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Legally free, Zyler came into foster care in April 2005. While he sometimes talks about his birth mother and wonders how she is doing, he is ready for an adoptive family to claim him and to go forward in his life. Zyler participates in counseling once a week to help him deal with issues of past trauma and to help prepare him for adoption. Being willing to participate with Zyler in family counseling during the transition into his new home could be a wonderful way for his adoptive parent(s) to show their love and commitment to him. It will also be important for his adoptive folk(s) to be strong advocates for Zyler’s counseling needs for the foreseeable future. While IQ test scores put Zyler in the normal to low range, he put so little effort into the most recent test that his evaluator thinks that his level of intelligence is likely higher than reported. Now in fifth grade, Zyler is the highest functioning student in his special education classroom, which is designed for kids with attention difficulties and high energy. Zyler does well in math and is in a regular math class with other fourth-grade students. He really likes his teachers and his favorite subject is – Technology! Zyler’s special ed teacher has a special fondness for him. Zyler has recently made a friend at school, who has come to visit him several times. Hopefully, this is a good sign of things to come in the social realm for Zyler. While Zyler really needs an experienced adoptive family, his social worker is open to all kinds of families – single parent, same sex couples, and mom-and-dad couples. Zyler does, though, need to be an only child or the youngest of much older siblings. Having older kids who could be mentors and role models and who would recognize and reward his diligent efforts to please them could give Zyler a big boost forward. Zyler says that he would like to have “a brother and a dog or a cat!” For Zyler to feel safe and to continue in his personal growth, he needs to have predictable routines with clear rules, expectations, and limits at home and at school. He will enthusiastically share and participate in a wide-variety of family interests and activities, especially when he feels empowered by parental guidance and love. |
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