c7166

Child's name: Matthew
Number: C7166
Birthdate: 4/93
State: Washington
Listed: October 2008, Updated 7/09

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

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MATTHEW (4/93) is one of those kids who is fun to spend time with and who brings a smile to your face. He is chatty and entertaining, especially when he utilizes his wit. Basically, he is a sweet, charming young man who gets along well with most adults. Matthew, who loves using his hands to build and to repair things, is quite the handyman. He not only keeps his bike tuned up and ready to go, he is also the right-hand man to his foster father who refurbishes antique cars. Among Matthew’s favorite activities are rock climbing, bike riding, cooking, gardening, reading, and going to camp. He also enjoys participating at the YMCA and in church youth groups and team sports. In the past he has been the ball boy for the football team. He was on the wrestling team and hopes to one day to do track. Did we mention that he enjoys music and plays the trumpet? Legally free, Matt came into care in January 1999.

Matthew has made some important gains over the past months. He is better able to recognize when he is getting stressed and more capable of thinking first about how to respond instead of just acting out. He is also showing that he has the ability to be more responsible for himself and more independent. Matthew is a visual person, and having his progress illustrated on charts and in pictures helps to keep him on track and moving forward. In school, Matt is doing grade-level work in his mainstream classroom, despite being emotionally a bit young for his age and struggling with peer relationships.

Matthew has therapeutic supports in place, and he is willingly and actively participating in his individual sessions. These days Matt benefits from being around adults who model good coping skills, are able to assist him in developing tools and strategies to lessen feelings of anger, frustration, and stress, and can help him feel comfortable talking about his feelings of hurt and abandonment. He really loves getting encouragement and feedback from the significant people in his life.

Matt could do well in just about any family where adults truly enjoy teenagers, and are prepared to nurture and guide him through adolescence and into adulthood. Like many kids his age, Matt needs good supervision and should not be left to his own devices at home. That’s an invitation to mischief. He really needs a dependable adult nearby to help him structure his time and stay on track. Matt has regular contact, via email, phone or in person, with his two birth brothers who are in a guardianship placement nearby and with his grandparents who live back east. These are healthy appropriate relationships that he will want to maintain. A strong male role model is a must in this young man's life.

Subsidy and Purchase of Service may be available.

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