Checklist for Foster Care

These are some of the items that you need to consider before providing foster care for the child.

1) Have you attended the orientation class?  If not, call the office and get on the roll.  If they don't contact you later or let you know when the next class is scheduled then call back.  Its the government and they are busy.
2) If this is something you want to consider then have you signed up for the training classes
3) Are you prepared to keep the child in your home?  Do you have space?   Do you have the fire extinguisher, smoke alarms, fire ladder for 2 story homes?   Do you have a bedroom?
4) Children need to be transported to any meetings with the birth parents, therapy, etc.  Do you have the time and transportation?
5) Do yo have an ear?  They won't open up at once but they will need an ear.  Talk with them. 
6) Are you ready to let go?  No one guaranteed you the child.  The birth parents can always work the plan.

NOTE: There is help for foster families.  Our area has a clothing/toy shelter that is open to the kids.  There are also discounts for food at local restaurants.   You may also get plugged into a group of foster families that can provide some support. 

Raising a child with Sensory Processing

My oldest son has Sensory Processing and I had a posting yesterday that talked about what that was like.  He is very active and its hard to tell if you have a boy or if you have a boy with some kind of issue.  Do yo know what I mean.  All boys are active but sometimes especially when they are younger, you wonder what he will grow out of and what he won't.  Well my wife went to an adoption conference and one of the speakers mentioned the Sensory processing and then on the way home from the conference, she was talking with a friend who was also explaining it to her.  Not long after that, someone at our church mentioned that an OT was coming to the school that meets at our church and was offering free screenings.  That's when she told us he actually had the Sensory Processing issue. 

It was like, God was opening up doors for us to diagnose our son.  It was alarming and a relief all at the same time.  He is going to that OT now and we are seeing some baby step improvements.   She is focused on his motor skills first and hopefully next she will turn to helping him deal with group settings.  Because let me tell you, Vacation Bible School was not the best situation for my son.  Life is not easy.  Sunday School is his weekly group setting and he does well in there because the teachers look past some of the issues like not participating in the groups.  He is surprising us now and joining at his own pace.  Again baby steps.  Other times its one step forward and two steps back.   We are hanging in there.   My wife stays home with him and we are home schooling him this fall.  That way we can help him learn the "Hands on" way and that will hopefully help him stay up with his grade level.  We are also holding him back a year.  He just needs it right now.

You will get glances at times because everyone doesn't understand why your kid can't behave.  You will face some hard days.  Understand what your childs limits are and try and adapt.  Get a support system.  You will need it down the road.  Talk about it with your spouse.   Home Schooling might not be a choice for you but you need to get involved in the choices that are made for your child at their school.  Educators don't always have the answers or the plan that can move your child down the road towards his full potential.  I have a friend with child that is in the "Autistic Spectram" and his trip in the public school system was left with him falling more and more behind because he was in better "shape" than some of the other kids in the special needs class. 

I would love to hear your comments on this topic. 
God Bless

How to Care for a Sensory Child (with pictures) - wikiHow

Adoptive Children tend to be prone to Sensory Processing Disorder so I wanted to share this article with you.

How to Care for a Sensory Child

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

A sensory child is someone born with severe sensitivity to touch, taste, sound, and smell. This occurs when the brain has difficulty processing sensory information. Touch gives the most prominent discomfort while being particular about certain textures and such things related to feeling. Because of this, most sensory children visit an Occupational Therapist each week in order to be rehabilitated to a state where the child can function in a normal society. This instruction manual will go through steps that explain in detail how to handle these children in the most appropriate way possible, particularly during treatment. Often, these children throw tantrums when put into unpleasant situations. Therefore, it is necessary to take therapeutic precautions. This allows the child to eventually stop throwing fits and also ensures the therapy session will proceed smoothly. The purpose of this manual is so that the Occupational Therapist/Parent will be able to effectively care for the child and allow them to develop and function normally in society.

Credentials:

Steps

1. Make certain that your child is receiving proper care. In order to do so, you will need to make sure to acquire as much knowledge as possible about Sensory Integration Disorder. Each child is unique, so take this into consideration while handling them, or delegating responsibilities to an Occupational Therapist. You must understand that your child is not going to grow out of it. Therefore, the first step is to seek out the best treatment possible. Many good Occupational Therapists research techniques that are exclusive to their patient’s behavior patterns.
   
2. Work with your child at home on a daily basis. It is not enough to only rely on the Occupational Therapy to rid your child of this disorder. With your Occupational Therapist, develop effective strategies that are distinct to your child that can be performed/practiced at home or at therapy. Suggested Sensory Activities Include:
   
   
   
   • Activities with textured objects such as play-dough in order to develop normal tactile processing.
     
   • Vestibular movement activities.
     
   • Aromatherapy techniques so that the child’s sensitivity to smell can be reduced.
     
   • Language activities such as flash cards to pronounce words.
     
   • Heavy work activities so that their bodies will develop an ability to receive regular input to their muscles and joints.
     
   • Sleep programs. Most Sensory children have a hard time calming down to go to sleep. Therefore, the child may need help. It is necessary to sometimes comfort the child.
     
   • Play tunnels and tents are helpful to work on motor coordination. It is also helpful to include textured items inside the tunnel.
     
   • Deep pressure activities to help the child control their excitement/arousal level. This may include a ball pit.
     
   • Auditory activities.
     
