Other Special Needs Girls, 0-5

Update from Oct. 2020: Our most recent updates on Magnolia have shown her making significant improvements! Magnolia has the sweetest smile and seems to always be in a happy and content mood. It’s been two years since we last met Magnolia and she is now able to feed herself snacks, put small objects into containers, identify pieces of clothing, match animal sounds to the correct animal, identify familiar adults in photos, and recognize a daily schedule. There is a bright and happy future for little Magnolia. She deserves to spend it with a caring and loving family. Photos and video are available from the agency.

Original post from 2018: Sweet, sweet little Magnolia! Her little smile was worth every bit of effort it took to coax it out of her. She was a little shy at first when the agency’s team met her, but warmed up with a little effort on our part. And her little face lights up when she sees someone she knows. Magnolia has cerebral palsy. She is 3 years old. She turns when her name is called. She cannot yet speak but obviously understands what is said to her. She can sit propped up if placed in a sitting position. She uses a wheelchair to get around. She goes to a special education preschool and loves toys with music. She enjoys playing peek-a-boo and obviously anticipates that you are going to uncover your face.

These two are in the same orphanage now, but they have 3 older siblings in a different orphanage. One of the older children was born in 2012; we don’t have the info on the other two children’s age. It’s likely the governmental authorities will want all 5 children to be adopted together in the same family, because they have no severe special needs.

More likely the governmental authorities will want all 5 children to be adopted together in the same family, because they have no severe special needs.

Isla has been registered for domestic adoption for over a year and because of her age, she is internationally adoptable only under the condition of adoption of the older sibling(s).

The boys are both listed as healthy.  All three should be adopted together.

These sisters must be adopted together! There are 4 other siblings in a separate orphanage.

These sisters must be adopted together!

Cassandra has two sisters, who have both been adopted.

Becky can turn from back to belly and sit up with support. She reaches for toys and tries to play with them. She will hold toys in her hands and knock them together. She reacts very positively to interactions with adults. She gets very happy when spoken to/interacted with and will wave her hands as if to say hello when someone speaks to her. She makes sounds, but is not yet saying words.

Lisa is a happy and sociable little girl. She enjoys meeting new people and interacts with them appropriately. She responds to her name and verbalizes using sounds and syllables. She follows basic directions. Her motor skills are developing. Videos of Lisa show her playing with a ball and manipulating it appropriately. She currently moves around by crawling. She can take steps when holding 2 hands of an adult and can also move using a walker. She is receiving therapy to help develop her motor skills.

Photos and videos are available through the agency.

Shiloh is a precious little girl. Her favorite things are to be both held and cuddled. She enjoys listening and dancing to music while being twirled around the room. Shiloh communicates well with her body language. She has made healthy attachments to her care provider. Shiloh will track her around the room and kick her legs and move her arms around when she wants her attention. Shiloh receives physical therapy 5 days a week and attends an in-home school Monday to Friday. Her classes consist of sensory experiences as well as working on gross and fine motor skills. Shiloh loves sensory play, and one of her favorite things is the sound of crinkling paper.

Shiloh also enjoys water play. With the assistance of her teacher, she splashes water around a sensory bin; using cups, shovels, and other water toys to manipulate and move the water. Her favorite game is when her caregiver counts to three and then leans her backwards. As her caregiver starts to count, a grin will flash in anticipation of being “thrown” backwards. Shiloh is a deep lover of life and friendship and would thrive in a family of her own.

Adeline is a sweet little girl who was very sick when she arrived into the care of her orphanage, but has begun thriving. She babbles, but does not yet speak. Her BERA hearing test in June 2020 showed moderate bilateral hearing loss and follow up recommended in 6 months. She is on Thyronorm medication for hypothyroidism. She has mild valvular pulmonary stenosis. No symptoms at present, so no treatment required, just routine cardio check ups. Adeline is sweet and joyful. She has appropriate attachments with adults she loves and is cautious around strangers. She is developmentally delayed, but making great progress. She has an adorable laugh! Adeline crawls and walks with a push toy or with an adult’s hands. She loves sensory play. A favorite is playing in shaving cream, and when an adult claps to make the shaving cream fly everywhere she bursts out into excited laughter! Adeline is a darling little girl, who quickly captures the hearts of all who enter her home. She would make an amazing addition to any home!

Mila turns her head towards sound and looks at people and objects of interest. She recognizes the faces of the staff. She can roll over, but still has difficulty with head control. She enjoys musical toys that spin and will focus on those for short periods of time.

