On our recent visit to Colombia our team spent time playing with Anna and Katie (little brother James was at a doctor’s appointment.) Nine-year-old Anna is a great big sister, offering five-year-old Katie help with her coloring. Anna told us she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, perhaps an art teacher since she has some talent (see her drawing above.) Anna’s favorite color is blue – featured prominently in her drawing – and told us her favorite subject in school is English. In addition to dreaming of having a family for her and her siblings that “will take good care of us” she also hopes to one day travel to Paris! Anna is currently taking a dance class and really enjoying it, she hopes to continue taking dance lessons when she joins her new family. Anna is in the 3rd grade and is catching up nicely after not having consistent schooling.
Anna has exhibited some behaviors associated with her prior trauma during the difficult transition into the children’s home (orphanage.) Understandably, she also expressed sadness over the separation from her birth family. Anna is receiving support from a therapist and is prescribed medication. A recent report states: “Diagnoses are ongoing with partial remission of the most severe symptoms – prognosis is favorable.”
Younger sister Katie clearly looks up to Anna, and once she knew Anna was comfortable playing with us Katie jumped right in! She told us her favorite color is pink as she pointed to her pink butterfly hairclips. Katie loves to giggle and play and enjoyed glancing at herself in the mirror, especially when hiding underneath a scarf for fun. Katie told us she wants “to be a nurse” when she grows up and then added with a laugh “I’ll give shots to the babies and they will cry.” Katie is now attending Kindergarten and like most five-year-olds, is learning how to share and take turns. Katie has formed a nice bond with one of her caregivers and gets sad when they say goodbye. She shows anxiety when trying to fall asleep and is afraid of the dark.
Katie is also being treated therapeutically to help process all the big changes in her short life. Her social worker reports that she is: “Showing positive progression in her emotional state and patterns of interaction.” She is not prescribed any medication.
Baby brother James, just 3-years-old, is attending a pre-Kindergarten program where it was discovered through developmental hearing testing that he has moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Although James can speak words, it is also noted that he has a developmental disorder of speech and language. He receives services from Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy and is making steady progress.
This closely bonded sibling group of three needs a family who can help them process the losses and traumas they’ve experienced in their short lives, and a family who will continue to advocate for support from mental health, developmental health and audiology professionals. A family will use a nightlight to help Katie’s fear of the dark is also important.
With the right professional supports, love and patience, this sibling group will continue to thrive and grow. Could that be with your family? To learn more about Anna, Katie and James, contact a member of our team today at 212-400-8150 or email us at [email protected]
If you receive and accept the referral of Anna, Katie and James through Spence-Chapin, you will benefit from the generosity of our new Briden Adoption Fund, which can offset the costs of adopting an international Waiting Child. The Briden Adoption Fund is made possible by the generosity of a Spence-Chapin family.
To learn more about a waiting child, enter the password below. To receive the password, please fill out our form, and we will follow up with you.
Elizabeth L. Smith, LMSW (she/her) is a compassionate, trauma-informed, and adoption-competent therapist. In her Adoptee Support Sessions, she provides non-clinical support services to adopted people. Her clinical training, narrative work, and living experience as an adopted person inform her perspective and practice. Elizabeth possesses deep awareness, empathy, and understanding of the shifting complexities of adoption, reunion, search, and the importance of being together in community.
On our recent visit to Colombia our team spent time playing with Anna and Katie (little brother James was at a doctor’s appointment.) Nine-year-old Anna is a great big sister, offering five-year-old Katie help with her coloring. Anna told us she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, perhaps an art teacher since she has some talent (see her drawing above.) Anna’s favorite color is blue – featured prominently in her drawing – and told us her favorite subject in school is English. In addition to dreaming of having a family for her and her siblings that “will take good care of us” she also hopes to one day travel to Paris! Anna is currently taking a dance class and really enjoying it, she hopes to continue taking dance lessons when she joins her new family. Anna is in the 3rd grade and is catching up nicely after not having consistent schooling.
Anna has exhibited some behaviors associated with her prior trauma during the difficult transition into the children’s home (orphanage.) Understandably, she also expressed sadness over the separation from her birth family. Anna is receiving support from a therapist and is prescribed medication. A recent report states: “Diagnoses are ongoing with partial remission of the most severe symptoms – prognosis is favorable.”
Younger sister Katie clearly looks up to Anna, and once she knew Anna was comfortable playing with us Katie jumped right in! She told us her favorite color is pink as she pointed to her pink butterfly hairclips. Katie loves to giggle and play and enjoyed glancing at herself in the mirror, especially when hiding underneath a scarf for fun. Katie told us she wants “to be a nurse” when she grows up and then added with a laugh “I’ll give shots to the babies and they will cry.” Katie is now attending Kindergarten and like most five-year-olds, is learning how to share and take turns. Katie has formed a nice bond with one of her caregivers and gets sad when they say goodbye. She shows anxiety when trying to fall asleep and is afraid of the dark.
Katie is also being treated therapeutically to help process all the big changes in her short life. Her social worker reports that she is: “Showing positive progression in her emotional state and patterns of interaction.” She is not prescribed any medication.
Baby brother James, just 3-years-old, is attending a pre-Kindergarten program where it was discovered through developmental hearing testing that he has moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Although James can speak words, it is also noted that he has a developmental disorder of speech and language. He receives services from Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy and is making steady progress.
This closely bonded sibling group of three needs a family who can help them process the losses and traumas they’ve experienced in their short lives, and a family who will continue to advocate for support from mental health, developmental health and audiology professionals. A family will use a nightlight to help Katie’s fear of the dark is also important.
With the right professional supports, love and patience, this sibling group will continue to thrive and grow. Could that be with your family? To learn more about Anna, Katie and James, contact a member of our team today at 212-400-8150 or email us at [email protected]
If you receive and accept the referral of Anna, Katie and James through Spence-Chapin, you will benefit from the generosity of our new Briden Adoption Fund, which can offset the costs of adopting an international Waiting Child. The Briden Adoption Fund is made possible by the generosity of a Spence-Chapin family.
To learn more about a waiting child, enter the password below. To receive the password, please fill out our form, and we will follow up with you.
Waiting Children Profiles
Thank you for your interest in adopting through Spence-Chapin! We are able to share the profiles of children who are considered to be the most in need and are waiting internationally to be matched with an adoptive family. The children featured on this page have been waiting for the longest to find families and consist of children who are older, part of a sibling group, or children with a diagnosed medical condition. In order to respect the privacy of these children, this page has been password protected.
Spence-Chapin takes the privacy rights of the children that we are seeking to place very seriously, and share the profile with you under the following conditions:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PASSWORD ACCESS
That you acknowledge and understand that
1. Misuse of the content, and/or linking to any sites that reflect practices that involve the sale, abduction, exploitation, or trafficking of children is strictly prohibited.
2. You have been given limited access to confidential information in the form of images that you will not disclose to any person or in any manner that is inconsistent with applicable policies and procedures of Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children.
3. The confidentiality obligation shall continue indefinitely, including at all times after my association with Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children.
4. You are not permitted to release, copy, distribute, or sell any of these images to third parties in any form.
5. Impermissible disclosure of the images may result in legal actions being taken against you, by or on behalf of that person.
6. You are doing this freely, voluntarily and with a full understanding of what you are agreeing to by entering/accessing this blog.
7. Thank you for your interest in providing a loving home for a waiting child! We look forward to connecting with you soon to continue discussing adoption paths at Spence-Chapin. We hope that you like us on Facebook, follow us on twitter, and keep up with our families through our adoption blog!
Warm regards,
The Adoption Team at Spence-Chapin
Phone: 212-400-8150
Email: [email protected]
