Who reviewed your referral?

We used an international doctor, our pediatrician (who has some internationally adopted kids in their practice), and the adoption agency. I found that the international doctors don't see many referrals from Poland and therefore, they don't really know how to judge the medical information. IE they don't have experience in knowing whether the info is accurate, over stated, understated, etc. I used all three and then triangulated the information, combined with some leaps of faith, updated information, etc. Good luck - I hope you have a referral - which is leading you to ask.

We used the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota for our first referral. They were very helpful. While it is true that they do not typically see kids from Poland, they do know what signs to look for in internationally adopted kids. We did also connect with our pediatrician and a few specialists that seemed relevant. All were super accomodating and willing to offer answers to our questions.Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the clinic. ~sarah

We used the University of Minnesota Clinic and our ND. The University Clinic was a waste of time and money for us. All they did was reiterate what was already in the referral. I can read, I didn't need to pay them for them to rewrite a summary for me.Our ND was a HUGE help. We dropped copies of the referral info off and made an appointment for a week later. She reviewed everything, investigated medications the boys were on, etc.During our appointment for feedback she was VERY helpful. She discussed everything that was listed (a wide variety of things, winged scapula, speech therapy, severe add/adhd, gastro/intestinal issues, fear issues, etc.) She made recommendations for managing everything, told us the biggest concern was the add/adhd and informed us what to do (dietary, etc) until we could get the boys home and have their neurotransmitters tested. She was our best resource, and continues to be.

Thank you everyone who has shared so far. I WAS especially curious because so few children are adopted from Poland, you would know that no one medical professional/organization would be intimately familiar with referrals from Poland, though medical conditions are universal. I have heard from so many people here and other places that their referrals were generally spot-on in everything from diagnoses to current vaccinations, which is comforting. Unfortunately no, Menloave, still just waiting on I800a approval- but now that I have no more paper to chase, I have time to ask questions!!

I must confess...we didn't use anyone. Our first 2 referrals we did decline after visiting with a local pede with many IA patients. Ou son's referral we just knew! Good luck!!

We are just starting our Polish adoption so we are not at the referral stage yet. However, like mama08, we did not have anyone review our daughter's referral from Russia in 2003. When we saw her video and medical information we knew she was meant to be our daughter. I do not know yet whether or not we will have anyone review our referral on this adoption.

The most beneficial person in our referral process that has carried over to the adoption process was my mother who was a special needs teacher and now trains teachers around the country on specific ways to help striving readers of all ages. Her review was most helpful because she helped us understand the potential impact of what we were hearing from the doctors. She used live examples and talked about schooling needs, special help, etc. She combined several standard tests to give us a way to "evaluate" those impacts when we met our daughter. We also had that "feeling" yet we were concerned with some of the information in the referral and wanted a way to understand the impact to our family of saying yes. We then did the different "tests" when we met her, video taped them with our camera, and discussed them each night. This enabled us to come to an understanding of where she was really weak and where she just shined. I know to some this may sound a bit "sterile", but it really did help us get to know our daughter, her personalities, likes/dislikes, etc. From those tapes and evaluations, my mom created an action plan for our time in country with some materials. Every week we would report back how the activities went, and she would adjust. Some didn't work, she wasn't ready for them, and others were too easy. This documentation of where she was, what we did, and her progress helped us when we went to the county for services. We have continued this once home. We have found that our daughter has some holes that the "experts" in the county just can't understand - ie really good in one area - but can't get this. So we work with my mom to come up with different ways of filling in those holes. In many cases we had to go back to how you introduce concepts to babies - and then progress normally through the learning process, just faster since she is older. This combined with our pediatrician who has IA kids in their practice has been a true lifesaver. My mom even trained the babysitter so that she was doing appropriate activities with her that supported our daughter at her capability level vs her age level. We also try to coordinate so that we all use the same language and are emphasizing the same things in our every day routines. Interestingly, my mom lives half-way across the US from us - but it has worked out really well. In one of my other posts I said although I had done alot of reading prior to the adoption, and I really didn't have a good appreciation for the types of things we would need to "teach" our daughter. This process has ensured our expectations are at her capability level and therefore, I can see that she feels very succesful and proud of herself. I've also learned so much about development, learning, and behavior in this process. Anyway, I know this type of approach isn't for everyone, but if someone thinks it might be helpful just send me a PM and I can point you to some of the tools we used.

I love to hear what tools you are using to help your daughter. When I was waiting, I read lots of older post to gleen information. You never know what you'll need for your particular child or children until you meet them. (I, myself, want to hear about how to help older children with language processing issues.)

When you say older what age? I'll put stuff together and post them.

Hi there,We are awaiting a referral. What does "ND" mean?Thank you.P

My trio was 3.5, 5.5 and 7 at the time of their adoption in 2004. Add 6 years. The two oldest continue to have problems with receptive language and learning new vocabulary. While they recieve services at school, it isn't always helpful or meant for their particular needs.

Yeah, what does ND mean??