FS has several delays

Take a deep breath first. Parenting has so many unknowns. We've adopted 2 children from fostercare and are hopefully in the process of our 3rd. Delays can be really tricky. You almost have to find the source to know what the outcome will be. I know easier said than done. It could be neglect, drug exposure, alcohol exposure, etc. And sometimes it's not what the Drs. think it is. It varies widely from child to child. My son Raj was delayed in speech and fine motor and cognitive areas. It took 3 months of intense therapy and me working with him one on one for hours a day and we made it to the light at the end of the tunnel. The day he turned 4 he couldn't even name his colors. At age 4 1/2 he was reading. Now the sky's the limit. He just turned 5 and is 1/3 of the way through 1st grade. We were once told by a pediatric neurologist not to adopt him b/c he'd never be able to live independently and would need supports the rest of his life. LOL. Raj also recently received the most cooperative award in his class. My advice, take everything drs. & therapists say regarding the future with a pound of salt. At this age a child's brain is constantly growing & changing. Just work with you son. I remember the first time Raj could tell me that the sky was blue. I just cried. And when he wrote his name. And when he knew all the letters of the alphabet. And the day he finally figured out how to read. I cried at each one of these milestones as I know how hard he and I had worked to get him to that point. Hang in there, LeenaB

i agree with LeenaB. Take it one day at a time. After he gets in therapy, you will no more. I have seen several of my preschool foster kids been way behind, but with attention and therapy catch right up. The reason for the delays will be a key. You have caught in early. My own bio son had a severe speech delay. he was in therapy from 2yr to about 5th grade. He is an honor student in school! good luck - keep us updated

Thanks! Our meeting went well. They, of course, could not tell us what it meant for his adult life or down the road just next year but they said that after the therapists start working with him they will be able to give us a better idea. We got him at birth so he has not had any of the environmental factors that many foster children have. They told us that they suspect the mom may have used drugs...and that could be the cause of his troubles. But have never known his mom to have any problems with drugs. I am feeling calm about it now. I sat to pray over him. I started at his head and worked my way down to his toes. As I prayed i was reminded of what matters. There is so little that matters really...that he is happy, that he is able to know love and the love of God. When I was done praying over him 20% and 40% delays were just no big deal. And, he is the happiest baby I have ever seen. (they had a hard time testing him because he was cracking up every time they spoke to him or touched him.) :) :) He is a DOLL!!!!

Hi I adopted my son at birth. He met every milestone on schedule or ahead of time. Except speech. I had first steps come annd evaluate him. he started first steps at 18 months and by 3 years old he still needed speech theraphy. Which he stated developmental preschool. He has come along way since school let out in May. I think FS did help him. I am sure your little guy will be just fine. We live in Indiana and we are searching agencies to foster to adopt ages o-5 . We wlould love to have a sib group. I would love to adopt a girl one day. Our son is biracail so we would love to adopt a biracal or full african american child. good luck with everything Kim

We had our daughter evaluated at 16 months. The Early Intervention Social Worker told me they really don't consider a child delayed unless it's more than 25%. It's great that you are catching these things early and can start working on them. Best of luck!