Photolisting Profile for Jacob E

Jacob E is a 9-year-old boy from Maine who is hoping to be adopted.

Jacob is an energetic 9 year old boy (dob 08/2000). He is a loving child with a magnetic personality. He has brown hair and eyes.

Jacob has had multiple placements since entering care in 11/2003 except for a brief placement at home. He has been in several foster homes and a pre-adoptive home from which he disrupted in May 2008. He is presently in a residential program where he lives with another child in a family style home setting. He attends the facility's day treatment program for school. He is attached to his house parents but tells them that he wants his own adoptive family. Jacob responds well to the consistent structure and support that the facility provides.

Jacob will need a family that will be patient with him and understanding of his emotional needs and that can accept him for who he is and where he is at. A family needs to understand that Jacob does have ongoing special needs and be willing to work with service providers as part of a team to help him reach his potential.

Jacob is an active child and is constantly in motion. He will require active parents that are able to channel his energy into positive and creative outlets. He does get easily bored but his attention span is increasing, especially if he is given things to do. He does need a family to be able to give him lots of time and attention and so would do well with a family without other children near his age.

Jacob is in the third grade. He does have a person who provides 1-1 coverage and has a low student/teacher ratio. He is learning to ask for time out when he is getting stressed. At times he can be aggressive if he does not take a time out and can throw things or hit people. He is a smart young man with a great vocabulary and enjoys reading but has some delays as well. He will need to be in a school where there is good special education services or even in a day treatment facility if one is available. He is making both academic and social gains. He receives occupational therapy at school as well.

Due to Jacob’s age and his current emotional development, he has difficulty expressing his emotions. This can have an impact on his daily behavior and his ability to self-regulate his emotions/reactions. He does participate in therapy and has made gains in expressing his experiences and feelings but can get angry and be verbally and occasionally physically aggressive or destructive. He is doing better at his home as they are able to read his cues and recognize when he is becoming upset and help intervene before this occurs. His house parents will be a wonderful resource for any adoptive parents in teaching them skills to help them deal with Jacob. He is able to process after an incident and discuss what happened and what he can do next time.

Jacob's house parents do have animals and Jacob does okay when he is being monitored and enjoys playing with them, but does need close supervision as when he is angry he can lash out at them as well. He has recently started therapeutic horse back riding to help him learn to deal with animals in a safe and appropriate way.

Jacob states he would love a mom and dad who will spend lots of time with him. He enjoys playing outside and riding his bike. He is a wonderful conversationalist and enjoys adult company especially. Subsidy may be available to the most appropriate family.

If you are interested in Jacob please send your home study to Jennifer Hutchinson, Wendy's Wonderful Kids, P.O. Box 754, Gardiner, ME 04345 or call (207) 588-0213or email homestudy to JHutinsonAFFM@aol.com