Nevin from Bulgaria

Nevin is a healthy boy born in September 2009. He endured severe neglect while living with his biological family and was placed in a group home in 2016. Nevin has been diagnosed with mild to moderate cognitive delays. Update October 2021: Nevin continues to be in good physical health and works hard to overcome his moderate developmental delays, most pronounced in the areas of speech and academics. He now communicates in sentences and nearly everything he says can be understood by others. Consequently, Nevin constantly seeks interactions, attention, and conversations. He has made great academic progress and completed fifth grade with specialized support at a center where he shows enthusiastic attendance and effort. Nevin can read, write, and spell, and perform math operations to number 10. His cognitive functioning continues to be characterized by overall slower processing as well as poor concentration and memory. Nevin has become more independent with many tasks, including shopping at a store, assisting with household chores, and personal hygiene with reminders. Nevin was previously cleared for adoption with two of his older sisters, but one of them will soon be married now and the other wishes to live independently in their country of origin. Despite occasional contact with another older sibling and his birth mother, his family of origin has no intention and no means to take care of Nevin and thinks that adoption is a good option for him. Nevin has a positive view on adoption, too. Described as a generally calm, kindhearted, and affectionate boy, Nevin has many friends with whom he likes to play soccer and hide and seek. He does not always understand that others may want to take advantage of him and not have his best interests in mind. The director of his group home very much hopes that a devoted family will adopt Nevin and offer him the permanency, protection, and love that he needs and craves. 2018: Cheerful, affectionate Nevin loves to be the center of attention. He shows respect for others, readily shares his toys, and easily makes friends. Nevin’s gross motor and fine motor skills are well-developed, and while he understands what is being said to him, he often needs instructions repeated due to poor attention span. Nevin has been receiving speech therapy since placement in the group home and his expressive language has improved significantly. His vocabulary has increased, he has begun to connect words into sentences, and the majority of his speech is now coherent. Nevin knows his letters and numbers up to 10 and can write his name. He has recently begun taking responsibility for his personal space and cleaning up his toys. He likes cars and enjoys playing with balls and riding his tricycle.