Other Special Needs Girls, 10+

Lucia has a diagnosis of Cornelia de lange syndrome, which causes developmental delays. She continues to make great progress with therapy. She enjoys playing with her favorite doll, and all food.

The adoption agency has more detailed information on this child that they can share with potential families.

Abby is described as very sweet, petite, happy, active and alert. Her file states that she fully engages, is a leader, and is often seen helping other children. Her videos from 2020 shows her making arts and crafts, engaging with full eye contact with the camera, running, laughing, and balancing on an outdoor jungle gym. Abby’s file indicates that she has appropriate self-care skills, she can use the restroom herself, dress herself, and will help younger children get ready. According to her file, Abby enjoys singing, reading, reciting poems, and dancing. She has even performed dance routines for recitals. Her file shows that her favorite color is pink and she likes Barbie’s.

According to Abby’s most recent update, her situation is becoming more urgent, for her liver is worsening. Despite her medical needs, her positive spirit shines through.

Lucetta is an adorable little girl who is 3 years old! She came into care as a newborn, and lives in the orphanage. Lucetta has esotropia which is the “turning in” of her eyes. It can be corrected with glasses, temporary patching, or outpatient surgery. Lucetta’s gross motor skills were delayed as of her report (done when she was about 16 months old). She was not crawling or pulling to stand at that time, and an exam suggested she may have CP. Lucetta is a lovable little one, and enjoys playing with toys. Lucetta is ready for her Mommy and Daddy to come and get her!

Gigi is sweet little girl who has excellent hearing abilities! She can kneel on both knees and sit on her own. Gigi responds to her own name, and whenever she hears music, she get really excited and laughs! She loves to play with others. We hope Gigi finds her forever family!

Update 2017: Gigi is able to walk on her own but cannot climb stairs. She can sing children’s songs and count. She needs assistance in taking care of her own needs (such as eating, dressing, toileting). She can only repeat other people’s words. She hasn’t had any hospitalizations or medical events. She has never had seizures. She is completely blind.

Rose was removed from an abusive home at 9 years old and could not even speak the language of her birth country at that time. She now speaks in sentences, understands everything that is said to her and has made rapid developmental progress. During the visit with our team member, she was talking about the Mom and Dad that she’s waiting for and having a fun time posing for all the photos (see below). She currently lives with an older foster couple, who she calls grandma and grandpa. They have worked with her to teach her many self-help skills. She’s now in school and doing well working with a resource teacher.

Adeline is communicative with children and adults. She answers questions. Her expressive and impressive speech is developing. She follows verbal directions. She demonstrates a desire for emotional closeness. She willingly interacts with children and adults. She has established friendly relationships with her classmates. She loves listening music and dancing, as well as, drawing and coloring. She has delays in academics and receives support from a resource teacher at school.

Summer is quiet, friendly and always smiles when she is seen by an adult. She almost eats without help – but she eats slowly. She almost goes up and down the stairway by herself. She does not want to always participate in all activities and needs extra motivation. She expresses her feelings with mimics and movements. She has started to speak and pronounces some words. Summer loves music, reading, books and swinging on the horse.

She wants adult’s attention and likes to lean on an adult, sit in their lap, and give hugs. Her fine and gross motors skills development are adequate. She is friendly with adults and children.

Mary Beth is a sweet and cuddly little girl. She was a premature baby, and was diagnosed with laryngeal cartilage dysplasia. Mary Beth has been healthy, but her muscular tension is high. She is unable to sit, crawl, or hold anything in her hands. Mary Beth is not speaking, and does not often respond to those talking to her. When she is upset, a long hug and cuddle will calm her. She has many delays. We do not know what the future holds for this sweet little one, but with a loving family and therapies, she will be able to reach her full potential. Mary Beth needs a family soon.

Marvelous Mavis will steal your heart! She is quick to smile and loves being picked up and held for comfort. Shortly after entering into the orphanage Mavis was diagnosed with epilepsy which is now managed by medication and careful attention to her diet. Mavis’ skills are steadily improving and with the support of her foster family she can now sit, and stand with assistance. When playing on her own, Mavis sits quietly; seemingly enjoying her surroundings! Mavis’ foster family “hopes she will soon find a family who will love her so she can enjoy the love of her forever parents and have a happy childhood”.

