Just a recap..... I read a post on FRUA. A family was asking how children learn or don't learn language. Their child had been home for 6 weeks.

I looked at old emails and journal entries. Natasha had been home for 2 months before I noticed her usage of English was improving.

What I didn't know at that point was just how delayed her language skills were. Her language skills were screened after she had been home for 6 months. She was 4 years... more

I read the same thread on FRUA that Nancy Spoolstra did. The thread was about internationally adopted children and how quickly they do or do not start learning English.

She wrote Mi Casa es Mi Castillo.

Nancy wrote:

While I completely agree some kids have language and processing issues, and... more

I was reading old emails and found one about my darling and food. In this email, Natasha had been home for 13 months after being adopted from a specialized (think handicapped) Ukrainian orphanage. I had forgotten how she used to beg food off strangers.

The above picture is of Natasha in front of her "food cabinet".

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Natasha has food issues. She has been home for 13 months and still has some problems walking away from food. If we are at a restaurant she feels a strong urge to see what other people are eating.... more

My darling daughter's Ukrainian orphanage had a piano. Even though I never saw the piano being used, it quickly became obvious that it was frequently used. Natasha sang all the time.

I asked my translator about one song. It was a children's song (in Ukrainian) that sounded similiar to the "Jack and Jill went up the hill".

Natasha has been home for 5 years now and she sings all the time. She made up her own lyrics and sings them to me. When she was 5 years old she made up the following song.

Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti I love... more

This morning I had breakfast with my daughter at IHOP.

I blame the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for this monthly breakfast ritual. My darling daughter, Natasha, take 2 pills for her ADHD every day.

These 2 pills are Schedule II drugs. It is a little confusing, but both pills are the same medication. She takes Concerta... more

I listed the primary Ukrainian adoption email lists here.

There are some additional email lists (Christian, Expat, Older Children, State Based) that are Ukrainian adoption focused or of interest to families adopting from Ukraine here.

All the email lists below are for post adoption or if you are hosting a child.

ukrainepostadoptionsupport... more

This morning my daughter, Natasha, and I got up early so that we could visit the locally owned donut shop. It is a "hole in the wall".

The donuts are small and not too sweet. * The coffee and hot chocolate are hot. Sections of the current newspaper lay over all the tables. The owners and employees are always happy to see us. And everything is well worn, but comfortable. Last but not least it is inexpensive.

My darling daughter has Combined (Inattentive and Hyperactive) ADHD. And therefore she does her homework... more

For anyone who is thinking about adopting a special needs child (which all institutionalized children should be considered special needs children) or has adopted a special needs child... you must read Welcome to Holland

NOTE: I am not saying all children adopted from orphanages will be special needs children. I am saying assume there will be issues and research the available resources before adopting. Once my daughter was home with me I didn't have much energy/time available for researching available... more

I was startled to read in R.A.D.ically Overdiagnosed... that

It appears that “Attachment Disorder” as we know it today first established a toehold in the US in the early 1980’s.

As I blogged in Early History of Attachment Theory, attachment theory started with Freud in the early 1900s. John Bowlby (in the 1950s) and Mary Ainsworth (in the... more

Modern theories about attachment started with Freud who was born in 1856 and died in 1939.

Freud suggested that an infant's emotional tie to his/her mother is the foundation for later relationships. Subsequent research on the outcomes of early attachment has been consistent with Freud's idea.

From: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ATTACHMENT

Then came the man who is called the father of attachment; John Bowlby. John was born in 1907 and died in 1990. Around 1930... more