Shyanne & Travis

Ages: 11 - 12

More than anything, these two sweet kids, Shyanne and Travis, want to be together. They look forward to the day a family will provide the love, structure, and support they need. A family's willingness to help them stay connected in some way with extended family will be the cornerstone of building their trust in relationships that last.

Shyanne

"Hi, my name is Shyanne. I'm a happy girl and I enjoy laughing. I love nature and being outdoors--like visiting the ocean. I would love living out in the country where there are animals--horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ginea pigs, and lamas. I also like to write stories. I like volleyball and basketball. I like Science at school.

When I'm a parent someday, I will have rules for my kids like no cussing, no dating until you're 16, unless you have a boy or girl friend that cares about you and will come over to visit in our home.

The family I dream of will be artistic, have fun together--go on trips and do things together."

Because Shyanne and Travis have missed being together for the past couple of years, they hope for a family that enjoys being with them and having lots of family fun. Shyanne tells us she would love helping with a baby. She hopes she and Travis can also receive the love and attention they've been missing. Being the only children or with a brother or sister much younger than themselves would be a great adoption match.

Shyanne is an active girl who loves animals. She is athletic, but is also a "girly-girl" who loves being fashionably dressed, shopping and looking nice.

Shyanne does like to read, especially fiction, but it has not been easy for her. Math is her least favorite subject and Science her favorite. Currently on an IEP, she needs creative advocates who will break up study sessions and make learning fun, rather than a drudgery that stretches on and on. Gentle supervision, frequent prompts, and breaking up study time with rewards of fun attention are important ways to help her study at home.

If Shyanne commits to doing a chore, she will get it done and will do a good job. Because she has difficulty remembering longer chunks of information, Shyanne finds more success in visual reminders of expectations, rules, tasks, consequences/rewards and schedules. Neither authoritarian nor permissive parents would be a good match for Shyanne. She responds to folks who communicate well, are patient, set fair rules, keep their word and show respect for each other and their children. Integrity is very important to Shyanne and a quality she depends upon as she follows your example. Parents who understand the bond between two children who have survived hard things together will also be more understanding of their need to comfort each other, even when one is receiving a consequence for breaking a rule. This is very important to Shyanne and should be honored.

Shyanne would do well with experienced parents who are familiar with or able to access many community resources, including professionals as they are needed. These children would do well with a couple who works as a team. They should have knowledge or experience with parenting children who have experienced trauma and will set to work immediately in supporting resilience.

This charming young woman wants very much to be reunited with her younger brother in a stable, dependable family--one that won't favor one child or a birth child over another. She and Travis long for humorous, warm-hearted parents who are, above all, knowledgeable about how to strengthen resilience through safe, positive relationships. Shyanne's adoption team will be looking for folks with exceptional parenting skills and knowledge of how children process information differently.

Travis

Travis's strengths are that he likes to please adults and makes good eye contact with adults. He has a great sense of humor and a wonderful smile. He thrives on positive attention from adults. He is enjoyable and happy a lot of the time.


More difficult areas of need are related to times when Travis' behavior may be hard to understand or when he feels less lovable. Simply put, Travis needs patience when folks may feel they have none left. He needs adults to help him out of that bad place and into one that demonstrates "no matter what" kinds of love. Travis doesn't learn, process, or remember in the same the way most other kids can. He is not usually capable of cause and effect learning. Travis needs a very structured home and parents who can give information in small doses.

The close supervision of at least one patient at-home parent will be a must. Travis can get along with other children if there is an adult to help him interpret social cues and to coach his interactions. He loves animals but has no understanding that he can hurt them. Close supervision and cautions with animals will be important. Could you be that patient, involved parent?


Currently living many miles apart because of the services he is receiving, Travis misses his older sister Shyanne. They both want very much to be able to live together and they both know there will be challenges for everyone. They need the assurance that their adoptive parents will work though good days and bad and will love them forever.

Portrait by Jennifer Holmes Photography