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Meet Ryan: Moving to the music

Ryan says he taught himself to dance by watching YouTube videos.

It doesn’t take much to make 10-year-old Ryan a happy guy. Just music with a beat and lizards.

First, the music. Dubstep. Hip-hop. Both will do because Ryan loves to dance. So he is in his element on the polished wood floor of Kaleidoscope Dance in Mesa with owner and instructor Trudy Sherman. After a bit of instruction, there is a dance battle with Craig Lee, Ryan’s case coordinator.

“Dancing makes me feel better,” says Ryan, who goes by his middle name (his first name is William).

Ryan says he taught himself to dance by watching YouTube videos.

Now, the lizards. Ryan loves lizards, loves to spend time outdoors catching them. And he is very good at it.

“He has a knack for that,” Lee says, laughing.

While Ryan says he has a special fondness for lizards, he is quick to add, “I like every reptile and amphibian…but not poisonous ones.”

At 10, Ryan isn’t sure what he wants to be when he grows up, but he knows he wants to go to college.

Ryan would do best in a family with a strong male role model and experience in dealing with children who have suffered trauma, says child specific adoption recruiter Jason Patrone.

“This is an intellectually curious kid. He wants to learn. He wants a guide. He wants someone to mentor him,” Patrone says. “Ryan is capable of doing a lot and being great at something. He needs a shot.”

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 Today in AZ. 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.

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