blind (due to congenital eye anomalies) and has congenital anomalies syndrome mainly affecting the facial area, agenesis of the corpus callosum, colpocephaly and delayed motor development.
Updated May 2019: Harmony was recently moved to a smaller family style center, where is receiving more attention and care. She still goes to the daycare center at the orphanage and will go to school once she turns 7. She is described as very friendly. She is not aggressive at all and interacts well with the other children. She responds to sounds and tone of voice. She can be comforted with a soft tone. She will hold toys and tries to interact with them, but she needs help to know what to do with them. She loves a rocking horse and will play on it for long periods of time. She will laugh and stop rocking to clap her hands in order to show her pleasure. She says some sounds such as “ba-ba”, “ma-ma”, and “la-la”. She enjoys tactile input and responds well to it. She can stand with support and can walk pushing a walker or when someone is holding her hand. She has not had any instruction in how to walk in a way that will accommodate her lack of vision. Since coming to the center, she has learned to drink from a special cup and is eating from a spoon.
Photos and videos from April 2019 are available through the agency
Updated Jan 2017: Harmony tries to sit independently and stands with the help of an adult or holding onto support. She can step aside holding onto support, pushes the walker with help and guidance by an adult. She is visually impaired – holds a toy handed by an adult, studies the objects with her hand. She has delayed neuro psychological development. When she gets upset, she self-harms.
Harmony expresses her emotions with vocalization – vowel sounds and random sounds. When frustrated she can express her discontent. She can tell apart the tone of voice, reacts with a smile to caresses when she’s calm. The child is fed with a spoon by an adult, drinks from a cup held by an adult.
