[HappyMomAnna]

Most of the time the profiles require a skill of reading between the lines... Usually, if your are being considered you will be able to get more info...talk with the Foster Family--Doctors and others involved with the children before you have to committ:


1. "The children's developmental challenges are met with an Individualized Education Plan." (What does this mean? Would they be behind academically, or is it physical/developmental?)

This is the Public School system and the title of the program for making sure no child is left behind... Parent with children in this progam often qualify for additional tax credits and other resuorces. The IEP program is part of every public school and offered to any child headstart to 12th grade, who is at RISK for just about any reason. This could be a speach, hearing, mobility, social, emotional, and you name it program. The IEP specialist helps to determine if and what services the school needs to provide in order for the children to be educated. Almost every child from Foster Care will be in an IEP program. This is actually a positive thing because the info from one IEP program can easily be transfered to another....the language and terms are uniform and therefore any person working in the program will have a better idea what the real issues are.

2. They "...have difficulty focusing on one activity at a time" and "take medication and receive therapeutic services." (For what? Adhd? Something else?)

Reading between the lines: ADHD could be a possible issue however there are a number of issues that might cause a child have these problems... Medication would lead one to think it is more likely ADHD or one of the forms of it... Therapeutic services can be anything from Play therapy to intensive mental health therapy.


3. They also "receive weekly physical, speech, and occupational therapies to help them with coordination, muscle tone, and speech impediments."

These children may suffer from a birth defect or neglect. They may have been strapped into a car seat for days and not stimulated when they were developing...they may have complication from prenatal exposure to drug or liquior... Weekly would indicate to me that this could be a profound issue... It indicates they have problems from physical which could include things as minor as small motor coordination to delayed large motor skills like walking. They may have a slight speech delay or they may have problems talking at all... These issues can be the result of many things or several different things...


4. The profile also says that they are "high energy" and will "keep parents on their toes." (What pre-school-aged child doesn't?!)

Usually, when this is in the basic listing it implies HIGH ENERGY! Above and beyond the average child... They may have ADHD, they may just be into everything.... They may be up late at night and they could be complete tarror...

You would need to ask specific questions and research any new info you get.... There is nothing mentioned about Attachment issues which is a good thing... You would want to ask if there is any indication as to the root cause of these problems... Were the children exposed inutero, were the children neglected, What happened at birth.... When were these problems first addressed and how long have they been in treatment....

I have found it is NOT possible to make a decision on the PUBLICALLY availible information... This info only hints at the real issues. It is a matter of privacy for the children we don't want to display ever detail where the whole world has access. Usually only those families being considered seriously will recieve the more complete details....

As for being able to deal with these things that is a personal thing... Each of us must decide what we can and cannot cope with... Each of us can cope with different things... This is why it is called "Finding a match" Anyone wanting to adopt from the system will be asked to educate themselves in anything that appears to be a possible issue... Some people enjoy the challenge of raising children with ADHD, some find the idea horrifying.. so this is up to you and the only thing I would advise is to get all the info you can and make an informed decision. These children sound like they do have some issues you will be dealing with and they may or may not out grow them... So, keep getting the info you can and read as many profiles as you can stand to read eventually your skills of reading between the lines will become better developed...