c5923

Child's name: Isaiah
Number: C5923
Birthdate: 11/95
State: Washington
Listed: 6/05, Updated 9/08

Profile photograph by Yuen Lui

Scroll down to view Isaiah's Wednesday's Child video

If you have completed an adoption homestudy and would like to have your information forwarded to this child's worker, contact us.

Legally free, ISAIAH (11/95) is an attractive, African American boy with a slender build and natural athletic ability. Socially outgoing, he thrives with one-on-one attention. Isaiah absolutely loves skateboarding – and he’s good at it too. He likes riding his bike and skiing. And he is learning to swim. Other favorite pastimes are playing his GameBoy and watching TV or videos (Isaiah is quick to add that he is not allowed to view violent shows). Other than wearing glasses for farsightedness, his physical health is good. Isaiah first came into care in 1996.

Isaiah does best in a very structured setting. He is not a child who self directs or handles free time well. He requires calm, patient, frequent redirection. His foster mom always checks to see that he is making eye contact with her when she directs him, and she has him repeat instructions back to her. That works well. Isaiah is receiving attachment therapy to help him deal with the many losses and changes in his life. He is also working on how to express his feelings in words rather than acting them out. He and his foster mother have benefited greatly from these weekly sessions.

Now in seventh grade, Isaiah benefits from being in a specialized program in the morning at one school, and then continues his mainstream classes in the afternoon. Attempts at mainstreaming him full time were unsatisfactory in the past as he was just too easily distracted by classmates. At home and at school, Isaiah responds best to the structure of routine, clear limits and consistent consequences.

Isaiah has special needs that most likely are related to his early environment and prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs. He needs parents who can help him to organize his world, to “look before he leaps,” and to sort out all the stimuli around him. His parents will need to be comfortable accessing community and school resources and acting as Isaiah’s advocates. The rewards will be many because Isaiah can be a very sweet boy who wants to be loved and cared for.

Isaiah very much needs a family to step forward for him – a family who will enjoy his eagerness to learn and his sweetness, who understands that he has special needs that you can’t see, and who won’t give up on him. Changing families and routines are hard for him and he may slip back some – as all children do until they become accustomed to their new surroundings. Isaiah would do fine in a one-parent or two-parent household. A family who can provide Isaiah with opportunities to pursue the physical activities he loves while providing a calm and predictable environment would be wonderful. There can be other children in the family; probably older children would be best, or at least children not too close to Isaiah’s age as he can be needy of attention. It would be great if the prospective parents had experience raising children who have needs similar to Isaiah’s. Patience, the ability to enjoy progress however it is presented, and the commitment to help a child move forward into adulthood are the qualities most important in any family considering Isaiah.

Subsidy and Purchase of Service may be available.

Return to Washington's Waiting Children index or see next child in Washington index.

View another state index: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon.