Editor's Note: Window on the Clearwater has joined the Wednesday's Child network to help spread the word about children that are waiting for families to give them the loving care that they need. Each Wednesday we will profile a different child. For more information about Wednesday's Child and how you can be involved check the web site at: http://www.idahowednesdayschild.org/.

DeaQuan

Age: 10

A child that everyone really likes, DeaQuan loves Batman and likes to wear Batman shirts wherever he goes. He also loves music he can sing and dance to and really knows how to get down to a funky beat! Despite the odds against him, he has an ongoing zest for life. He needs a family who will provide him with patience, consistency and trust while challenging DeaQuan to continue to learn to do things for himself and accept him for exactly who he is.

With his wide, electric smile and expressive brown eyes, DeaQuan will win your heart in an instant. He has a contagious enthusiasm for life and is an adorable, loving child with a cheery disposition. He is warm and affectionate and loves to be around people. Well-bonded with his current foster family, DeaQuan loves to hold their hands and snuggle with them. He is also comfortable with strangers and doesn't seem to have much anxiety with unfamiliar people or places. This and his on-the-move level of activity will mean close supervision by his family is a must. DeaQuan hops from activity to activity all day and can always find something interesting to captivate his attention. He loves to be outside and is especially fond of kickball, soccer, and anything that keeps him running, jumping, and climbing.

DeaQuan has been in the foster care system for many years and has been through a lot in his life. Given DeaQuan's unique behavioral and developmental needs, he has always lived separately from his siblings, who do not exhibit any of the same challenges. In 2008, his four oldest siblings were placed together in an adoptive home. They now live out of state with their adoptive family. His two youngest siblings have also been placed with an adoptive family. DeaQuan has lived in a number of different foster placements since coming into care. He is currently doing well in a DD certified foster home where he is loved and well-cared for.

DeaQuan recently disrupted from an adoptive placement after three months through no fault of his own. He did well in that home, was excited to be adopted, and was very disappointed and very sad when the placement disrupted. He has a lot of questions about why this happened, and he misses the other children in the home that he had to leave behind. DeaQuan is currently getting therapy to help him deal with the trauma of that placement disrupting.

DeaQuan would do well with parents who understand global developmental delays and behavioral challenges related to those delays as well as to early childhood neglect and exposure to drugs in utero. They must be committed to applying the patience and access to professional and educational services that would spell success for this lovable child. Focused work in areas of challenge could make all the difference in his ability to absorb information, and increase receptive and expressive communication. Family fun could be built around building gross and fine motor skills, and helping him increase social skills. In most ways, DeaQuan presents more like a 5 year old child. Although he uses many words and sentences, his speech is sometimes hard to understand. He will persist until he is understood.

DeaQuan's adoption team are hoping to find an adoptive family that will participate in a number of individualized services and therapies such as individual counseling, physical, speech, and occupational therapies and medication management. DeaQuan enjoys going to counseling. He takes three daily medications as part of his therapeutic intervention, and taking these medications has added to DeaQuan's overall stabilization.

Additionally, DeaQuan attends a contained life-skills classroom. He attends full-time Monday through Friday. His teachers report that he is calm and can be easily redirected nearly all the time. He seems to be genuinely excited about learning. He is learning at his pace according to his individual abilities and needs.

In looking for an adoptive family for DeaQuan, DHS hopes to find parents with a similar parenting style to his current foster parents. DeaQuan did very well with similar aged siblings in his previous adoptive home. He would also do well with older siblings or younger siblings, but siblings who are close to his age or a few years younger would be ideal. DeaQuan is quite fearful of insects and animals, so he would do best in a home without pets. He will certainly demand a significant amount of patience, commitment, and energy, but he is also a charming, spirited boy whose individual personality deserves to be cherished and celebrated. Very likely, he will require extensive therapeutic and special education services for the rest of his childhood and possibly into his adulthood as well. His adoptive family will need to work cooperatively with a team of varied professionals and will need to be proactive, creative, and perhaps occasionally tenacious in advocating for his needs. An adoptive family for DeaQuan needs to be prepared that it will take a very long time and a lot of work for DeaQuan to understand that he is not going to be moved to another home. Like any other child, DeaQuan deserves to belong to a family. His adoptive family will need to commit to caring for him even through the rough times, knowing that parenting is a long-term investment and another disrupted adoption would be catastrophic with respect to DeaQuan's ability to trust adults and bond with them in the future.

DeaQuan's adoption team will also be looking for parents who understand the importance of maintaining some birth connections and are open to letters, phone calls, visits, etc. with his siblings, or possibly his mother and father at some point in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about DeaQuan and being that supportive, nurturing family he needs, call the Careline today.

To find out more about DeaQuan, adoption or becoming a foster parent, email the Idaho CareLine (Please include your zip code and city.) or call 1-800-926-2588. DeaQuan is available for adoption through the State of Oregon.

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