[felmel]

We have adopted an 11 year old girl from Guatemala. We are very pleased with the level of attachment and most of her adjustments are going well. She lived in poverty for 10 years and then one year in an orphanage. She is very strong willed. This can be helpful as well as a hindrance at times. She pushes to the front of any line, can be rough and tells everyone "no" when she doesn't want to do something. We realize that these tactics helped her to survive. We wonder what others have done to help their child to soften the edges a little.

Also, she has never been to school and would like any advice on how to go about catching her up in school. She was very determined to go to school and so we have enrolled her in an age appropriate class with ESL help. She loves it since there are two bilingual girls in her class. This is her first week and we are just letting her get used to the structure of school before we tackle the academics. She is learning some skills at school, she was pulling noses there until they told her to stop. I have observed her at school and she seems to do well socially within her peers. However, academically, our school seems unsure of how to proceed.

Any experiences are appreciated,
Felicia