She might be tiny, but she is mighty! She knows what she wants and she is going to get it! She is a thinker and mischievous in the most adorable way. She is learning to communicate verbally and is not able to walk independently, but she sure is a hard worker! She speaks in single 1-2 syllable words in her native language. She is working on her daily living skills and likes brushing her hair. She is working on undressing and toileting independently but these skills are still emerging.

Bhanu can identify her colours, numbers to 10 and letters A-Z. She is learning the names of the animals in English. Bhanu stands and walks with support and works very hard in PT towards her goal of learning to walk independently. Bhanu can go up and down stairs independently using the railing. She stands by herself for short periods of time and her PT stands beside her and gives small corrections to help her balance. She feeds herself and loves chicken and sweets.

At the park, Bhanu wants to try out all the equipment! She sneakily tries to cut the lines to get to the front and makes sure her caregivers are beside her to help her out so she can take part! She loves dancing to music! She watches music videos and copies the dance moves. She got a baby doll for Christmas and likes to hold it and rock it.

Dinah is giggly, likes to snuggle, sweet, content. Will play with toys, seek out preferred toys, and seek out preferred children to play beside. She has been working on using a simple voice-output communication system to greet the other children and choose between two toy options. She is social and gets very excited when surrounded by lots of people. She likes to do what the other children are doing. She can follow simple commands in English and can identify body parts by touching them when asked. She shows ability to build strong attachments and follows her preferred caregiver and opens her arms for a hug. She loves to dance and immediately stands up and starts dancing when music comes on.

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!

January 2022 Update: Tricia is a sweet teenager with seizure disorder and intellectual delay. Tricia loves jewellery and likes having her picture taken! She loves music, dancing, painting and jumping on the trampoline. She likes picking out her prettiest outfits. Tricia has a little speaker that she carries around the house, dancing to all the songs that it plays. We call her the Dancing Queen!

She is progressing with learning her alphabet and numbers in class. She can speak in short sentences in her native language and she uses some words in English. She needs support with her acts of daily living. Her speech is somewhat slurred and she struggles with attending to tasks and conversations. Since Tricia has trouble with concentration, she has dance and song breaks often while in class. She is very motivated by adult attention and is learning boundaries with adults she doesn’t know very well. She desperately asks for a family.

Mikayla has the sweetest smile, laugh, and disposition. She is extremely expressive so it is very easy to gauge what she needs and when she is upset. She likes to be silly. For her own entertainment and the entertainment of others, Mikayla makes silly faces and sounds, gargles her water, and echoes the voices of her friends and caregivers. She is a cuddle bug one minute and a determined explorer the next. She is definitely full of light and love and spirit.

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.

Vera is a delightful young lady with cerebral palsy. She is known for her wild hair and love of dancing!

Vera receives PT, being stretched and working on maintaining different positions. Her therapist helps bring her to a sitting position and they work on balance. Sometimes Vera is cooperative and engaged and sometimes she rolls her eyes and refuses to take part, which makes us laugh! Vera’s caregivers help her with all her acts of daily living.

Vera’s very favourite thing to do is dance. When a song comes on that she loves, she giggles in excitement, kicks her feet, rocks back and forth and taps her hands against her forehead to the beat. She also really enjoys water play. Now that she is more stable in a sitting position, she is getting more adventurous in the kiddie pool!

January 2022 Update: Connor is a sweet, kind, gentle soul with captivating dark brown eyes. He has displayed the ability to cultivate deep connections with a trusted caregiver. The cheeky boy that he is, he loves to wiggle and kick when being fed with his feeding tube. He laughs and laughs as the nurse struggles to administer his feeding!

He loves playing on the trampoline when the staff make him bounce really high! He likes sitting with the adults and being engaged in their conversations and always wants to be involved in whatever is happening in the home.

Connor can identify his body parts and knows his colours in sign language. His favourite colour is blue. His favourite animal is a monkey and he likes the song Five Little Monkeys. He jumps, scoots, rolls and laughs when he hears it! He likes fashion and beams with excitement when he wears a new outfit and staff take his picture!

