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Meet Esther!
*Esther was adopted internationally when she was almost 4 years old. She is now 10. Esther was adopted by an older couple with one grown bio son. She is not happy or thriving in their family, and they are seeking a new adoptive family for her who will better fit her needs. Read what we have here and write us back for her additional information if you feel you would be a good fit for this sweet little girl.
Esther’s story starts in the same way that many adopted children do. She was found abandoned on a bridge at around 2 months of age and was brought to a nearby orphanage on April 28, 2007. Nothing else is known about her family or birth. She spent approximately 3 years in the orphanage before transitioning to a foster family.
Esther’s adopted parents are in their 50’s and do not feel that they have the energy to give her the best life. They also have one older child who is in college and not home much. He has spent the past 4 years preparing for college and rarely came home early enough to visit with her before her bedtime. He is also busy on weekends. He and Esther get along Esther comments frequently that she is lonely, and wishes to have other siblings closer to her age that she can play with.
Her adopted mom says Esther is friendly and is quick to engage other children on the playground. She seems to attract friends, and has no trouble playing nicely with others. Children and adults all seem to like her and enjoy her company. She is comfortable with talking and interacting with both children and adults. She used to struggle with indiscriminate affection, but understands now that she should not say ‘hi’ to everyone she sees. She is not shy at all.
Esther has good life skills ability. She is affectionate (although culturally her adopted family is not demonstrative), and says “I love you” all the time! She sleeps well at night, and is dry. Her current family does not have any pets, and Esther desperately desires to have pets to love and care for. Her adopted mom thinks it would be good for her, so she would have someone to pour her energy and talkativeness into.
Esther is interested in learning to cook and enjoys all kinds of food. She has a great appetite and no allergies. Her family is pretty sure she didn’t get enough to eat in the orphanage, so she is making up for it now. She does not hide or horde food, but she has a huge appetite and will overeat if not monitored.
Esther is good at drawing. She loves to draw all sorts of things. She took piano lessons recently, but became discouraged when she couldn’t immediately play complicated pieces of music. She has great large motor skills too—she enjoys active sports like soccer and gymnastics. Esther is inquisitive and inventive. She likes to experiment with things and is curious about how things work. She always has new ideas for things she wants invent. Her current parents hope that her new family will embrace this trait in Esther and encourage her to continue to dream up new and creative ideas.
Esther is a good listener and wants to learn all the time.
Esther can be easily frustrated by tasks that are difficult—she wants to master everything immediately, and struggles with the process of practice in order to get good at something. This is true of her math skills. Her family’s motto is “try, try, try—practice, practice, practice to get better”. This does not work for Esther. It will be vital for her new adoptive family to understand how much to push and when to back off. When she masters something, she feels a great sense of pride!
In 2013, Esther’s adopted dad became concerned that she was not growing as much as she should. She was diagnosed by an endocrinologist with Turner Syndrome at age 6. She takes growth hormone injections daily to help her continue to grow. Right now she weighs 42lbs and is 47 inches tall. She sees her doctor every 6 months to monitor her growth curve. She is currently on Omni trope daily injections. Her Turner syndrome has likely caused her to show signs of ADHD and to be behind in some developmental areas.
Esther doesn’t mind the daily injections; she knows they are important for her growth. Along with the Turner Syndrome diagnosis they found that one of her heart valves was 75% smaller than normal. Surgery in November of 2013 corrected this. She does not need to see a cardiologist any more, her heart is fine.
Esther is going into the 6th grade in public school now. Turner Syndrome is to blame for her lag in math, but she is expected to continue her progression, just at a slower pace than other children. She started Kindergarten with an IEP due to her very limited language skills. She has remained in this program over the past 5 years as she has made wonderful progression toward integration into a regular classroom. They hope that the new adoptive family will chose to enroll her in 4th or 5th grade in her new school (or homeschool her) which will allow her to excel in all subjects and be right on target for math. They feel this would be great for her psyche. Due to limited number of children in the special program, she doesn’t have many friends in school. She would love to integrate into a regular classroom so she can have more friendships. Girls with Turner Syndrome excel at expressive language—Esther has strong verbal and reading skills. She loves to read–all kinds of books, and she has good comprehension and can tell back in her own words what she read. She has at least 80-90% correct retelling. She loves to read thick chapter books, and lately has been even reading Harry Potter books! Her mom is uncertain what her actual comprehension is with these higher level books.
If you ask us for Esther’s additional information we will send you medical, school and psych records as well as early adoption records. We have a brand new psychological report that will be very important for new possible families to read. One of these records talks about her being “excited to leave this family and to go live with a new family”. Her adopted parents feel that she deserves to have younger, more active parents. Parents who have the energy to engage this talkative, inventive, busy little girl while supporting her medically and mentally as she grows. These parents must have strong positive parenting skills and the willingness to clearly explain their requests to Esther.
We are looking for a family who has children age 12 or older. She really wants siblings, so a sister who is an early teen would be nice. She does well with charts and schedules to tell her what to do, but she also craves personal interaction with those closest to her. She loves company, she is not a loner—she wants to share with you what she has learned, read, drawn, or invented. She loves to have personal attention. Her family says she exhibits qualities of being a care-giver. She likes to play with everyone and never discriminates on age or gender when it comes to interacting with others. She also enjoys adults as much as other kids. A stay-at-home mom would be wonderful for Esther, and her current parents are hoping for this.
Please click these links to view video of Esther:
Sometimes an adoption just isn’t the best ‘fit’ for the child. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with the adoptive family, there is also nothing ‘wrong’ with the child. It’s simply not the right environment or temperament for the parent and the child to bond well. Reading through this honest profile of Esther should help you understand what she needs and how her current family is not able to meet that need.
Please give careful consideration to the idea of adding Esther to your family as a daughter. She deserves a family who can engage her inquisitive spirit and help her to continue growing into a successful adult. Esther is smart, chatty, inventive, caring, and wishing for a family with other kids she can play with and parents who are energetic and willing to engage her. Are you that family for her? If you think you can provide the type of family Esther needs, please write back to us and ask for her ‘additional information’. We would love to send you the rest of her records and tell you how to apply for consideration of adopting this sweet child.
This is a private adoption, so a state or foster home study might not work. A state authorized private domestic or international home study is generally required. Due to state laws, we are not able to place this child in CT, MA, OR or DE.
Adoption is a legal process so costs for the adoption are $200 application fee, $3500 agency fee, a lawyer in your state for ICPC and finalization ($2500-$3000) and travel to her state for a few days to bring her home. This adoption qualifies for the IRS Adoption Tax Credit.
Contact us at secondchanceinfo@wiaa.org We cannot answer questions left on this page.
*not this child’s real name: we never use the child’s real name online to help protect his/her privacy!
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