Guest guest Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 I have a friend who's sis in law (and hubby) adopted a boy from China - yes odd, I know. He came over not as an infant, and after about 9 months realized he had chronic ear infections - then he had surgeries and finally had hearing. At a late age, as your daughter. It still took a few years of speech therapy to get it worked out. He had learned to cope without speech - there was no incentive to speak and add to it that during the time that instinct leads you to developmentally learn to speak - he could not hear. So he had to be taught how to learn to speak (make sense?). He had a rough patch during 4-5 years of age with tantrums but he is a typically speaking (except sometimes when gets excited) 10 year old boy. He is lovely. Of course, I don't knkow if it's the same circumstance - but it sounds familiar. Don't ever give up hope!!!! > > I echo the last " needs support " post. > My daughter is an interesting and wonderful girl... > > She was born in China with a cleft palate that was corrected at age ~ > 2.I adopted her at age 2.4. Until I got her, she had never > had " food " . She was sustained on rice water soup........needless to > say, she was a wreck when we met. > > Fast forward 2 years.............As with many if not all cleft palate > kids, she suffered a HUGE hearing disrutpion that we hasd corrected > here in the US when she was 3.She attends a FT special needs > preschool where she gets OT, PT and Speech. > > She is not autistic by anyones estimation, and does not appear to be > otherwise " different " - just has NO interest in speech.She goes and > gets what she wants instead of saying it - tho she will sign more, > me, bedtime, bye bye, etc.She appears to understand, and will go to > the right person when told, etc. > > Has anyone ever ever ever had an experience that will help me really > believe that someday she might say I love you mom? > > Mom in NYC > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 I don't know that I have any advice, but I think we might have a lot in common. Our daughter was also adopted from China at age 16 months and had her lip repaired in China and her ear tubes and palate repair in the US when she was 18 months old. She then had an additional lip surgery after that as well. She will be 3 in October. When she came home she had only ever eaten baby formula and would only drink from a bottle with a cut-open nipple. She refused to allow a spoon anywhere near her face and started to eat baby cereal made with her formula/pediasure at 20 months. She put hardly anything in her mouth except her clothing. She has only just started to eat more solid types of food, but has a lot of difficulties with swallowing. She holds the food in her mouth and starts to choke.-- Really scares me to death sometimes. At 2 1/2 she primarily uses sign language and is trying to say some words. She actually has a fairly limited range of sounds, but will babble Mamamama like a baby. She creates words using sounds that are not anything like the words. For example, she says " heart " with this kind of happy squealing sound or calls belts Mutmut. Her first word was Elmo which she says as Elmo-mo-mo-mo-... She is also in a special needs preschool setting that sounds similar to your daughter. I am hoping to start more focused individual speech therapy this summer because I don't feel like her speech is being addressed adequately in the group speech therapy at school. It can be really hard to navigate our daughter's situation--where are the lines between the cleft challenges, the early childhood issues in orphanage care, some other form of a speech disorder and so forth. Jen > > I echo the last " needs support " post. > My daughter is an interesting and wonderful girl... > > She was born in China with a cleft palate that was corrected at age ~ > 2.I adopted her at age 2.4. Until I got her, she had never > had " food " . She was sustained on rice water soup........needless to > say, she was a wreck when we met. > > Fast forward 2 years.............As with many if not all cleft palate > kids, she suffered a HUGE hearing disrutpion that we hasd corrected > here in the US when she was 3.She attends a FT special needs > preschool where she gets OT, PT and Speech. > > She is not autistic by anyones estimation, and does not appear to be > otherwise " different " - just has NO interest in speech.She goes and > gets what she wants instead of saying it - tho she will sign more, > me, bedtime, bye bye, etc.She appears to understand, and will go to > the right person when told, etc. > > Has anyone ever ever ever had an experience that will help me really > believe that someday she might say I love you mom? > > Mom in NYC > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 wow!!!!!!!!!!!!ME TOO FOR ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where are you - where in the us??? Please keep in touch, Ill email after I get dinner thrown at us, haha <dorareader@...> wrote: I don't know that I have any advice, but I think we might have a lot in common. Our daughter was also adopted from China at age 16 months and had her lip repaired in China and her ear tubes and palate repair in the US when she was 18 months old. She then had an additional lip surgery after that as well. She will be 3 in October. When she came home she had only ever eaten baby formula and would only drink from a bottle with a cut-open nipple. She refused to allow a spoon anywhere near her face and started to eat baby cereal made with her formula/pediasure at 20 months. She put hardly anything in her mouth except her clothing. She has only just started to eat more solid types of food, but has a lot of difficulties with swallowing. She holds the food in her mouth and starts to choke.-- Really scares me to death sometimes. At 2 1/2 she primarily uses sign language and is trying to say some words. She actually has a fairly limited range of sounds, but will babble Mamamama like a baby. She creates words using sounds that are not anything like the words. For example, she says " heart " with this kind of happy squealing sound or calls belts Mutmut. Her first word was Elmo which she says as Elmo-mo-mo-mo-... She is also in a special needs preschool setting that sounds similar to your daughter. I am hoping to start more focused individual speech therapy this summer because I don't feel like her speech is being addressed adequately in the group speech therapy at school. It can be really hard to navigate our daughter's situation--where are the lines between the cleft challenges, the early childhood issues in orphanage care, some other form of a speech disorder and so forth. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 these kids are very often vaccinated before they leave China and then revaccinated when they get here. That in my opinion is where most of the neurological, metabolic, immune etc problems are coming from. > > > > I echo the last " needs support " post. > > My daughter is an interesting and wonderful girl... > > > > She was born in China with a cleft palate that was corrected at age > ~ > > 2.I adopted her at age 2.4. Until I got her, she had never > > had " food " . She was sustained on rice water soup........needless to > > say, she was a wreck when we met. > > > > Fast forward 2 years.............As with many if not all cleft > palate > > kids, she suffered a HUGE hearing disrutpion that we hasd corrected > > here in the US when she was 3.She attends a FT special needs > > preschool where she gets OT, PT and Speech. > > > > She is not autistic by anyones estimation, and does not appear to > be > > otherwise " different " - just has NO interest in speech.She goes and > > gets what she wants instead of saying it - tho she will sign more, > > me, bedtime, bye bye, etc.She appears to understand, and will go to > > the right person when told, etc. > > > > Has anyone ever ever ever had an experience that will help me > really > > believe that someday she might say I love you mom? > > > > Mom in NYC > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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