Rex's Together Forever Day 2018

Seven years ago today, we were entrusted with the greatest of treasures when, with our new son, we walked out of an orphanage in Yerevan, Armenia, to be a family forever.

Rex, every year I seek to write words in this space 

that will be meaningful to you in the future 

and every year I am at a loss 

in adequately expressing our thoughts and feelings for you.  

This year, let me tell you just a single thing, 

something your dad and I say to each other nearly each night: 

We are not, cannot possibly ever be, worthy 

of the purity and depth of your love for us.

Thank you for trusting us,

teaching us,

and loving us unconditionally.

Trauma

From the moment you were conceived, the deck was stacked against you.  Despite your first mother's love and desire for you, you experienced chronic trauma in utero, alongside her.  When you were two days old, further tragedy struck and sent you into institutional care as a newborn.

At the orphanage you were one of the small kids, weak, and often sick.  You spent much of your time in medical isolation and when you were not there, you were still at the sidelines and in corners watching observantly while rocking your body back and forth.  If your world became too much, you covered your eyes and ears and rocked harder.

When it was time to eat, you forced down the meals that were fed to you at lightning speed, gagging and crying, and still not gaining weight.  When it was time to play, you weren't strong enough to succeed among the other children, not fierce enough to hold your own in a group of survivors, so you didn't join. When it was time to walk, you made an endless path along the walls of your confinement.  When it was time to speak, words wouldn't flow, so your thoughts remained trapped.  This is how you came to us just past your second birthday: sad and lonely, scared and resigned, malnourished and frail.  You joined us with just two expressions that summarized your early life experiences: no and give me.

You were traumatized.

It's been nearly seven years since you have been my cherished daughter, seven years in which your traumatic history has been your biggest challenge.  None of your other diagnoses hold up to the one that's not in the manual doctors use.  None of your other diagnoses would be as severe were it not for developmental trauma at the root of them all.  None of the other obstacles in your path affect our family as a whole in the way that your traumatic history does.

I love you and I will always be there for you.  I will guide and support you.  I will provide what you need when you need it.  But I have come to realize that I cannot win against your trauma.  It's a part of you.  It's in every cell of your body.  It lurks just under the surface every minute of every day.  I cannot erase it.  I cannot love it away.  I am defeated by it every time you freeze in fear, every time you scream in distress, every time you cover your ears and crouch against a wall.  I am defeated by it every time you try to hug a stranger, every time you look terrified at the idea of attempting something new, every time...

But, I cannot give up the fight for you.  While I accept that prolonged early childhood developmental trauma will affect the rest of your life, I am determined to help you find a way to manage it.  I wish it were as easy as giving you a daily vitamin or placing a BandAid.  I wish a hug and a kiss would make it all better.  But that's not the reality of raising a child with developmental trauma.

When you are ready to understand it, you need to recognize your trauma and gain more control over the triggers with a new set of thoughts and responses.  Maybe you will talk about it or write about it.  Maybe artistic expressions will be your outlet.  Maybe relaxation techniques will help you.  Maybe medication.  You may work with a therapists or join a support group.  There are non-invasive treatments involving the eyes and ears that could be game changers for you.  When you are ready.

I do not know yet what will work for you, but I am certain that we must keep searching and take the right path or paths when the time comes.  We'll be by your side every step of the way.

“...repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality. 

The child trapped in an abusive environment is faced with formidable tasks of adaptation. 

She must find a way to preserve a sense of trust in people who are untrustworthy, 

safety in a situation that is unsafe, 

control in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable, 

power in a situation of helplessness. 

Unable to care for or protect herself, 

she must compensate for the failures of adult care and protection 

with the only means at her disposal, an immature system of psychological defenses.” 

~Judith Lewis Herman

IAC 428 - 430

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 428 held on May 3, 2018:

1) Spanish dossier from December 2011 referred a female child aged 4 years and 3 months

2) Norwegian dossier from February 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year and 6 months

3) Italian dossier from September 2012 referred a male child aged 6 years and 11 months with features in health status

4) French dossier from July 2014 referred a male child aged 3 years and 4 months with features in health status

5) Spanish dossier from April 2015 referred two brothers ages 3 years and 2 months and 6 years with features in health status and a family history

6) French dossier from June 2017 referred a female child aged 10 years and 8 months with features in health status

7) Italian dossier from September 2017 referred a male child aged 10 years and 10 months

8) US dossier from April 2018 referred two waiting children (#3216 & #3217) with profiles on the MOJ site

9) US dossier from April 2018 referred a waiting child (#2234) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 429 held on May 17, 2018:

1) US dossier from March 2012 referred a female child aged 1 year and 11 months

2) Finish dossier from March 2014 referred two brothers aged 2 years and 9 months with features in health status

3) US dossier from July 2014 referred a male child aged 4 years and 6 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from June 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 5 months with features in health status and a family history

5) Italian dossier from April 2017 referred two sisters aged 9 years and 11 years and 2 months

6) Belgian dossier from October 2017 referred a male child aged 11 years and 5 months

7) US dossier from December 2017 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status

8) US dossier from May 2018 referred two waiting children (#3474 & #3475) with profiles on the MOJ site

9) US dossier from May 2018 referred a waiting child (#3515) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from May 2018 referred a waiting child (#3511) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 430 held on May 31, 2018:

1) Italian dossier from July 2014 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in health status

2) US dossier from December 2014 referred a female child aged 2 years and 1 month with features in health status

3) Italian dossier from November 2016 referred a male child aged 9 years and 4 months with a family history

4) Italian dossier from September 2017 referred a brother and sister aged 10 years and 11 months and 9 years and 9 months

5) US dossier from May 2018 referred a waiting child (#3461) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from May 2018 referred two waiting children (#3393 & #3394 & #3395) with profiles on the MOJ site

Summer Reading 2018

The girls have successfully completed half of our public library's 8 week summer reading challenge.  Ella reads out loud anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes a day and someone reads to her for 10 to 20 minutes daily.  Emilia reads between 60 to 80 words per day in leveled books. This is a huge accomplishment for her and I am so glad to see her be less reluctant which allows her reading skills to shine.