Molly May has made progress in her development during recent months. She is able to sit unassisted, get up on her knees and has begun to start trying to move around in a walker. She is becoming more physically active. She makes eye contact, looks around for families adults and smiles when someone looks at her. She will laugh out loud when an adult plays with her. She watches children’s cartoons and movies on the TV and will get excited and point to the screen when the TV is turned on. She picks up toys and attempts to play with them. She still needs instructions in how to appropriately play with toys. She makes vocalizations in an effort to communicate. She eats soft foods from a spoon.

Molly May has undergone multiple surgeries to repair her cleft lip & palate. She is under the continued care of the doctor who is performing these procedures. She is also under the regular care of a neurologist, who diagnosed her with CP in 2018. She had suffered from “constant shaking” resulting in uncontrollable movements up until a few months ago. The social worker reports that this has greatly improved and that Molly May’s movement are now more calm and she also sleeps calmly too. Videos taken in April 2019 show her interacting with toys.

Photos and videos are available through the agency.

Sally had one seizure at age one. She’s been on seizure medication since that time and has not had any additional seizures. She touches and grabs with her right hand and moves her right foot. The left hand is almost clenched in a fist. Her muscles are very tight, but she can sit up when placed in that position. She will reach and grab toys with her right hand. She tracks objects that are moving in front of her face. She laughs when adults interact with her. She makes sounds and produces syllabes when imitating someone. She enjoys musical toys and will scoot to get to a toy that is near her when on the floor. She is fed by an adult and can eat from a spoon.

She stands upright in her crib and “walks” around it, and when she is among the other children, usually the staff put her in a walker. She has good support of her foot, she can be lead by both hands in bigger spaces. Alone takes a toy and manipulates with it. Likes teases and contact. She is fed by the adult, uses dippers. Does not talk syllables. Continues with prescribed daily kinesitheraphy. Suffered acute respiratory viral infection, applied antibiotic therapy, no complications

Update 2020:

Stella has lived in a large orphanage her entire life. She can stand while holding onto a fixed support and walk while holding the hands of an adult. She will hold toys, move them from hand to hand and knock them together. She will pick up toys that are near her in order to manipulate them. She enjoys musical toys. She seeks out other children and enjoys playing near them. She likes being cuddled by adults and laughs out loud when they play with her. She reacts when called by her name. She eats from a spoon and drinks from a cup with help. She’s in the process of being toilet trained.

Florence is a beautiful, smiley and easy going girl! She thrives with her title of Princess in her foster home.

Florence is nonverbal but uses other ways to communicate. She smiles and arches when she is happy and will cry when she is in pain, hungry or sad. For example, she usually gets sad if others go on a walk and she thinks she’s not going to go. She likes when you give her simple yes/no questions like which outfit she wants to wear for the day. At school, she has been working on different ways to communicate like using an eye gaze program to speak through a dynavox or trying to use her hand to choose answers.

Florence has a g-tube. In the past, she has eaten meals blended by mouth. Her g-tube was used to give her medicine and water. However, currently she is being fed all food and water via her g-tube as her caregivers are assessing what is safe for her. There are not swallow studies available in her home country so it is a little bit challenging to figure out what is best for her. Her diet is being supplemented with a mix of complan, a powdered-milk nutritional supplement, and real food blends. She is doing well. Also, she does take muscle relaxing medication to help with her spasticity.

Her personality has started to shine through even more so. She likes to laugh. She thinks her friends that do silly things are really funny and often they make her snort when laughing a lot.

She attends therapy four times a week currently for stander time, stretching and exercises. The therapists always say she doesn’t complain unless it is a day where she is clearly uncomfortable before she comes.

Florence enjoys being held by her people and especially when they sing to her or dance with her. Even though she cannot talk, she interacts well with her friends in her foster home! Such a joyful, sweet girl she is.

When Minerva came she looked petite and weak, and was hospitalized for care and surgery. She has delayed physical development compared with children of her age, but after the operation her physical health is fairly stable and her motor ability improves day by day. She is able to raise her head when lying on stomach, and turn over continuously. She likes to roll over to and fro on the mat best. She is able to sit alone for a moment with both hands against the floor, even occasionally stand for a few seconds with both hands grasping the rail. Her muscular tension is higher, she can not coordinate and control her body well. If her name is called or someone talks beside her ear she is able to turn around her head to locate the source following the sound direction. The muscular tension of her neck has decreased obviously, therefore its turning range is much larger.

