Wednesday's Child: 12-Year-Old Arairis

BOSTON (CBS) – Arairis presents as a shy but friendly 12-year-old girl of Hispanic heritage. She can be very loving and affectionate. Her current foster mother describes Arairis as having a "sweet" and "strong personality." She stated that Arairis is happy, friendly and active, but also can be temperamental and stubborn at times. She enjoys having Arairis in the home and provides her with a lot of guidance, structure and firm limits. Arairis' favorite pastimes include going to the playground and swimming pool, as well as playing with her Barbie dolls and video games.

Though school can be a challenge for Arairis, she is always a willing participant and shares what she knows about a subject. She has an Individualized Educational Plan, which includes services to address her varying special needs. Arairis has emotional, cognitive and developmental challenges, which include delays in speech and language. She also receives counseling to increase her attention span to help her to focus, to understand boundaries and to learn to express her feelings appropriately. Arairis responds well to praise and positive reinforcement.

Arairis is legally freed for adoption and would benefit from being placed in an adoptive home that could provide the same level of support she currently has. She would do best as an only child in a single female or two-parent (male/female) household where she is able to receive the attention she needs. If there were other children in the family, Arairis tends to do best with children who are not close in age to her. A family would need to be supportive of Arairis's contact with her birth mother.

To learn more about Arairis, and about adoption from foster care, call the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) at 617-54-ADOPT (617-542-3678) or visit www.MAREinc.org. The sooner you call, the sooner a waiting child will have "a permanent place to call HOME."

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