Connor can sit independently for a few minutes at a time and is able to turn his head to sounds without losing his balance. He is non-verbal but very communicative in other ways. He is now upright for most of the day, in his wheelchair. Being able to tolerate sitting upright for so long has really decreased respiratory issues that he struggled with when he was younger. He would make a wonderful son and his heart longs for a family and deep connection with others.

Cedar is a sweet boy with an adorable raspy laugh who is totally blind and on the autism spectrum. He is nonverbal and needs support in all his acts of daily living.

Cedar can stand up from the floor by himself and is able to walk independently. He receives training on using his white cane. He can go up and down the stairs independently. Cedar makes lots of sounds but does not yet say any words, although he does understand some words in his native language and in English. He feeds himself.

Cedar loves sensory play in shaving cream, and his last birthday party was a shaving cream party! He covers his whole body in it. The year before, his home played Cedar Says, an adaption of the game Simon Says, where all the kids copied Cedar’s unique sounds and acrobat moves! He loves the standing swing, water play and he gets excited when his teachers help him do the actions to Head and Shoulders. He is known as being his home’s acrobat and can most often be found climbing on something or hanging upside down! Cedar is a joyful kid and brings a lot of laughter wherever he goes.

Mae is a funny and loveable young girl who is blind. She has bilateral microphthalmia with light perception.

For her most recent birthday party, Mae requested a pool party with chicken nuggets and french fries! She loves making up stories and playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos. She enjoys playing her keyboard and inventing songs and she has a great imagination. She pretends she is being chased by monkeys, laughing and running, or she will be teacher to the other children and pretend to lead a class.

Mae can read uncontracted braille and type on her Perkins braille writer. She dresses herself and feeds herself and is really growing in independence with her daily living skills. Mae speaks well in both her native language and in English. She walks independently with a white cane. Mae has some delayed skills due to institutionalization, particularly her gross motor skills are weak, however she gets around well. She is friendly, funny and loves to laugh. Mae is a comedian who loves life and would be a valuable addition to a family.

Georgie was transferred to his current home in April 2018. He had experienced neglect and under-stimulation in his previous orphanage but already his development is progressing and we look forward to seeing Georgie learn and explore the world. Georgie is functionally blind and has very little light perception. He has been doing so well in his transition into this new chapter of life. Everyday we are more captivated by his bubbly, sweet, gentle disposition. Georgie is rapidly changing and developing. He is learning how to scoot around, bear weight, and explore with his hands. He had no experience in his previous home with self feeding, but already is making great progress and is self feeding with minimal support. He had no English exposure previously, but in just a month his English understanding is already developing and he responds to several commands. He is weak, but gaining strength. He can pull up to a stand using a surface for support. Georgie loves making silly noises and often vocalizes silly babbles, finds interesting surfaces to tap on, or picks things up and throws them to hear their clatter. Georgie is very social. He loves to be held and swung around. He sometimes whimpers when he is put down and communicates non-verbally that he wants to be held. He mimics sounds others make and often bursts with excited laughter when playing with other adults and children. We are so excited to see him begin to hit the milestones he is already working towards.

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!

February 2022 Update: Evi is a sweet young lady with cerebral palsy who was transferred to her current home in September 2019. Although it isn’t officially diagnosed, it’s possible that Evi may have Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) based on its high correlation with cerebral palsy and the presence of several characteristics of CVI in Evi’s visual behaviors and processing. Improvements in her visual processing and engagement have been made since her arrival.

Evi is a fun-loving child who loves to listen to music and play with her friends within the home. She is the youngest in her home and takes on the role of “little sister”. The older girls dote on her and try to help her, bringing toys and giving hugs. She enjoys being held and rocked, and being in the sunshine. For Christmas she got a bear toy with different buttons that sing and make music and she really likes this. However, her very favourite activity is dancing. She loves DJ music with a loud, thumping beat. She likes when staff pick her up and dance with her or when the other girls in the home hold her hands and dance beside her. As soon as the music comes on, she lights up, flaps her hands excitedly and squeals.

