Today, I was supposed to be at a garage sale helping my sis-in-law, but my youngest woke up with a fever. So I am home and decided to catch up on the blog a little bit. May 1st, we had Joshua's IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting. It was decided that next year he is going to be fully included in the regular Kindergarten class at our home school. I am soooo excited and thrilled about this outcome. Basically, he gets to go to school where all of his siblings attend. He will have a full time aide assisting him. I was really nervous about this meeting but it just went so well. Anyways, I made a little 'Getting to Know Joshua' sheet that I gave to everyone at the meeting and I thought I would share it with you. So here it is:
Getting to Know….
Joshua
Background:
We adopted Joshua from Saint Petersburg, Russia. He had lived in a baby home with other children since he was 1 ½ months old. His mom never visited him there and no family ever expressed interest in adopting him. At the age of 5 children age out of the baby home and are then transferred to older child orphanages and eventually mental institutions.
We started the adoption process in September of 2010. Since the orphanage knew we were coming, they kept him there instead of transferring out. He received good care at his orphanage from his caretakers. In total we made three trips to Russia and were finally able to bring him home in July 2011.
Strengths:
· He is a great imitator. He learns by watching his older and younger siblings.
· He is a great communicator. He has been learning sign language and wants you to understand what he is saying.
· He understands a lot of English!
· He has a sense of humor. He knows when he is being funny.
· He likes to help - to have a purpose. If you don’t have a purpose he will create his own purpose to occupy himself. He is busy.
· He is social. He enjoys being with other children.
· He has a great imagination.
· He has great problem solving skills. He is self motivated to get what he wants.
Weaknesses:
· Speech is his greatest weakness. He has a significant speech delay, which is most likely due to apraxia of speech.
· He typically has a short attention span.
· If boundaries are not very clear, he will test you. Being consistent with him is very important.
· He is easily distractible. He can trip or run into things because he isn’t watching where he is going.
· He has fine and gross motor weaknesses.
· He can be bossy and tell others what to do.
· He will take advantage of people who do not know him very well and what he is capable of and can/will misbehave.
Likes / Dislikes:
· He is interested in dogs / large animals. However, if they come towards him, he becomes frightened.
· He loves water – swimming, playing in the sink, bathtub.
· He likes imaginative play - play food, setting the table, cleaning.
· He notices how the other children are treated and wants to be treated the same.
Our Hopes:
· Joshua will grow up into a kind, competent and independent young man, who will fully participate in his family, church family, school and community to his highest potential. We want Joshua to know that he HAS a hope and a future here and are thankful to everyone who helps him achieve his potential.
