[asauer]

Hi all! We are leaving for pick up on Saturday and there is a bit of a dark cloud of worry hanging over me. We received a video from our agency last night. During the video I noticed Catalina is very strong with sitting and crawling and is even pulling up (12 mos old)- yay!. But...Maverick looks like he's still having problems even with sitting (wobbly and falling down) and didn't see him crawl on the video though we were told in Nov. that he was scooting (he's 13 mos old). Did anyone else's children have some physical delays when they came home? What did you do? Should I just work with him at home or do you think this warrants a trip to our Early Intervention Office? Thanks- I know I can always count on good advice here!

Amber

[Theslaws]

I recommend getting him evaluated by early intervention if you still have concerns. As a ped. speech therapist we always say "the earlier the better". If they do feel he is behind its usually a quicker course of treatment if they are younger. If you get a good therapist he wont even know he is doing "work" - it will all be play based and he will think it is fun. Children are handled differently in GUatemala in many cases. With our youngest we knew she was hardly put on the floor so she didnt have the opportunity to gain the skills or strength she needed. I did have my therapist friends look at her, gave us a few ideas and she caught up quickly.

I always tell the parents I work with "trust your instincts". If you are concerned, have it checked out.

[krafmatic]

I just brought home twins at 13 month of age. Both had various delays. My feelings and that of our social worker were this:

1. For serious delays give your kids 1-2 months once home before calling in the "troups". Time spent with you can (and has for us) done wonders in some areas.

2. For moderate/minor delays wait about 3 months before getting help. Again, the time with you will often show significant improvement.

A couple other thoughts:
-Look at the big picture. What kind of setting are they in. Do the delays seem reasonable considering their situation?

-Giving them 1-3 months before getting outside help also gives you a chance to focus on your family. I know with bringing home 2 myself that it was all I could do to accomplish the bare minimum each day (and still is on many days).

-Watch for signs of improvement. For example, while one of my guys is slow in getting around, he has made significant improvement...ie, he can go from a stomach position to sitting. Improvement is a good indicator that things will come around.

-Use your instinct, do what feels right for you

-Being on the cautious side is rarely harmful

Hope this helps,
Kathy

[kiplingmom]

Hey Amber!

First, congratulations on going for pick up this week!!!! That is AWESOME!!! I wouldn't worry too much right now about Maverick, just enjoy your babies. We visited Cassidy a couple of weeks ago (she turned 1 yesterday) and she was sitting fine, but had NO desire to be on her tummy, push up with her arms, try to crawl, or pull her self up to a standing position. Otherwise, she was happy and healthy. I think she just hasn't been given the opportunity to spend time on her tummy, etc.

I am by no means an expert, just going on the experiences of others. Don't let this be a "dark cloud" over your very happy homecoming! Keep us posted when you get home as to how things are going. I don't think I live very far from you, so if there's ANYTHING I can do to help when you get home, just let me know!

[SKL]

I agree with waiting a bit if they seem to be developing in the right general direction, even if they are delayed. One reason is that once they come home, they will be going through some shock and this can manifest itself in many ways, including reverting or plateauing in various developmental areas. This occurred for sure with at least one of my daughters - not only at homecoming, but again when we brought in a nanny three months later. So it can take some time to really assess the situation. In most cases, the priority is to help the children become comfortable and develop trust, and then they will start to "show their stuff" where they held back at first.

[greytpaws]

Developmental delays are absolutely normal I have learned. I too was concerned when our son wasn't sitting up well. I had heard they don't get much tummy time due to the f-mom's mostly having cold, tile floors instead just holding them. So they just never develop those muscles very well. Luckily at visit we did lots of tummy time and gave her a mat to use and it's made a big difference. I'm sure your attention and interaction will do wonders, but as others have said, "The earlier the better" for fixing problems--so I wouldn't hesitate to seek out a therapist if you would like specifics on things you can work on with him or to get a professional opinion. I'm sure he'll catch up and be running circles around you in no time!!! LOL

[DBNose]

I disagree with the advice of several writers in waiting to have your child evaluated, if nothing else for your peace of mind. Do enjoy your kids and celebrate their arrivals, but if you have concerns (and even if you don't) have your children evaluated by a team of medical professionals with experience in international adoption. Don't just go to your pediatrician, but seek a team that will also do a physical/skills evaluation. Most major pediatrics hospitals have an international adoption health program (I know that CHOP in Philly does, and I know of one in Boston).

