All About Boys!

Perhaps one of the largest, most perpetuated mis-understandings about adopting from China is that there are primarily girls available for adoption. Families who adopt boys often hear the surprised question, "How did you adopt a boy from China?"

The fact is there are many, many little boys waiting for families all across China. Since the majority of adoptive families request to adopt girls, little boys often wait far longer than girls with similar ages and special needs. It has been said that being orphaned and being a boy is the most difficult special need to overcome.

So what does this mean and what can we do about it? 

Well, the really great news is that there is little or no wait time to be matched with a boy! So adoptive families who are open to adopting a boy can move through the adoption process relatively quickly.  

The other thing we can all do is to educate and advocate. Tell people about these wonderful little boys who are waiting! Right now we are looking for families for several boys. Go to the Waiting Kids page at the top of this blog and choose a boy whom you want to advocate for and share his post on your Facebook page or with friends and family! (Click on the child's name above their photo to be directed to the advocacy post written about them.) You never know when a child's family will be found on your friends list!

I'm excited to see the difference we can make in the lives of these little boys!

We Love Matches!

And today we get to tell you about a super cute little fellow whose family found him!

Barton!

Congratulations to his family and may the paperwork move quickly and smoothly so that he can be in your arms as soon as possible!

We are so happy for this precious little boy!

Special Focus: Cerebral Palsy

The following post was written by Keely O'Dell, the pediatric physical therapist who works with our team. We are so excited to have her share here!

Before I get started, I have to admit something…

Full disclosure, I absolutely have an enormous gaping soft spot in my heart for kids with cerebral palsy. I absolutely love them.  Adore them. Speaking generalities of course, I find kiddos with CP to be resilient, precocious, hilarious… just down-right awesome kids.  Its as if they have had to be creative in finding ways to overcome their movement challenges—and thus they use huge grins, charming glances, and charismatic personalities to make things happen for them.

Now that I've got that off my chest,  let me tell you some fundamental information about  cerebral palsy:

At the most basic level, cerebral palsy refers to damage or abnormalities in the developing brain that lead to difficulties with coordination and movement.  Breaking down the term, Cerebral refers to the brain and—Palsy refers to limitations in movement. It is hard for children with cerbral palsy to move their body is smooth coordinated ways. Being born prematurely increases a child’s risk of cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy is permanent but not progressive.  The damage to the brain can not be repaired nor will it get worse.  However, it is important to realize that as the child gets older, their needs will change.

Cerebral Palsy has many faces.  In fact, the term CP alone tells you very little about how involved a child is. There are some children who only have difficulty moving their legs (diplegia) while others have involvement in their arms, legs and even mouth (quadriplegia).  Another type of CP, called hemiplegia, refers to motor involvement on one side of the body. Some children my have very mild symptoms, barely visible and causing few challenges to the child.  Others will have more severe presentation of symptoms and have limited purposeful movement in the affected body parts. 

But there are some consistent symptoms. Increased muscle tone (hypertonia) is a common symptom that many children with CP face—this makes their muscles very tense, even at rest.  It is hard for them to move in coordinated ways because of their muscle tone.

Management is the key.  We want to help these kids to be as functional as possible... and pain free. Starting early and continuing to provide support as they grow is very important. All the interventions below are ways that families and medical professionals can help children with CP be independent and reach their full potential!

 Physical and occupational therapists are a great place to start.  These professionals can provide activities to your family to help your child get stronger and more flexible. Often they oversee the equipment needs that will be described as well.  Children may need braces,  assistive devices like a walker or crutches to help them walk, or a wheelchair. We want to work to find a way for them to move themselves whenever possible—there are some pretty amazing things we can do so kids can drive their own electric wheelchair. Muscle tone may also need to be managed medically with medications like botox or baclofen.  And sometimes children even need surgery to lengthen their muscles. 

Kenny is an awesome boy with mild hemiplegic CP currently available for adoption. He is so sweet!!

Let me know if you want to learn more about Kenny!!! Or, if you have any questions or comments about adopting children with cerebral palsy, don’t hesitate to contact me: keely.superkids@gmail.com

Here are some great links to learn more:

Adoptive family blog: Adopting a child with cerebral palsy 

Youtube video: Adopting a child with cerebral palsy 

Cerebralplasy.org

Wordless Wednesday! {New Files Sneak Peek!}

New Files!! New Files!! New Files!! {Lawson}

You heard me right! New files are coming in! We always get so excited to see who is on the list. I'm going to be introducing some precious, precious children in the next little while.

And I've decided to start with...

Lawson...

Just look at this cute little man!

Lawson is 3 years old. He is very inquisitive and interested in new things. His files states that he has brought much joy and laughter to his foster family. Isn't that about the sweetest  thing that could be said about a little 3 year old boy?!

We met Lawson in April and at that time he was speaking in sentences. He could run and jump and kick a ball. He scribbled on paper and could follow directions. He sorted colors and built a tower with blocks. Sounds like a 3 year old, doesn't it?

Lawson's special need is a  urogenital condition. Superkids volunteers will be glad to discuss this further with interested families.

Lawson has the cutest little smile and I can even share it with you!

This sweet little boy needs a family. Could he be your son?

 Please contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org for more information about adopting Lawson.

Sweet, Playful Gwen

Gwen is a lovely 9 year old girl with an easy-going, playful personality.

She enjoys drawing and coloring. When we met her in April she loved playing ball with Tanna and the other children in the room. She colored pictures, wrote her name, and posed for pictures any time we asked. She was cheerful and sweet as the medical team did their evaluations. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy all of her interaction with us, and we certainly enjoyed interacting with her!

Gwen's favorite snacks are chocolate (a girl after my own heart here!) and candy. She is learning to roller skate. She is in a foster home and it is noted that she is very caring and will tell her foster grandparents to be careful when they are going out.

Gwen has a mass on the outside of her right eye and, while it is reported that it does not affect her vision, we did notice a seeming sensitivity to light.

She is in grade 3 at school. She is respectful to her teachers and gets along well with other children. Her speech is very quiet and, at times, difficult to understand.

Gwen is a precious child who needs a family of her own! Could she be your daughter?

Please contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org for more information about Gwen!

Galvin

Here is what Galvin has to say about himself:

"I like playing games, watching TV, and I like KFC, fruits, and snacks."

Galvin is a handsome 11 year old boy with no known health issues. He lives in a foster home and is described as a lovely boy whom everyone loves.

He is quiet when meeting new people, but friendly and warm once he feels comfortable.

Galvin's favorite color is red and enjoys painting, drawing, and paper cutting. He likes to play outside and especially enjoys long distance running. He loves watching cartoons and his favorite cartoon is The Transformers.

He is in grade 4 in school and studies Chinese, Math, and English as well as Chinese history and other subjects.

Could Galvin be your son? Please contact April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org for more information on adopting Galvin.