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View: Wednesday's Child video for Tonya

If you have completed an adoption homestudy and would like to have your information forwarded to this child's worker, contact us.

TONYA (8/96) is a bright and social young lady who thrives in the spotlight. She enjoys doing things with classmates and peers. She is a compassionate girl who is conscientious and has a good heart. This is a girl who very much enjoys being busy, doing arts and crafts, as well as caring for family pets. She really enjoys school and hates to miss even a day. She especially loves math and reading, but also the social side of school, which can get her in trouble at times. Tonya reports enjoying riding her bike, skate boarding, horseback ride, and art.

Tonya is at or above grade level and is in the fourth grade, where she benefits from having behavioral and emotional supports.

Recently, Tonya’s world has been turned upside down due to two significant events. The first was being separated from her fraternal twin sister after it was determined that each girls’ needs would be better met in separate adoptive homes. (Tonya’s sister is already in her pre-adopt placement and the two have not had contact in over six months.) The second event was the death of Tonya’s birth father, who died after a long illness. Tonya is now struggling to get back to where she was prior to these devastating losses.

While it is believed that Tonya’s emotional and behavioral needs are primarily rooted in early trauma and losses, their intensity and severity suggest that there may be other secondary factors that have not yet been identified. To date, evaluations have ruled out various possibilities.

Because Tonya did particularly well in the past in a foster home where she had the support of three foster moms, her worker would especially like to talk with families where there may be a single mom with an older daughter, a couple of moms, a mom and a grandmother or aunt, or some such configuration. Her worker feels that for now having a dad might be too stressful for Tonya, as she feels a strong sense of loyalty to her birth father. Tonya will also likely do best as an only child or the youngest. The hope is that the two adoptive families of Tonya and her twin will encourage contact.

Her adoptive folk(s) will need to be strong advocates for counseling and developmental services to help Tonya move forward. Being willing to participate with her in family therapy during the adoption transition could be a way for her new folk(s) to show her that they love her and are committed to her. Tonya may be eligible for SSI and adoption support.


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