B-One is a teenaged African American boy with black hair, brown eyes, and a tall stature. He was originally born as B-1, however due to clerical reasons his name has legally been changed to B-One. He is described as a “normal middle schooler” who is the life of the party. He loves to be the center of attention and put on a show. He enjoys video games and enjoys helping out around the house and cooking (he is becoming a grill master)! When it’s his turn to cook for the house, he “pulls out all the stops” and loves to show off his skills. The whole house looks forward to B-One’s turn to cook. Some of his favorite foods include pizza, chicken, Takis (all flavors), and hot fries, however he cannot stand mushrooms, seafood, asparagus, squash, zucchini, or avocados.
B-One is very smart and loves to engage in social activity and conversation. He will take any opportunity he can to call a sibling and often wants to speak with a maternal relative.
B-One sometimes struggles staying on track (as he is easily distracted), telling the truth, and blaming others for his behaviors. He requires structure and when he becomes angry and frustrated, he might yell but given the chance to cool off, he will process his emotions and come back to correct his behaviors. He is able to process his own mistakes and bad choices with a trusted adult and he tries very hard to make good choices, though he does need correction and direction. He always searches for positive feedback wherever he can find it and wants to feel loved and secure.
Behaviorally, B-One is described as a “typical, normal teenager”, however emotionally he is described as being around age 9. When he is around a loosely structured environment, B-One is quick to “slide back” into old patterns. However, he has made quite a bit of progression and is doing well in his current placement with his brother Jahad.
B-One has never played on a sports team, however he loves to play basketball and believes he would be good on a team if he was every given the opportunity. His favorite music is rap and hip-hop. B-One also loves dogs, especially Yorkies. When he was younger, he used to ride horses; he would like to ride again, however only on occasion as he would like to remain in a city environment.
Meet Jahad!
Jahad is a young African American pre-teen with black hair and brown eyes. He is described as an easy going, “Type-B” personality. He is very happy to go with the flow, however he does show leadership skills. His previous caregiver has stated that “He is going to want to tell you how to do things and show you how to do things”. He will interject himself into situations and try to provide advice or instructions. He is learning how to be assertive while also not being bossy.
While he is quick to lend a helping hand or offer advice, Jahad takes great difficulty receiving constructive criticism. When providing correction, Jahad needs a lot of positive feedback before the correction, and the correction has to be done quickly – a bread heavy compliment sandwich if you will. Jahad is not able to sit down and have discussions about his behaviors or choices; he is easily overwhelmed and becomes frustrated. A previous caregiver has reported that when he is starting to feel agitated, he will curl his hair around his fingers, play with his hands, or rub his eyes. They reported that when they’d notice these behaviors they would stop any interaction and try to get him to tell them what is frustrating them. He needs a lot of reassurance that he is safe and loved rather than dwelling on any negatives.
Jahad is also described as being sensitive. He is said to be “an absolute joy to be around”. His previous placement have stated that he follows direction well, engages with the other children, and is generally sweet and respectful.
He loves to build things with Legos, play video games with B-One on the PlayStation, and is currently very into Pokémon and newer Star Wars movies. He doesn’t particularly enjoy reading and tried to avoid it as much as possible. Jahad also enjoys watching television play strategy, put puzzles together, play cards, and play board games. He loves swimming and his favorite color is “blue, but like the sky”. His favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, spicy and fried foods, and all kinds of seafood, especially oysters. Like his brother, Jahad also loves dogs, however he errs on the bigger dogs side with his favorite breed being a Husky. He also loves horses, as well as birds.
When Jahad grows up, he believes he might want to become a police officer or a firefighter “so I can rescue people”. He thinks he does extremely well with “helping and sharing” and states “I like to help others”.
B-One and Jahad have been placed together and have both expressed that they would like to be adopted together.