Part 1 Part 2

So, what are the options? Some have suggested that we disrupt his adoption back to the state. We *could* do this, but we won’t for two big reasons. First of all, in our state, disrupting an adoption back to the state results in automatic legal charges for the parents! If he were a birth child that we turned custody... more

Only 7 months later, John entered his first residential treatment center when his behaviors began to become serious safety risks for himself and the others. He was 6 years old. He had a long list of mental health diagnoses, none of which seemed to truly match this perplexing little boy. We had some home visits with John. At the last home visit, he somehow managed to get hold of some bleach (in spite of all the systems we had in place) and put it in the fish tank to “see if the fish liked to drink it” (They did; they died.). He pointed out poisonous... more

How is it that a mother can actually be arrested FOR seeking treatment for her adopted child?

A certified letter was delivered to my front door this afternoon. This letter was terminating the intensive level of residential services my adopted son now receives. I, of course, will be sending an appeal package first thing next week. And so it continues, the several year long battle for proper care for my very first adopted child.

John arrived to our home at 3yrs old, our very first foster child. (Although we later adopted... more

We have completed Livi’s occupational therapy evaluation. Last week she was evaluated for speech, social emotional and cognitive and did fine in that evaluation. She needs no further referrals for speech as she is on target. During her OT evaluation they focused on Gross motor, fine motor, self-help and sensory related issues. I was afraid that the occupational therapist would not get a clear picture of the issues we face, the disruptive issues since Livi does not exhibit these outside of the home or she just acts differently in different... more

17yr old Caroline, adopted from Russia, shares her thoughts on language acquisition.

Is there anything that someone could have done differently in America to help you learn English/a new language?

When I first came here, I went to school in a class that was 2 grades below my age. I also repeated that grade. It made things very difficult for me, then and now, not to be with same aged students. I think it would have been better for me to have been in the right grade for my age, but to have... more

Most people say its best to get your child evaluated as soon as possible once arriving home. I do agree but I think it’s important that you get to know your child first. I had Livi evaluated 3 weeks after arriving home; looking back it was to soon.She was not showing me her true colors, she was not attached to me yet and I did not know her well enough to answer certain questions. Sure I knew her diet, her schedule and that she could stack two blocks, but many of the issues we are facing now did not even show up until her attachment grew... more

We are just starting out on the Early Intervention road to figuring out what is up if anything with Livi. I have a referral for an OT- occupational therapist and we will find out if Livi does have a sensory integration disorder or if all these behaviors are typical for both a toddler and PI- post institutionalized child. When I tell family about Livi being a sensory seeker and her sensory behaviors they ask what’s that? It’s hard to explain; I find it easier to explain a sensory sensitive or sensory avoiding child because we all know children... more

When our first two foster children arrived in our family, everything seemed wonderful. We were now a tidy little family of 7, including 5 children under 6 years old. When we had visited the older 3 year old boy prior to placement, he seemed to have troubles with listening and following instruction. He ignored everything we said or asked, jumping around like a wild child. We thought that perhaps some structure, consistency and love would fix that. We had never even heard of reactive attachment disorder at that point – and we’d... more

I’m biased towards Early intervention because I was a service coordinator /home visitor for my states Help me Grow program. I think it’s very important to get your newly adopted child evaluated upon arriving home. I think some parents are afraid or maybe don’t want to know if there are problems. Perhaps some parents feel that their child just needs time to catch up. Maybe parents just assume that their PI( post institutionalized) child will be delayed so they don’t feel the need to have an evaluation. Knowledge is power and detecting issues early is key to... more

My daughter is a sensory seeker… she is rough and tough. She hugs hard and often head butts me a few times before each snuggle. She has head butted my nose hard enough to bring me to tears; hard enough for me to think it could be broken. She has pinched me, bitten me, cracked me in the cheekbone a dozen times, bruised me, given me a fat lip, popped me in the mouth, in the eyes, and kicked me too many times to count. It seems that not a day goes by that I don’t sustain an injury of sorts. Im not being dramatic here, it happens daily.

She can be snuggling in my lap watching tv and she... more