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Legally free, SHAKYLA (12/91) is very helpful, and she loves to cook.  She also enjoys crocheting, knitting, reading, shopping and crafts. Shakyla is a shy 15-year old who much prefers to be one-on-one or in small groups of people – crowds are pretty daunting for her.

Shakyla is in ninth grade at a small Christian school. While she feels quite comfortable in this smaller setting, she hasn’t yet got back into the swing of getting her homework done. Her grades have suffered, and the school staff recently assigned a senior student to tutor and to help her get back on track.

While Shakyla has mild developmental delays and some behavior believed to be associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs, the GOOD NEWS is that she has demonstrated that she can make changes and do well in a family that takes the time to understand the trauma and the deprivation that she has experienced. Because she missed out on just about everything during her early, preschool years, she continues to need extra help now.

The biggest challenge for Shakyla continues to be her difficulty trusting adults to truly be there for her, which limits her in forming attachments. Emotional closeness and feelings of vulnerability are scary for her, and her usual way of coping with them is to act out. To help her move forward, she is continuing to participate in counseling services, and currently does not need any medication, which has been used in the past to help manage her behavior.

She is very close to her younger brother Malik, and they will need to have contact with one another after Shakyla is in her permanent home. Shakyla is doing well in her present foster home.

A structured home environment with kind, patient adults to guide, nurture, and assist her with new experiences is needed. Single moms and couples who parent in low key, non-judgmental, matter-of-fact ways and, yet, are firm will be most successful with Shakyla. Rigid, authoritarian parenting really backfires. Having a good understanding of the hurt Shakyla has inside and her reluctance to trust adults will be keys to loving her and accepting her as your own. Patience, calmness, and the willingness to be actively involved in her educational and therapeutic services are all important parental traits needed to meet Shakyla’s needs.


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