Samara from Bulgaria

Samara was born in September 2009. She has been diagnosed with hyperkinetic behavior disorder and moderate cognitive delays. Samara experienced severe neglect when living with her biological family. Since placement with a foster family in 2014 she has made notable progress in all areas and has formed a clear emotional bond with them. Samara is a well-intentioned, compassionate girl with a positive attitude towards the world. She craves attention and wants to make others happy by doing things correctly but has difficulty understanding rules and social boundaries. When she entered her foster home Samara spoke only several words in a regional dialect and none in her native language. She now initiates conversations and speaks in simple sentences, albeit with poor pronunciation. Samara walks and runs, somewhat clumsily, often falling down or running into objects. She has difficulty orienting her body in space and poor hand-eye coordination. Samara uses utensils appropriately, dresses and undresses with support, and willingly helps her foster family with cleaning and other chores. Samara’s attention span is unstable and she cannot concentrate for more than several minutes. Her emotional state can change quickly from joy to grief and she is prone to periods of over-excitement. In school, where she works with a resource teacher, she often leaves the room and interrupts the class. Samara maintains a positive regard for her peers and never shows aggression towards anyone. This sweet girl has a positive view of adoption and wishes for a good mother to take care of her. Samara would benefit immensely from the individualized attention, structure and nurture a forever family environment could provide.