Quick Hug and Back to Momma and Daddy

Tuesday was speech therapy for Caleb and the therapist was happy with how much progress he had made in just a few days. He is signing several words and was interactive with her in playing and imitating sounds. We've been working on it a lot at home and are excited to see him learning so much!

Yesterday we spent all morning/early afternoon at the International Adoption Clinic at UAB. The clinic specializes in treating children who are adopted from other countries and they were a huge help when we received Caleb's referral. Yesterday we met with a family therapist, an occupational therapist, and a pediatrician. We also had blood drawn at the lab.

There were no big surprises which is good. He seems to be adjusting pretty well and behaving as they expect him to. Here are some things we learned.
  • He is at 12-18 months developmentally.
  • He's gained a pound since we got him one month ago.
  • It doesn't look like he has any syndromes associated with his CL/CP.
  • He is probably not hearing well. If he was, he would be speaking more. We will be scheduling a hearing test ASAP. CL/CP kiddos get a lot of ear infections and this can cause hearing problems. Hopefully, ear tubes will help with that.
  • Asians have a lower baseline for muscle tone. This, combined with his time in an orphanage has resulted in a very week core. We have instructions on how to do strengthening exercising with Caleb.
  • He holds onto a toy almost all the time which is probably to help him balance. By gripping the toy it makes his arm more rigid and pulls the muscles of his shoulder and abdomen tighter, giving him better balance. We hope to improve this and lose the toy holding over time.
  • Since Caleb discovered food he has been eating, eating, eating. They said to let him eat until he is full so he can learn what it feels like to be full since he had never had that experience.
  • He is still struggling with "indiscriminate attachment" which means he will go to "strangers" and ask them to hold him. He is still unsure of who his parents are. They have advised us to not let other people hold Caleb too much until this improves. We have been trying to do this but it is obviously difficult to ask people to not hold him and to constantly direct him back to us. You can help with this by directing Caleb back to "Momma and Daddy" when he reaches out to you. "A quick hug and back to Momma and Daddy." is what we have been saying.
Overall, we're happy with how things went and are excited to see Caleb grow and blossom with us!

A plus of the trip was visiting some good friends in Alabama who extended their home and hospitality to us during our stay in Alabama. Thanks guys!!

Comments

Jerusha said…
Looks like you got really helpful feedback...that's great!
August 4, 2011 at 3:42 PM
Rita and John said…
What a productive visit! It sounds like you have great medical resources.
August 4, 2011 at 8:39 PM
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