   
   
3. Continue the therapies and activities throughout the development of the child’s life. Also, because these children are sensitive to many things, they can often become upset. In order to properly handle them, one must be extremely gentle. There are a few approaches to this. A parent, guardian, or occupational therapist can choose to ignore the bad behavior and let the child calm themselves, sternly, but non-aggressively reason with the child, or try to comfort them.
   

Tips

• Keep snacks or objects of the child’s interest (Figure 1) nearby in order to calm/reward the patient.
  

Warnings

• In order to handle a child who is having a tantrum, it is necessary to be aware that he/she may be violent. The child may swing their arms which could potentially harm an individual. Please take the precaution of expecting to put up a fight. Make sure that you do not harm the child who is throwing the tantrum. Be gentle with him/her by using a soft voice and tender physical contact.
  
• Keep the child away from sharp corners or dangerous objects, and near soft furniture or mats.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Care for a Sensory Child. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Noise is your enemy

My first son has a problem with nose bleeds.  So we run a cool mist humidifier in his room at night and that helps him.  The best part about the humidifier is also the white noise.  Since his room is on the front of the house, he picks up a lot of street noise.  The hum of the humidifier helps cut some of that noise out.   There' nothing worse then getting your child down for the night and the neighbor with the motorcycle or loud car wakes him up.  When he was younger we played classical music which also does the same thing. Think about this especially if you live in a high traffic area or if you live in an open plan where the adults want to watch TV and you need something to "Drown" it out. 

Adopting infants through Foster Care

So you want to adopt an infant through foster care.  That's a touchy subject and here's why.   The foster system is filled with children of all ages.  The hardest kids for the Department of Children Services to foster is the older kids. And conversely, the easiest kids to find foster homes for are the infants and younger children. That's the problem that we have to overcome.  Is it doable?  Yes it is.  Here's how.

The first thing to realize is that the kids that are going to be available for adoption are the older kids.  So if you want to adopt an infant, then you need to get in the foster to adopt program.  So you have to attend the orientation, then the training classes (for us it was 7 weeks), then you wait to go active.  After you go active, remember that you are in charge of who you take into your home.  You may need to check in periodically to ensure that you are on their roadmap.  Keep in mind that this is foster care.  You may be presented the baby that supposedly is not available for adoption and then they end up being available.  You may also be presented a baby that has a good potential of being adopted and perhaps the birth mother works out her plan and is reunited with her baby.  You have to keep that in the back of your mind throughout the process.  There are no guarantees here. 

One thing you may want to keep in mind is sibling groups.   Think about how many kids  you are willing to take in because if you are open to these types of situations, then you can possibly speed up the placement of that infant with an older sibling in your home.  All of a sudden you are in a smaller subset of people that the Department of Children Services can use to place kids in a home.  That is huge. 

I cover this and more in my ebook.  The link is: http://www.amazon.com/grow-your-family-through-adoption/dp/147753797X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341580621&sr=8-1&keywords=adoption+joe+mclain

God Bless,
Joe

The Wait...The Wait...

Enduring the Wait


One prominent part of the adoption process is the wait. And you will do a lot of waiting. First there's waiting to meet with your chosen agency, birthparent, adoption attorney, or general adoption professional. Once you do that, you have to wait until your completed paperwork is filed and processed. Then, you have to endure the longest and most painful wait of all-the wait to bring your child home to your family. This painful wait can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years and it can cause a loss of hope and faith and a great deal of emotional pain. So, here are some helpful tips to help you endure the wait, all while smiling and maintaining your hope and excitement for the future.



Find Support - The first and most important thing you can do for yourself is to find stable emotional support. This means something different for everyone, but options could include joining a local or online support group for waiting adoptive parents, meeting with ecclesiastical or spiritual leaders, visiting a professional counselor, or gathering your friends and family around you during the tough and happy times of the wait. It doesn't matter where you find the support; just find it.



Keep Yourself Busy - Keeping yourself busy by preparing for the coming of your child is a great way to remain hopeful. If you sit for too long and dwell in the negative feelings you may experience, it will only amplify those feelings. And you definitely don't want that. You can get the child's room together, baby-proof the house, learn key phrases in the child's native language if you're adopting internationally, or even research baby names.



Improve Your Relationships - Because you may have a long wait ahead of you, it's the perfect time to improve and strengthen your already-established relationships, including your spouse, friends, children, and extended family members. Take some time to get to know each of them on a deeper level. This will give you a sturdier support system and help you better understand the blessings of close, personal relationships. And that will make you even more excited for the future adoption finalization.



Get Away - Whether this child will be your first child or you already have children at home, the adoption wait is a good time to get away from the everyday stresses of your life. You could just into a local hotel or resort or travel to a hotspot destination. Use this time to relax and get your mind focused on one of the most important things in life--your family. Because adoption can be very expensive, you may not have the funds to plan an extensive trip to a tropical island for a few weeks. If this is the case, plan a little vacation right in your own home. Take time off of work and just focus on enjoying some time alone or with your family.



Enduring the adoption wait can become debilitating and it can even feel like you're suffocating. It can easily become overwhelming in a matter of days or weeks. But, if you try out some of the suggestions above, you will find that the wait is more manageable. When the wait becomes endurable, you will become more at ease and you will be able to appreciate the process all the more. Think of this time as an opportunity to learn more about yourself, strengthen your weaknesses, and improve on your strengths. You'll be a better, stronger person because of it, and that will make adoption finalization even sweeter

My adoption ebook

Here's the link on Amazon.  Try it out

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/147753797X/ref=sr_1_1?p=random&ie=UTF8&qid=1340306429#reader_147753797X