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 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. Evi has really struggled with weight gain lately and her team is monitoring her food intake closely. Her caregiver is very attentive with making sure she is well positioned and this has helped avoid pressure sores.

Evi is a joy and would benefit and grow exponentially in a family of her own.

Isaiah is a sweetheart who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy with low muscle tone in his lower trunk area and high muscle tone in his arms.

Isaiah practices walking with a gain trainer and the other boys cheer him on as he takes off in a cute, hoppy walk! When he gets tired he vocalizes loudly and one of the older boys pushes him around while he giggles. He continues to work on independent sitting and crawling and always laughs through his exercises. He can’t 4-point crawl yet, but is working on it, however he moves himself around the room in an army crawl. He can sit by himself if his back is against the wall, for short periods of time. Isaiah’s communication is growing. He is working very hard to control his body movements enough to reach for an item or choice he wants to make. His receptive language in both his native language and English is excellent, and responds non-verbally with facial expressions, body movements and sounds. He is learning colour identification in class. Isaiah cannot yet eat solid foods and his food is also blended for him.

Isaiah got a bowling set for Christmas and he giggles endlessly when his caregivers help him knock the pins down! He likes watching music videos and kicking along to the dance moves and really enjoys his fabric tunnel. He moves through it and laughs and laughs when his caregiver pretends she can’t find him. Isaiah then kicks or hits the side of the tunnel to “help” her find him! Isaiah also loves knocking over big towers of blocks. He laughs loudly every time! He is pure joy and would thrive in a family.

Feb 2022 Update: Melanie is a social, interactive, engaging teenager who has intellectual disability. She walks independently but her gait is weak. She has a great sense of humour, loves to laugh, and is very content and agreeable.

Melanie is really progressing with her acts of daily living. She feeds herself, applies powder to her face and she can wash her own dishes now. Melanie is practicing beading so that eventually her fine motor skills will be advanced enough to join her home’s vocational class as they work on jewellery making. She follows direction well and can identify her colours. She can go up and down the stairs by herself using the railing. Melanie can undress herself and is learning to dress. She is mostly non-verbal but says a few words that she has learned recently in her local language.

Melanie loves sensory play in the water. She likes trying to trace letters with chalk and she enjoys ball games. She concentrates on one toy for a sustained period of time. Melanie loves splashing at the beach and is very friendly with other kids and adults! Her favourite song is Jingle Bells and she likes to listen to it all year round! She gets very excited when she gets new outfits.

Aleks is a sweet boy who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He receives physical therapy and is working on bearing weight and sitting independently. He is active and alert and smiles whenever anyone interacts with him. He loves playing with all the kids and gives big laughs. He enjoys music class and shakes the bells. He dances by kicking his legs and making his chair rock.

January 2022 Update: Penny is a sweet little lady who is called our “sunshine girl” because of her smiley personality. Her favourite time of day is goodnight prayer time. She also loves Circle Time! She shrieks with laughter when her teachers do the actions to Baby Shark.

Penny likes playing with a keyboard that she got for Christmas. She also likes watching TV and she loves sensory play! From sand to clay to water, Penny loves it all! She will sit and giggle and play happily while exploring a container or shaving cream or textured balls. She laughs when the shaving cream lands on her face!

Penny is making progress in PT. We are so excited that she has started to walk with her walker! She is able to pull herself up and stand and reach for objects that she wants. She is still a little cuddlebug and prefers to be carried, but crawls around the house very often.

Penny is a friendly child who loves people so much! When someone walks into the room and approaches her, she gets so excited. Penny will flap her arms and grin from ear to ear, giggling the whole time. Penny loves being held and squeezed tightly. She also enjoys having her face cupped between her or someone else’s hands. Penny finds a lot of amusement in holding people’s hands and guiding them over a light source to create shadows which she intently watches as they bend and flow. Sweet Penny loves deeply and it is very easy to love her right back.