If you move a toy with bright colors slowly in front of her eyes she will follow the toy visually. She is able to grasp a toy and shake it to and fro with her hands. She is an introverted and quiet baby, is able to lie alone for some time without noisy crying, but if she is made to practice sitting with her hands against the floor she will be very reluctant and cry aloud. Her crying is very loud and we can hear it from far away. She also likes to be cuddled by someone and her facial expressions and actions will be much richer while she is cuddled. Her speech development is delayed. She is a light sleeper.

Vivian is a gorgeous, joyful girl. Though she had a difficult start in life, she is an absolute fighter and has already come so far! She appears to have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) at birth which has led to her disability. She also has cerebral palsy that affects all 4 limbs and uses a wheelchair. In her physical therapy she is working to keep her range of motion and improve her head control. Vivian appears to have both hearing and vision loss, although she responds to light and dark, and loves it when you open the curtains and turn on the lights to greet her in the morning. Her right hand was amputated as a baby, but she makes great use of her left hand, and enjoys holding hands/fingers and grabbing her favorite blanket and toys. Vivian is fed by a G-tube, but also enjoys occasional oral feeding for a tasty smoothie (not too cold please!) or a hot chocolate treat. Although she takes daily medicines to manage her epilepsy, Vivian is generally a very stable little girl and her epilepsy is well controlled.

As a result of her vision impairment and TBI, Vivian sleeps more than might be expected for a girl her age. For instance, after enjoying her breakfast Vivian often falls asleep until around lunch time when she wakes up for food and is then ready to enjoy an afternoon of activities (snuggles and playtime!) before falling asleep just after dinner with a bedtime story/cuddle. Once she gets to know her caregivers, Vivian learns the feeling of her favorite people (she identifies them by the feel of their bracelet, hair, or other identifying features) and responds happily when she knows they are with her!

Although Vivian is non-verbal she does express herself by facial expressions and vocalizing in response to what is going on or to get your attention. For instance, she loves being bounced around and will respond with her mouth wide open and a joyful noise. Once you get to know Vivian you will be better at recognizing how she communicates. She might let out a little noise, give you a sassy side eye, or open her mouth wide to let you know exactly how she feels. In the mornings she is normally very excited to see her people, and gives a big smile and an open mouth when you wake her up! Caregivers use objects of reference to let Vivian know what’s going to happen next, but our prayer for Vivian is that she and her caregivers will be able to find a comprehensive communication system that enables her to express her thoughts and opinions with the world.

Vivian has a gentle and lovely personality which you will quickly come to cherish. Some of the things that make her the happiest are picnics outside under the trees, walks, bubble baths, and snuggles on the couch. She is most at peace when she is close to the people she loves. With the right care and support, Vivian is capable of making beautiful progress in life. She is a treasure to have around and would absolutely love to join a forever family!

Hailey is a smiley, sociable, and cuddly little girl. She can hold small toys and always smiles when someone plays with her. That smile will melt your heart. She is happiest when she is outdoors and loves being in the center of activities. She is very close with her caregivers. She cannot walk or talk yet, but she makes plenty of sounds. She is working hard at physical therapy and is striving towards learning to crawl. Lately Hailey has been taking more initiative to explore her surroundings independently. Hailey recently had a medical check up, including a cardiac ultrasound which showed no abnormalities.

Two year old Wendy is close with her caretakers and likes being held by them. Her file states that she has sharp reaction to outside stimulation such as sound source and visually following objects. She likes being teased, giggling, and can turn over onto her stomach. Her file indicates that she communicates her emotions by facial expression and reacts to being called.

Isabella is a gorgeous little girl with congenital atresia of external auditory meatus of both ears and leukoma of both ears (translation error that should have said eyes).

Isabella has such a delicate face with the most beautiful lips. She loves to be clean and will cry to remind her caretaker when she goes to the bathroom and needs her diaper changed. After she is changed, she stops crying immediately. Isabella is always moving her eyes; it seems she may have some light perception. She has some hearing loss because of her atresia, but she can hear. By four months of age, Isabella was visually following the light, responding to loud sounds, and babbling. Isabella has rehabilitation training three times a week and is very cooperative. At the time her file was prepared, she was sitting and rolling over independently. She will laugh loudly and happily when called by her caretaker. Isabella loves to be cuddled and teased by her caretakers too. Her favorite toys are dolls. She is said to be a good eater and sleeper as well. Isabella is getting wonderful care while she waits for a family!

We don’t know a lot about sweet Nelly yet, but the agency does have videos of her they can share with inquiring families. Nelly can crawl and can do so well. She loves scooting her way to toys she finds interesting. Nelly can sit up on her own. She enjoys attention and will sometimes interact with other children.