The girls have received some cool prizes for their reading efforts, including free cookies from a local bakery, free books, free tickets to the Reds, and some card games.  Summer reading is fun!

P.S. Craig and I are doing the challenge, too.  The family that reads together succeeds together (okay, I just made that up).

Proficient

Most people who know us are aware that we don't put much stock by standardized tests in this family and that we measure progress quite differently from a great majority of parents in this country.  With our neuro-different children, standardized test results only show that they are not good at taking standardized tests. Throw in the fact that they're English language learners with a host of other challenges, and you have a perfect set-up for failure. That doesn't mean my kids aren't smart, it just means they show what they know by other means that cannot usually be measured, timed, or quantified nor are they generally noticed or valued by educators.

Because our eldest was the recipient of an academic scholarship through the Department of Education for the 2017/18 school year, she was required to take the statewide standardized test given to all third graders.  She knew that we wanted her to try her best, but also that we would not be upset if she didn't pass the test.  In fact, she was not expected to pass the test by her intervention team at the public school who began to prepare us for this possibility just a little over a year ago.  It was one of the reasons we decided to home school as we did not want Ella to work in an environment that was already assuming limits for her and thinking of ways to work around academic proficiency.

Unlike her peers at the public school, our daughter spent no more than three hours total preparing for the test.  We simply took some time and practiced the mechanics of the online testing, navigating through the pages, figuring out the tools to draw shapes, using the mouse, and so on.  She did not take any practice tests other than the required one in October before sitting for the real deal in April.

A few weeks ago we received the results of our home schooler's testing and she is proficient in all tested subject areas.  She scored well above the Reading Guarantee and showed some advanced skills in writing.  I can tell you that she was very proud to see a tangible representation of the hard work she has been doing this past year.

For us as parents, the test results were a confirmation that home school was the right choice and that we focused on the correct academic areas to drive our child's education into the right direction, even if those areas were not always part of the third grade curriculum.  Despite the demands that it places on me as a mother, we will forge forward into fourth grade with home school now and allow our child to learn at her own pace, using some methods that you're not likely to see in any mainstream classroom.  We're looking forward to this new school year which begins on July 1 and hope to continue to see growth and progress for our big girl.

Picture Of The Day

#summerfeet #kidlife #playsuccess #happyboy #proudmama

IAC Results 425-427

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 425 which was held on April 4, 2018:

1) French dossier from February 2012 referred a female child aged 1 year and 8 months

2) Norwegian dossier from February 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year and 9 months

3) Italian dossier from July 2014 referred a male child aged 11 years and 6 months

4) Italian dossier from September 2014 referred sisters aged 5 years and 11 months & 8 years and 7 months

5) US dossier from November 2014 referred four waiting siblings (#3499-3502) with profiles on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from December 2014 referred a waiting child (#3520) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) US dossier from February 2015 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months with features in health status

8) French dossier from August 2015 referred sisters aged 6 years and 11 months & 10 years and 10 months

9) Italian dossier from November 2016 a waiting child (#3431) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) Italian dossier from September 2017 referred waiting siblings (#3540 & #3541) with profiles on the MOJ site

11) US dossier from March 2018 referred waiting siblings (#3069 & #3070) with profiles on the MOJ site

12) US dossier from March 2018 referred a waiting child (#3514) with a profile on the MOJ site

13) US dossier from March 2018 referred a waiting child (#3100) with a profile on the MOJ site

14) US dossier from April 2018 referred a waiting child (#3446) with a profile on the MOJ site

15) US dossier from April 2018 referred a waiting child (#3201) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 426 which was held on April 17, 2018:

1) French dossier from November 2011 referred a male child aged 3 years and 1 months

2) US dossier from August 2013 referred a female child aged 1 year and 5 months with features in health status and a family history

3) French dossier from March 2015 referred a male child aged 3 years and 10 months with features in health status and a family history

4) German dossier from November 2015 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from November 2015 referred a male child aged 2 years and 4 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from January 2016 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status

7) Italian dossier from November 2017 referred siblings aged 8 years and 9 months & 6 years and 6 months & 7 years and 4 months

8) US dossier from April 2018 referred a waiting child (#3262) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 427 which was held on April 24, 2018:

1) French dossier from November 2011 referred a female child aged 5 years and 10 months with features in health status and a family history

2) Italian dossier from December 2011 referred a female child aged 2 years and 4 months

3) French dossier from May 2013 referred a male child aged 7 years and 8 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from June 2014 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 10 months & 8 years and 9 months

5) Italian dossier from January 2015 referred sisters aged 8 years and 6 months & 7 years and 4 months

6) Italian dossier from March 2016 referred a female child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status and a family history

7) US dossier from May 2017 referred sisters aged 10 years & 8 years and 6 months with features in health status