[sickmeig]

to let you know - katya will be 6 on 12/10. i got her 4/04 and she was 3.5. she is in kindergarten. she may have to repeat 1st grade as she is behind. but that's ok - her 1st report card said "katya is very sure of herself and loving towards others". can't ask for more. i feel sure she will catch up academically, just needs a littlte more time. she knows she came from russia, but seems to have no memories. we talk about "the plane ride" etc, often. haven't gone into about her other mommy in russia yet. just waiting for her to be ready, she has processed alot already. to those of you waiting, HANG IN THERE! and to those who have brought children home, the sacrifices are great but the heavenly rewards greater.
gs

[Annabell]

So happy to hear from you and to hear that Katya is doing well. One IA doc stated that our DD (home at 2 years 3 months) would always be 2 years 3 months "younger". Another opined that she'd catch up at a rate of about 3 months for every year she was home.

The earlier school days were sometimes a struggle, but she's now making mostly A's with a smattering of B's in an academically challenging program. We're happy.

If your DD needs to remain behind, you probably need to make sure that she is receiving extra help (does she have an IEP?) so that she's not simply repeating the same thing as last year. You might consider requesting a different teacher -- one approach does not necessarily work for every child.

Also, is distractibility an issue in her school persona? If so, you might need a consult with your pediatrician and/or an IA doc to determine if attention-enhancing medication is indicated. (In our case, it was -- DD had severe attentional ADHD, but responded to a non-stimulant medication -- it was night and day -- ahe was always a well-behaved child, but she could not stop shuffling and squirming and rocking, and she always missed hearing class directions).

The best of luck -- let us know how she fares!

[Sally26]

Glad to see you post and with such precious news about Katya!