Special child seeks caring, patient home

Evan is a special boy who turns 4 in March. He was only a few months old when he came into foster care and has lived with the same foster family since then. He is available for adoption and needs a permanent family to help him continue progress he has made with special medical needs and challenges.

Evan was diagnosed early in his life with fetal alcohol syndrome and nonorganic failure to thrive. He has the distinct facial features of fetal alcohol syndrome and at age 1 had a feeding tube put in his abdomen to meet basic nutritional needs. Evan is developmentally and mentally delayed, but he has made progress in walking, gaining weight and working with therapists to develop his gross motor and fine motor skills, speech and general development.

Despite his challenges, blue-eyed Evan is described as a very happy child with lots of smiles and giggles. His foster parents say Evan is “wonderful to take places.” He attends church with his foster parents and plays with the other children.

Evan will need to keep seeing medical specialists for the foreseeable future to help him with the challenges in his life. He needs a family with patience and the ability to commit to working with him.

When Evan begins school, he will need special education services and his parents will need to advocate for his needs. An interested family also would need to be willing to let Evan become comfortable with them in a gradual manner so he could make a transition to their home slowly and in a way that works well for him.

Adoption subsidy is available to the most appropriate family for Evan. Contact Erin Dennis, adoption caseworker, Department of Human Services, 35 Anthony Ave., Augusta 04333, or call 624-8088. To learn more about foster care or adoptive care generally, contact A Family for ME at 1-877-505-0545.