Despite her disabilities, the girl is very active. She is very happy to work during rehabilitation, thanks to which she is willing to participate in social life and has accepted her disabilities. She is attending wheelchair dance classes. The girl functions very well on a daily basis and is independent. She likes to play with younger children and often organizes games for them.
Updated May 2022: Zeek was recently moved from a large orphanage to a small group home, where he’s now receiving more interaction and attention. His language skills have started developing. He can now say several words. He enjoys interacting with staff and responds when he receives attention. He enjoys music.
UPDATE August 2022: He pulls to a stand in his crib. He crawls using his arms to drag his lower body (“army crawl”). He has a lot of upper body strength. He participates in group activities. He plays with toys. He pushes the buttons on toys, “dials” a toy phone, etc. He follows simple directions. He says a few simple words. He responds to his name. He enjoys listening to music. He eats from a spoon and drinks from an open cup. He tries very hard to be more mobile, despite his lower paralysis. As a result, he has broken a bone in one of his legs. The staff tries to keep him sitting in a chair where he can see everything going on in the room and participate in activities, without risking further injury to his leg. He interacts with other children sitting around him.
Update Jan 2020:
Julian sits on his own while supporting his weight on his hands. He uses his hands to change his posture and move his body. He stands in the walker. He actively grabs and manipulates toys and objects, tries to use them as intended – shakes to produce sound, pulls the string of a musical toy. Visual-motor coordination is slightly impaired.
Delaney expresses her preferences to people and objects to which she is more attached. She has three favorite toys that are colorful and soft. She also enjoys listening to music especially children’s songs. She doesn’t like lying on her back and sudden and quick movements. She is able to sit independently and grab and hold objects she has very strong hands she uses well. She feels comfortable when around her there are people with who she is familiar with.
Delaney is able to express her opinion and preference with gestures. Delaney is very calm child with big potential for improvement with the needed care, attention and the feeling of the real family environment.
We visited Ryan in his orphanage in late June and were taken in by his shy smile. He enjoyed playing with our iPad. Ryan demonstrated his excellent walking and running, and sang us a song. His video will melt your heart.
Ryan lives with a foster family. He sleeps with his foster mother and is very attached to her. Ryan is described as introverted and not very talkative. His motor and speech development are a bit delayed.
Could Ryan be the son you’ve been searching for?
OCTOBER 2017 UPDATE: Percy is a very bright and cheerful boy. He has an adventurous personality, is eager to try new things, and has an open disposition that is friendly, but not inappropriately so. He is not afraid of foreigners from overseas and was immediately interested in learning English with American volunteers in school and was one of the first to master the alphabet song. He has a good ear for language and has soaked up everything he can learn in English and he retains it (colors, shapes, animals, clothing, parts of the body, etc.). He has a great sense of humor, loves to laugh, and gives a loud “Good Morning!” and hard high five whenever he sees his English teachers. He has learned to read some characters in his native language, knows his numbers, has started basic math and knows many songs and dances from school. Percy lives with an attentive foster family who would love to see him adopted as they know that he needs medical treatment from pediatric specialists. He interacts appropriately with peers, is silly and fun with his little friends, but not unkind.
In January of 2014, Magnolia received surgery for lumbar spinal meningocele and hydrocephalus. She had good recovery after the surgery, though she is not toilet trained. We are unsure if that is a result of her meningocele surgery or because she just hadn’t been trained yet, but a family should be prepared for her to be incontinent. An update from August (you can read the full update below) mentions that Magnolia has had a handful of seizures over the years. Magnolia has the sweetest little face with the cutest little voice.
Magnolia has a $2,500 agency grant for her adoption with a specific adoption agency. You have to watch her sweet videos! The agency has several.
In his early education classes, he has completed many craft projects. He can paste simple pictures and color in animal coloring books. After class, he will tidy up his own learning materials. He is also very intelligent and can recite “student rules, three character words” etc., as well as children’s songs.
