Four-year-old D’Angelo shows us there is magic in music.
Whether they are classic rock, pop or Christian, tunes turn up the wattage of D’Angelo’s smile.
“He loves my Christian music,” says foster mother Myra. “He loves my teenager’s music, my husband’s golden oldies. I think he would be a drummer if he could drum. He loves it when we move his hands to the beat. And he tries to sing.”
D’Angelo, who has the nickname “D’Lo,” has impaired vision, so he is keenly aware of sound.
“He’ll notice an airplane going by, cars going by,” says Myra. “He likes hearing people laughing and talking about him.”
“D’Angelo needs a family who is experienced with caring for special needs children,” says Ashleigh Pierce, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids adoption recruiter with Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK).
“A family needs to understand that D’Angelo requires constant daily care and that they will need to have organizational skills to keep track of his medical appointments and records,” Pierce says.
There are challenges to caring for D’Angelo, says his foster mother, but there are also joys.
“When he hears someone he knows, or recognizes a song, his face lights up, he sits up a little bit,” says Myra. “When is he is happy, he laughs and giggles. Sometimes, you can’t get him to stop.
“At church, at worship time, he just blesses everyone around him because he just lights up and is very excited.”
Myra says she is excited about a new communications system that recently arrived for D’Angelo’s use. The system makes use of an iPad and a button D’Angelo can push with his head. The boy seems to be learning quickly, Myra says, adding that she is optimistic the system will allow D’Angelo to communicate with others, sharing more than a smile.
Watch the stories of children in foster care waiting on forever families each week on the Wednesday’s Child segment between 5-6 a.m. on 12 Today.
You can also view previously aired stories at www.aask-az.org.
For more information on children eligible for adoption, call Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) at 602-930-4900, or visit www.aask-az.org.