So my darling daughter was 7.5 years old had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia... Now the adventure really began.

And Natasha wasn't actually diagnosed with dyslexia. She was too young according to the federal government's rules to have a learning disability. She was officially developmentally delayed.

Two weeks after my daughter's evaluation, I attended my daughter's IEP meeting. (This meeting must be held 30 days after parents are informed their child qualifies for special education.) Since I am single I took my mother with me as a witness.

The... more

Honesty time...... I didn’t want to medicate my baby with a controlled substance. So I didn’t push the doctor on the ADHD diagnosis, but after an unsuccessful kindergarten and first grade (unsuccessful because she still couldn't recognize 1/2 of the alphabet and she was struggling with focusing) I knew something was wrong.

But instead of listening to myself, I listened to others. Her first grade teachers suggested repeating first grade. I was told, "Sometimes children don't start reading until 8 years of age". I didn't have any better idea and the public school... more

Part 1 of this story is here. Just a quick note..... when Natasha's first kindergarten teacher told me that my daughter had ADHD, I discussed it with her pediatrician. An ADHD diagnosis (DSM-IV diagnostic criteria) wasn't quite met. And she had SID which sometimes looks like ADHD.

So my daughter spent her kindergarten year under stress and not learning very much..... other then she did not understand things that other children did.... more

My daughter’s kindergarten teacher diagnosed my daughter with ADHD and told me that I really should medicate her. My first reaction was explain Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID).

My sensory seeking daughter received SID diagnosis (and occupational therapy) about 6 months before she started kindergarten. The therapy had helped her but she still had a ways to go.

The teacher thought that I made... more

Good news.... The US is well on the path to normalizing trade relations with Ukraine. We just need the US President's signature and there it is.

This repeal of the cold war Jackson-Vanik Amendment is needed to support the Orange Revolution. There are many Ukrainians asking what changed with the Orange Revolution. They aren't seeing a difference in their day-to-day life.

And this action (removing Jackson-Vanik Amendment) really needed to happen before Ukraine's March 26 elections. It is boiling down to contest between a pro-Russian vs a pro-western party.... more

Part 1 is here.

Before my daughter's eye surgery to correct crossed eyes, I was told not to worry because the eyeballs wouldn't be removed from her eye sockets. I hadn't even thought about this. So now I was freaked. You aren't going to pull her eyeballs from the sockets.... WHAT EXACTLY are you going to be doing?

They moved the muscle attachment on both eyes.

After surgery here is what she looked like. She had bruises under her eyes from the clamps... more

I posted information from a family who is adopting a 13-year old boy from Ukraine. Here is a link to this older post.

Here is the update.

3/6/06

We are scheduled for court tomorrow. [Our translator] is confident that everything will go well despite the fact that this is the first international adoption they've done in this town.

I am slightly concerned because we ran into a woman in the park on Saturday who knows [our boy]. He was polite... more

My daughter loves art of any kinds; painting, drawing, singing, acting. But she really enjoys playing with the Microsoft Paint program on my PC. This picture is a recent creation named "Natasha's Prettiful Colors". She is 8.5 years age going on 15 years.

When my darling first came home from Ukraine (at 3.5 years of age) she didn't know how to play. And her gross motor skills were so delayed that playing with clay and trying to color were frustrating. But she loved singing. It was her form of self-stimulation. She would sing to herself... more

Owlhaven 's The Grocery Store Gauntlet reminded me of a situation that I ran into because I am single and didn't think before I spoke.

I lived on a street where the kids played on the street and everyone's yards during the summer. Neighborhood kids were constantly coming in and out of my house. It was really nice weather (cooling off) and there was a beautiful sunset. I went outside to relax and doing nothing other then watch my child play.

I put my brain in neural and... more

Here is my orginal blog on this weekend.

If you are interested in going to a Heritage Weekend that is focused more on socializing and letting the kids play together, this would be a good event to attend. It is a laid back.... relaxed type of event. My daughter loves meeting and playing with other children who were adopted from Ukraine.

It is in central Wisconsin on Father's Day weekend.

You need to have a hotel reservation by March 31, 2006 to get the group rate. For reservations email info@dellspolynesian.com or call 1-800-272-5642 or 1-608-254-2883.... more