Cora currently lives with a foster family. She has mental delays, some stereotypical movements, and difficulty with eye contact and social interactions. She was diagnosis with Atypical Autism in 2017. She is physically healthy. She is toilet trained and feeds herself. She is described as a happy child who has a contagious smile and laughter. Her caregivers attribute her learning delays to early neglect.

Most of the time, Caryn is calm, especially when she is in the playroom. When somebody pays attention to her, she laughs loudly. Caryn totally depends on the care of others. She sleeps peacefully and stays calm when getting dressed and bathing. She has cerebral palsy and needs specific care, though she has no severe deficit in terms of physical activity.

From a teacher who works with her: This little blind girl is progressing so well, but she is so scared. Can you imagine to be in a world where at any given moment you could get pinched, pushed over, knocked down, hair pulled, eyes poked. I don’t blame her, especially when there are so many other special needs children around her and so few staff and no family love and care. But inspite of all of this she is a fighter and a giggler.

Gabi is physically healthy with normal physical development. She is radiant and very active.

Gabi responds adequately to praise and punishment. Gabi establishes and maintains eye contact. She seeks the attention of the people around and she seeks familiar people and their closeness purposefully.

Gabi understands the meaning of words that are often used in her surroundings. She expresses her needs and wishes through vocalization.

In her spare time Gabi likes watching TV, playing on a phone, listening to music and going out for walks.

Update from a family who visited with her in Dec 2021:  Quinnie is smart and clearly understands whatever direction the nannies give her – to pick something up, to sit down, to play with something, etc. It seemed like she could say a few words but is mostly nonverbal. She has her own signs in order to communicate to the nannies that she has to go to the bathroom or that she wants something. She enjoyed participating in games and was able to give hugs when I held out my arms.

Her demeanor completely changed when we were left alone with her. She threw toys, phones, etc across the room and screamed a lot. She kept throwing my phone and got upset when I took it away. I believe these behaviors were because she was scared since she was left alone with strangers who spoke a different language. I think that she would do very well with a family who can devote the time to helping her adjust and to communicate. She did so well when there were people in the room who spoke her language. We only could not proceed because of our young children and the fragile health of the boy we are adopting.

DeeDee has such beautiful eyes!

Updated Jan 2018: Deedee has a brother born in 2013, do not know his special needs yet.

A WONDERFUL very kind, careful, attentive, loving, thoughtful, super-friendly, helpful girl with a very good potential for education. She NEEDS a family and more than ready for it!

In fact, it seems like she has NO severe mental delay, just educational delay and perhaps mild mental delay. She walks normally as a usual child.

Update Dec 2021, from someone who met both Hazel & Ivory:  They are really tiny young ladies, so sweet and giggly. They stopped by the orphanage director’s office to say hello.  Hazel is practically without special needs, and she is inseparable from Ivory.   Since Ivory is blind, Hazel watches out for her little “sister”.   So sweet.

Her biggest problem she cannot see good and that is why she is significantly delayed.  By some reason she cannot have her glasses on when she needs them permanently. Instead she gets them only for classes.

 

Update Dec 2021, from someone who met both Hazel & Ivory:  They are really tiny young ladies, so sweet and giggly. They stopped by the orphanage director’s office to say hello.  Hazel is practically without special needs, and she is inseparable from Ivory.   Since Ivory is blind, Hazel watches out for her little “sister”.   So sweet.

Hallie Anne is a precious little girl. She has club feet, which are being treated with corrective shoes. Hallie Anne also had a diagnosis of dislocated hip, and a heart murmur was detected with no intervention mentioned in her report. There is the often-used diagnosis of “brain paralysis” in her file. Hallie Anne lives with a foster family, and, considering her hip and feet issues, was developing well as of the file date (late 2013) She was walking with one hand held, loved to play hide and seek, and if she was thirsty, would locate her water bottle. Hallie Anne loves to play with other children, and warms up to strangers after a short while. Hallie Anne will certainly benefit from some physical therapy, and the love of her own family!