Jasmine is a wonderful teenager who is blind and on the autism spectrum.

Jasmine is known for her big, tight squeezey hugs! She is also known for her strength. Jasmine loves water play more than anything else. She dunks her whole head in the water and comes up for a breath with a loud laugh. As soon as she hears water, she beelines for it and tries to dive into it, even if it’s a caregiver filling up a bucket to wash her clothes or another child’s bathtime! She also really likes the sit and spin and the trampoline. She jumps very high!

Jasmine has some commands in both English and her native language that she can follow. She vocalizes but is non-verbal. Jasmine needs support for her acts of daily living but feeds herself. She loves food from her culture and rarely tries even a bite of western food! Jasmine is a happy and loveable girl who brings a lot of laughter wherever she goes.

February 2022 Update: Blaire is a sweet, quiet child. She loves to go on walks in the neighbourhood, being pushed in her wheelchair, and likes swinging on the porch swing. Her favourite song is One Little Finger and she laughs when her staff help her do the actions.

At her last birthday party, her caregiver put makeup on her and she seemed to really enjoy all the attention as everyone crowded around her and sang to her and took pictures. She and her caregiver have a sweet relationship. At the Christmas party, her caregiver didn’t put her down as she wanted to see Blaire’s facial expressions for all the dances and treats! She bought her bangles as a gift. Most days, Blaire’s eyes follow her caregiver around the room as she moves. They even do video calls when her caregiver is on vacation!

Blaire spends most of her time upright in her wheelchair, and we have seen this help a lot with respiratory issues she struggled with when she was younger. She has a considerable head lag and very tight muscles. Her therapist stretches her out and works on strengthening to improve head, neck and trunk control. Blaire has a feeding tube and it has helped her to gain weight.

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.

Jensen LOVES movies! One of his favorite memories was when his foster family took him to see a Spiderman movie last winter. He excitedly talked about the movie and told everyone “I saw Spider man. There were bad guys. Then he defeated the bad guys!” He also enjoys story books, building with blocks and playing ‘Big Eat Small’ board game.

Jensen is not shy around strangers and has a curious nature. He has a good relationship with his foster family and is especially close with his foster father. Jensen will act affectionately towards his foster father and seeks him when he needs comforting.

Jensen has brain injury history. He is enrolled as a kindergartener at elementary school. He is a quick learner and can repeat words after hearing them once. His 9 year old foster brother is working on learning English words, and Jensen has recently learned red, blue and yellow!

Jean likes to doodle with crayons and play with building blocks! Those who know her describe Jean as lively and not shy around strangers. Jean will take the initiative to approach unfamiliar children and play with them.

Jean has epilepsy and right hemiparetic cerebral palsy diagnoses with global delays. Jean attends weekly PT, OT and speech therapy sessions. She has made progress with her speech and can now imitate saying “no no”, “bye bye”, “yes”, and “thank you”! Jean is enrolled in preschool and attends special education classes.

While Jensen and Jean live in separate residences, they have met each other on a couple of occasions at events sponsored by their social welfare agency.

Half-brothers Noah and Neil live with their foster parents and 13 year old foster sister. Noah and Neil have a good relationship with one another and with their foster sister.

Noah’s favorite activities include watching tv, playing board games and building with blocks! Noah is a little shy around new people and new environments.  Once he warms up, he will seek hugs and wants to hold hands with people he feels comfortable with.

Noah has an ADHD diagnosis, and the file from Taiwan states he has “traits similar to Asperger’s syndrome”. Noah is currently taking medication to help him focus, and he is attending weekly group therapy sessions. Noah is a 2nd grader in elementary school where math and Mandarin are his strongest subjects. During recess, Noah LOVES to pretend he is a policeman with his schoolmates!

Neil enjoys any type of physical activity, such as playing on the playground! He also likes activities that require creativity, such as putting puzzles together and building structures with blocks.

He is described as an outgoing and active child, who loves to smile! He is very curious around new people and adjusts to new environments quickly.

