Birth Date: December 1997
Ethno-Cultural Background: Afro-Canadian
This beautiful and dramatic young lady says that she would really like to be a part of a family where she can belong forever. She accepts that she cannot live with her birth parents and has lived in several different foster homes. She optimistically views this as an advantage as she is able to adapt quickly to new beginnings... but how much better it would be to have a permanent adoptive mom and dad of her own.
Kesia is described as a bright, expressive and endearing girl with many interests. She is tall for her age and a fast runner, so she makes a good volleyball or basketball player and enjoys school sports. She also likes dancing. Recently she joined the school choir where it is being discovered that she has a good voice. At school Kesia functions well when she wants to, achieving grades of B and C without needing extra help. She is intelligent and sensitive – perhaps too sensitive as she can become suspicious and defensive if she considers she is being challenged. Kesia has participated in counselling which has helped her to understand her feelings and beliefs, but she still struggles with anxiety and what has been diagnosed as a mood disorder. She has difficulty understanding how to interact with her peers on a friendship basis. At times she can be a mature young lady, able to converse at an adult level far beyond her years and confident of her abilities. However, sometimes her defences break down and she needs help learning alternative behaviours to lying, denying responsibility or becoming uncooperative when things ‘go wrong’ for her.
Kesia states that she is ‘doing well in life’, but she needs a family who can understand her anxieties and appreciate her many good qualities. Her adoptive family will need to accept some risk of a genetic psychiatric disorder. They should have some knowledge about attachment issues and the patience to work with her and help her reach her goals. A willingness to maintain some openness with members of Kesia’s birth family would be beneficial.
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