Addisyn is an adorable little girl who came into care when she was 2 years old, and was found to be thin, with little strength in her hands and feet. With the care of her nannies, she gained some weight, and soon was in good health. They noticed she was able to stand and walk a bit with assistance, but not on her own. A CT of her brain showed no abnormalities. As of her report (in October 2013), she was still walking only with assistance. They assumed at that time that her intelligence was not equal to her peers. In an update from 2/2015 Addisyn is not talking and still unable to walk unassisted. They estimate her physical and cognitive development at about the level of a 15 month old child. Addie is a sweet and loving little girl, who always wants to join in with the other kids in play. The agency has several photos and video of this precious girl. She needs a family to help her reach her full potential.

Rose loves to smile! She has a cleft lip and palate and Cerebral Palsy (CP). Her CP makes it hard for her body to move so right now she cannot sit or stand on her own. It can also be hard for her to talk with her cleft lip and palate. Rose loves when her caretakers go outside with her, and she loves when they call her name. Rose laughs and smiles at people when they talk to her, and especially when they play bells. She can roll over, hold her own toys, and hold her head up like a champ!

Sweet Cyndi doesn’t let her diagnosis keep her down. She likes getting cuddles from her caregivers and is a very happy little girl. Cyndi’s caregivers say that she is a cutie that likes to babble a lot. Her current agency is trying to get an update since her file is a bit outdated. Are you the lucky family that will get to see this smiling little face every morning?

Emerlyse is a sweet little girl who is 3 years old. She has no vision, and really needs a family. Emerlyse’s update from last fall said she was not walking unassisted, but would easily walk holding someone’s hand. She had not been trained to feed herself, but they were working on toilet training at that time. Emerlyse’s earlier photos show a bubbly, happy, and engaging little one. Her more recent photos show a different little girl…quiet, reserved, and a bit sad. Hopefully, they caught her on a bad day, but she most definitely needs attention and love. Emerlyse needs a family who will work with her, love her, and treasure her. And she needs them soon. We would love to see her smile again!

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Hope is a precious little girl. She has been waiting, and hoping, for the right family. Hope has CP, which affects her left hand, and lower legs, according to her medical report (March 2014). She is a very happy little girl, who enjoys listening to music, and being around her friends. The agency received updated video done after her medical report and it appears her overall condition has worsened. We do not know the reason for this, but we know for certain she needs the love and support of a family to help her reach her full potential. Hope needs you…please consider this sweet little girl.

Donna desperately needs a mama.

This little girl is wonderful! I have never met a child with so much personality and spunk. She absolutely loves people and she is so desperate for attention. I held her for most of our visitation time one day. If I tried to put her down she demanded that I pick her up again and then she would kiss all over me. She just wanted someone to be near her. Everyday when my husband would walk through the playground gates she would get a stern look on her face and point at him and then motion for him to come to her… NOW.  She would smile from ear to ear when he acknowledged her. You can not help but laugh when you are with her. Even the cold and distant nannies couldn’t keep a solemn expression on their faces when we interacted with her.

She is in need of urgent dental care! I have never seen such decayed teeth before. I am not sure why her mouth is so much worse than all the other children but her mouth is really concerning. She can stand on her own but struggles to lift and bend her legs when she is bearing weight on them. She has a little walker that she does wonderful with. She can walk along a bench by holding on to it but we never saw her walk independently. From what I could tell she does not have any limitations of her upper body.

We never witnessed her show any aggression towards any of the children. When I would sit on the bench holding my daughter she would try to climb in my lap as well, but she never tried to harm my daughter or push her out of the way. She is very hungry for attention and for the love of a family. She would make a wonderful daughter and I am sure she would provide you with a life time of laughter.

This child has significant facial features of FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome).  This is a cautionary disclosure only.  Families should research the varying impacts of this condition.

She received hormone therapy, this is why she has sodden features. She does not receive it any more.