Neil has language, cognitive, motor and social emotional delays. He receives OT, PT and speech therapies weekly. His foster father noted Neil is improving his vocabulary and now able to speak more sentences at home. Neil attends pre-school and his favorite class is PE.

FAS, defect of the atrial septum, kidney agenesis, impaired and delayed psychomotor development, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. The girl is making progress, but her development is now estimated at 12-15 months of age. She is curious about her surroundings and active in movement. She walks alone (still with her legs wide apart) and climbs the stairs holding her caregiver’s hand. Klair manipulates objects by shaking them or tapping them against herself. She can put items into box and take them out and build the tower. She does not know how to use a crayon yet and she can’t trace. She seeks contact with adults. She likes to be carried, tickled and hugged. The girl is making progress, but her development is estimated at 12-15 months of age.

Cory was born premature. He has cerebral palsy, paresis of the limbs, with a predominance of the lower limbs. He moves in a wheelchair, has a vision defect, convergent strabismus, amblyopia, cryptorchidism. Cory moves on his fours or in a wheelchair. The boy tries to be independent – he feeds himself, uses the toilet, gets dressed. He has therapies every day and can walk with adult’s help. The caregiver shared with the agency representative that there is a huge potential that he can walk independently.

Sally was probably born prematurely as well. Not much data about her history as well. She has never been hospitalized. The girl is under the supervision of a cardiologist due to a heart murmur. She is also under the care of an allergist – rhinitis. She has a strong character and could be a leader. She is a very protective of her brother and they have a very strong bond.

They are sweet and cheerful children who curious about the world around them.

If you’ve always imagined yourself surrounded by laughter, hugs, the pitter patter of little (and not so little) feet, and, if we’re being honest, noise, you’ll want to check out Joplin, Jake, Jewel, and Jillian.  They are a precious sibling set of 4 who need a family ready for the adventure and joys of raising a large family.

Joplin is an amazing 11 year old who is described as optimistic and persistent.  He likes Legos and dinosaurs and plays basketball and occasionally hockey.  His favorite subjects are Science and Mandarin.  He has ADHD and is on medication to control it.

8 year old Jake is lively, cheerful, whimsical, laugh-loving, smart, and creative.  Cars, building blocks, and drawing are among his favorite things to do.  Jake also takes medication to help with his ADHD.

Jewel is a creative 6 year old who puts 50-60 piece puzzles together and likes building blocks.  She is comfortable meeting new people and has a smile that will melt your heart!

Sweet Jillian is 4 years old and a total snugglebunny.  She likes dress-up, listening to music, and dancing.  She’s a great learner and has good oral expression.

Parenting a large family is a beautiful, rewarding, and sometimes messy challenge and these 4 siblings will need parents who can walk with them through the hard places they come from and help them reacclimate to living together again.

Thomas lived in an orphanage for the first 4 years of his life. He was then moved to a group home with 10 other children with disabilities, where he lived for another 4 years. He made developmental progress while in the group home, but was still not receiving the 1:1 care and attention that he needed. He was moved into foster care at age 8 and has made significant gains in all aspects of his development since then.

Thomas can communicate verbally with words and short phrases. He also uses gestures and pointing to objects, in order to communicate his wants and needs to his foster family.
He is a sociable child who enjoys the company of other children, particularly his friends with whom he loves to play. He is so full of energy, enjoying running, climbing, and riding his bike (which is fitted with stabilizers). He particularly likes to kick a ball around in the garden with his friend and play with balloons. On outings to the park and the zoo, he takes great interest in everything he sees but loves most of all anything with wheels.

His motor skills have improved recently and he is able to do more complex activities without being told how. For example, when his jacket sleeves are inside out he turns them the right way round before dressing himself. He takes great interest in many different kinds of toys. He loves the rides in the school bus every day. He is in a small class group. He is independent with self-help skills such as dressing, undressing, toileting, eating and drinking.

Sibling set – Must be kept together!