Shyla came to us eighteen months ago at the age of ten. She had to be placed into a specialized treatment home and we had an opening. We were told that she had been shifted around from relative to relative while her mother had been incarcerated. She was, however, living with mom at the time she was placed with us. Things were not going well for them. S hyla was full of rage and was the boss of the house with her mother. She knew exactly how to push her mother’s buttons to get what she wanted. When she came to live with us the bottom fell out of that skill. For many months we bumped heads on every issue. She found out that in this house she was not going to rule. It was much like riding a bucking bronco at the time, but we hung on tight and she couldn’t shake us off. At school she was a terror. She served so many detentions that it got to be a common thing to go pick her up after school so she could serve them. She couldn’t make friends, and the other kids in our home were not impressed with her behaviors either. Her grades were awful.

With the help of a wonderful Treatment worker and an excellent therapist, we started to see improvements after about six months. Along with seeing the progress she was making with her anger, and seeing her grades start to climb, we also started seeing a happy little girl immerging. “Little” is the key word. Shyla was acting and thinking way beyond her age. We had to encourage her to be a little girl. She found out that is a wonderfully fun thing to be! Today, Shyla is an A student and has lots of friends. She is going to slumber parties and enjoys having friends spend the night here. So far this year, Zero detentions!

We just had a perm plan hearing and she will now be in long term foster care and so we will get to enjoy watching her grow into a beautiful young woman. She has so many wonderful qualities and we know that whatever this young lady wants to do or be, with her determination, she will most definitely succeed.