Aww sweetie! where is her mama and papa?!

old medical: Spastic Tetraparesis, right kidney hydronephrosis, extra finger on both hands

Carly’s younger sister and brother have been adopted.

Brinli has pretty eyes, and such lovely long fingers. She desperately needs a family to save her from a life spent lying in a crib.

Sweet Chantelle has a list of diagnoses, but her main need is a loving family! A family could help her reach her potential and save her from a life in a crib.

From a family who met her in fall 2013: Chantelle is mostly kept in a laying room although I did seen her out in the main groupa room laying down in a gated play area. I believe she can roll around. I saw her holding things in her hands as well. She has a calm, sweet spirit and I had her smiling in the first minute of seeing her. I touched her precious little face and told her I loved her and she smiled. The other kids seem to love her and they liked going into the laying room to take pictures of her with me. Chantelle so needs a family now! She won’t be kept at the baby house much longer. She is soooo beautiful, the pictures really don’t do her justice.

Charleigh has 3 healthy siblings living in a different orphanage: 2 brothers -13 and 9 years old; a sister of 11 years old. As long as all are available they will need to be adopted together.

It’s not right that this girl is waiting SO long for a loving family!!! She is always so sad with no Mama’s love and care. She needs a family ASAP because she is going to be transferred very soon.

From the orphanage: The girl needs a family asap. She is a kind child surviving with no parents. She requires much individual care because her educational ability is very low. In her orphanage she does not follow instructions; her vocabulary is very poor; she is severe speech delayed. She does not like to play with other children in her orphanage, she is on her own. She wants more attention than her caregivers are able to provide her with.

From a volunteer who knows her in August 2016: “Elinor is a sweet little girl who craves attention. Elinor is non verbal and she hardly makes sounds at all. She seems to understand everything that is being said to her. She reacts strongly on body language as well. She shies away from people that have negative/aggressive body language and she comes closer to people with positive/loving body language. Elinor is the smallest child in the group. She spends most of the time sitting on the ground or a chair, not really doing anything. She does not play with toys that are offered to her. She loves to sit on someones lap and it makes her calm when someone sings to her. She would take every chance to cuddle. The nurses said that if she had a chance to be cuddled all day, that she would. Elinor does have some protective behaviors. When she feels threatened she will bite people. It will not stop until that person creates space between them. If she is still upset them, she will continue to bite herself. She does not purposely harm others and she doesn’t seem to bite any of the other children, only adults. Because she is the smallest child of the group, she is an easy target for the aggressive behaviors of the other children. Elinor seems to be potty trained, she knows how to eat and drink by herself. She also knows perfectly how to navigate a smartphone an play easy games on it or swipe through pictures. She loves all electronic devices, such as phones, cameras, etc.”

NEW PHOTO December 2016

What a cutie! And what a world of different a head of hair would make for her, she needs to be in pigtails!

Update March 2014: Very sweet and energetic little girl, eager to play and interact. She definitely has cognitive delays, and does not speak but functions within the preschool type setting classroom of her groupa. She communicates by pointing and making sounds. She appears to have something like hemiplegia CP affecting the right side of her body, causing a bit of a drag in her leg as she walks, and causing her arm to be stiff on that side as well. She’s a happy little girl and very cute.

Kanani has been transferred!

Lovely Kanani needs a family to help her reach her full potential.

From a family who met her in May 2012: Kanani is very sweet girl. She is well cared for in a good orphanage by caring nannies. She gets lots of outside time when it’s warm out but this time is spent lying down in the stroller as she can’t sit on her own. She can hold on to your fingers and seems to just love to have attention although with her eye troubles it is difficult for her to respond. She likes to have her cheek stroked and her hand held. She is quite stiff and in need of physiotherapy and most of all love and attention.

Katerina has been living at an institution for quite some time.

Improved nutrition, and a loving, encouraging family will make a big difference for this little girl!

New pic May 2019!