My son arrived at 10 months. He appeared healthy and physically strong (and so thought our regular pediatriacina), but when he was evaluated by an occupational therapist, she found delays in his fine motor skills. This is not uncommon because many Guatemalan children are spoon fed until they are three. They are not going around grabbing cheerios like the babies here. Similarly, and this may be going on with your son, they are not put to crawl all over the floor like in the US. These children respond very well and very quickly to occupational/physical therapy. My son received 3 months of weekly occupational therapy until he caught up.

Do give your kids a couple of weeks to get use to their new environment before taking them for an evaluation. Also know that they might score lower in that evaluation as they are still getting used to their new surroundings. When my son was evaluated, 2 weeks after arriving home, he did not respond to sound stimuli. The pediatrican feared that he might be hearing impaired. The hearing test that followed showed that he was fine, and just responding to all those new things by blocking noises that were coming from behind.

Also know that if one of your children is diagnosed with a delay, he or she may qualify for free services through the Early Childhood Intervention Program. They even come to your house.

[luv2teach2]

I also would get them evaluated right away. If there is nothing wrong then great but why wait a couple of months to see. Catch early if need be and not sure how they would take family time away.

[mevertin]

I would also say give him some time, then discuss your concerns with your pediatrician. If the doctor has a wait and see attitude and you are still concerned, contact your early intervention team through your school district or county. The evaluations will not hurt them at all ( just like playing) and the results will either give you peace of mind or some ideas of how to address things. Eddie had some significant motor delays when we brought him home at 7 months. Our pediatrician was not concerned,but I am an Early Childhood Special Ed teacher and I had 3 older kids so I had some issues with the wait and see approach. He had an evaluation by the Early Intervention team and we were referred for Physical Therapy at a wonderful facility called Courage Center. After 4 months of therapy he progressed from crawling to standing to a few steps and we were discharged. By 16 months he was running. Now he is probably the best athlete of all my kids. It's possible that he would have caught up on his own, but it sure didn't hurt him to have the therapy. Good luck!
Mary

[Dmitry'smom]

I adopted my son at 25 months from Russia. He was in an orphanage and was developmentally 13 months old. We were told he had brain damage, He could walk but not very well, he would wabble and fall down. When we got home we found out that part of his problem was he had some huge ear infections that caused his walking problems but he was still only 13 months developmentally. Our state offered free therapy for him because his prenatal care was unknown. In less than 3 months we was on target for his age. He did not have brain damage at all.

I guess my point is here is don't freak out, go get him, get him evaluated if needed and then sit back it could be he just needs stability and attention and will bloom right before your eyes.

Hannah

[DPline]

Originally Posted by DBNose

My son arrived at 10 months. He appeared healthy and physically strong (and so thought our regular pediatriacina), but when he was evaluated by an occupational therapist, she found delays in his fine motor skills. This is not uncommon because many Guatemalan children are spoon fed until they are three. They are not going around grabbing cheerios like the babies here.

I know that the origional poster was worried about gross motor skills, but I wanted to touch on what this person said so hopefully others can learn from my mistake.

My son came home at 20 months old and was still on bottles and being spoon feed. He was like a little bird. He would just sit there with his mouth open and his hands in his lap while you shoveled it in!

We obviously got him feeding himself, but we have always had a problem with him 'palming' things, including food, instead of using his fingers. We knew he had fine motor skill issues, but just worked on it at home and assumed he would 'catch up.' He is now 4.5 and while he has come a LONG way, we had a ton of issues when he started school this year and are still struggling. Things like cutting and holding a pencil are a big problem when you don't have 'normal' fine motor skills. I really kick myself for not getting some intervention sooner.

So I am somewhere in between. Maybe don't make it your first priority when you get home, but if you have any suspicion that some early intervention would be good, do it!

[susy...patience]

I've consulted says gross motor delays are common for Guat adopted children. Their advice is to come in to see them about 2 weeks after arrival back in USA and then take it from there....

If you aren't near big town where there is such a clininc, I know that some of them can provide advice from video. Just a thought...

[allerseelen4]

We have nicknamed our son Scooter because he scoots.

He is just now (like in the past few days) getting on his hands and knees (into crawling position)... he is 14 1/2 months old. When he came home at 8 months, he could not sit up and had a hard time keeping his head up even in the high chair!

We did have Early Intervention come, and I did not care for them much. They basically wanted me to just plop him on his tummy, let him scream, and eventually he would "figure it out." I got reprimanded at every session when he still wasn't crawling/rolling over..

I think that he is definitely about 6 months behind, but I'm not stressing. He has a few words, can feed himself things like Cheerios and fruit bits, can drink out of a sippy cup, etc... I'm sure that it will all even out.

I'm not saying we should not be pro active about development, but I think that they will start to catch themselves up, if you know what I mean.