Meet five-year old Luke

All about Luke*

Age: 5 years-old

Location: North East

Favourite food: Pizza and wraps

Favourite TV show: The Muppets

Perfect day out: A day out playing in a park and the swings and slides and visiting a wildlife park to see lots of animals.

The family for Luke: Luke would be most suited to being an only child and within an environment where adults can provide the support and nurturing environment he needs to thrive.

We are on the final push to find a forever home for Luke, a five-year-old little boy, who is full of personality and adventure.

With dark hair, brown eyes, and olive skin Luke is a lovely, sensitive, sweet little boy who can also be wonderfully funny, cheeky, playful, and mischievous.

We were originally looking for a home for Luke alongside his younger brother Ross, but while living with their foster carers it became clear that the brothers were not bringing out the best in one-another and the difficult decision was made to separate the pair.  Luke needs a family who can meet his individual needs.

Although the brothers no longer live together, Luke has a very close relationship with his little brother Ross, and he is very protective of him, and he likes to be close to him and give him cuddles.  Luke needs a family who understands the significance of the brothers’ relationship and would support ongoing contact (which is agreed arrangements with adoptive parents to appropriately keep in touch with birth family members) with his little brother when the time is right for both.

As a very affectionate little boy, Luke loves lots of squishy hugs and cuddles from his carers and those adults around him who he knows well.

Support needs

Luke’s past trauma and developmental delay, means that he has additional support needs, and behavioural issues.  At times Luke has been unable to attend mainstream nursery and school because he would become very distressed, he would run away from teachers, and he wasn’t able to settle in and join in activities and learning with his classmates.

However, all parties involved in Luke’s care have worked very hard to identify a school in the North East of England which best suit his needs, and he is now happily settled. The specialist school is best able to support his educational and developmental needs, and carers are already reporting marked improvement in his behaviour thanks to him now being in the right environment.

We are looking for a family who really understand Luke’s behaviour and developmental needs, are committed to his education, and will advocate for him throughout his life.

Luke is a creative little boy, and he loves roleplay and particularly enjoys pretending to be a hairdresser.  When his social worker visits, he loves to borrow her badge and pretend to be her, while she pretends to be him.

Speaking about Luke, his social worker said:

Luke is a gorgeous little boy, with beautiful olive skin, brown eyes, dark hair, and a cheeky contagious little smile.  He’s great fun to be around and loves to play – he’s got a caring nature and he loves to play with his collection of Barbie dolls and particularly loves looking after animals, insects, and plants.

We’ve been family finding for Luke for a couple of years now, and it was an extremely difficult decision to separate Luke and his younger brother Ross, but since the split we’ve seen both boys thrive.  Luke has complex emotional needs because he has developmental delay and a tough start in life; which has led to periods where he has experienced extremely frightening things which has made him feel, frightened, confused and worried.  This unsettled background has understandably led to Luke struggling to regulate his emotions which has impacted on his behaviours.

Luke has found it hard to listen to what his foster carers ask him to do and would often run away from them or climb on furniture and risk hurting himself.  Although Luke is a very bright and clever little boy, he has limited speech and at times finds it difficult to let people know what he is thinking or what he wanted to say. The difficulties Luke has experienced throughout his childhood and the frustrations he feels has resulted in him being disruptive at home and school and trying to control situations.

Whilst Luke’s needs may be understandably challenging for prospective adopters, Luke’s beautiful and caring nature and personality shines through immediately and he will capture the hearts of those who meet him.  Luke is a sweet, mischievous, and charming little boy and we’re not ready to give up on finding a forever home for him.  We are looking for a person or couple who have a therapeutic approach to parenting and who are willing to take the time to understand the reasons behind Luke’s emotional and behavioural needs and can help him find ways to express himself in a more positive and constructive way.  He needs a family who can provide a nurturing, supportive and loving home where he is secure and able to thrive.

As an independent little boy, Luke likes to make choices and feels better when he is in control, but he is learning to be supported in his decision making.   This independence is best shown at mealtimes where his food choices have become more varied, and he now also enjoys choosing his own clothes.  Luke is fond of growing vegetables and flowers and loves helping to prepare the food that he has grown himself.  He takes great pride in eating his home-grown cucumbers and tomatoes.

Background

Sadly, Luke has experienced many adverse childhood experiences from birth and has had periods with birth parents and with different foster carers.  The difficult decision was also taken for Luke and his brother Ross to be separated to help them both thrive in families that can best meet their individual needs.  Understandably, these experiences have caused him to feel frightened, confused and worried, and at times very unsettled, which has impacted his behaviour.

Health

Luke has some speech delay, and he has attended a specialist speech and communication school, and he continues to work hard to learn new words; his carers and school are reporting daily improvements in his speech.

Luke is physically a fit and healthy little boy and is very active.  He has a good appetite and a varied diet.

Find out more

If you think you have the love, time, patience, resilience, and attitude to provide an understanding, warm, safe and secure home for Luke, we’d love to hear from you.

Complete our enquiry form here or email adoptcoasttocoast@durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal conversation with one of our friendly team.

*names have been changed and photos are stock for illustrative purposes only.