From a volunteer in August 2016: “I was happy to see that Leena is still the same strong willed young girl as last year. She is available for adoption now! She was a little calmer than last year, but she would still take every chance she got to run around. Just like last year it was obvious that some nurses have a very hard time with her and others love her. She’s much calmer when the nurses like her and she’s easier to handle. It was unclear if she was totally potty trained this year or that she’s still working on it. It was also unclear if she got the diet she needed, but her delays didn’t look worse. Leena is such a wonderful girl! She should be in a family where she has the chance to be who she is, all days of the year.

From a missionary who met her in 2015: “Leena is a strong-willed young girl. She is stubborn and funny. She loves to explore the world (within the concrete walls she lives between). She has been transferred to this facility in May and she is obviously still getting used to the circumstances of living. She had a lot more freedom in the baby orphanage she came from. Leena can walk (so don’t be fooled by the picture), she can run, she is very energetic. She can drink from a cup. This summer (2015) she was being potty trained. She doesn’t talk. She squeals when she is very excited. She is probably the size of a 3 year old at the moment (summer 2015). She probably understands what is being said to her, but she has a hard time following orders. Due to her PKU she needs a special diet and medicine. The baby orphanage she grew up in, didn’t provide the proper care. So (part of) het mental delays may be caused because of that. The facility she lived in right now, tries to provide the proper care. They do not receive funds for it, so they raise it themselves with a charity fund. They really try to take good care of her. Some nurses really like her. Other nurses have a hard time dealing with her, because of her energetic ways. She likes to move and run around all the time. As soon as you let go of her hand or take her out of her wheelchair, you have to chase her. As soon as you give her an opportunity she’ll take it. Some days she was tied up in a wheelchair and we thought she might have been drugged. She didn’t react, she didn’t smile, she didn’t interact. Until the moment my fiancé pulled her from the wheelchair and it was as if she came alive again. I have not seen any selfharming behaviours and I haven’t seen her hurt other children. I have also not seen her interact with other children at all. The nurses don’t like it when she gets all excited, but for me it was a sign that she was not so institutionalized yet. There was so much fight in her. I hope she finds a family before she loses the strength to fight and before her delays will get worse, due to a lack of a proper diet and medical care.”

Sweet girl has a laundry list of diagnoses; she needs a family, or she’ll spend so much of the rest of her life in a crib. She’s got sparkle — a family could help her truly shine!

You can see a marked difference in Rhonda from her time at the baby house, and now at the institution. It is heart-wrenching for us here at Reece’s Rainbow to witness this neglect. Please share Rhonda so we can find a family for her quickly.

Janessa is a beautiful girl who has had a lot of loss in her life. Janessa’s caregivers say that she is very quiet and introverted, but that she has good language comprehension. She scores very well on her Chinese tests and average in mathematics. With some tutoring and repeated practice, Janessa can master concepts. She can do two-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, decimal points, area, length, time, and more. She can read elementary school comics and story books on her own, and can complete a 100-word composition. Janessa can draw animals and flowers. She makes time to finish her homework each day and, if she doesn’t understand the question, she will ask the teacher. Janessa will sometimes play with other girls, but her friends say she is a little eccentric sometimes and her friends don’t want to play with her. Most of time, Janessa reads alone or watches other children play. When she’s not reading, Janessa likes watching TV and playing on the computer. She also enjoys outdoor activities, and going to the supermarket to buy her favorite snacks. When Janessa is unhappy, she will cry. She is sometimes bullied by her peers, but she is forgiving and will play with those peers not long after the fact. In general, Janessa gets along well with her peers in the orphanage and she is polite to everyone. She is happy to have a lot of caretakers who care about her.

Janessa is HIV+ and she takes antiviral drugs every day. She is a good sleeper and is not a picky eater, but she loves snacks and watermelon best! Janessa’s motor skills are normal and she is coordinated. She enjoys running, jump roping, and playing outdoors. Janessa has strong self-care skills. She can help sweep and clean the floors, and wash and hang the clothes. Janessa always helps and she makes sure to take good care of her own health. Janessa needs a loving family she can trust and one who will love her forever, as she has gone through enough loss in her biological family. Could your family be Janessa’s forever?

Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4, Video 5