In this situation I am portraying a mother who has been married for 8 years. I am 35 years old and have been trying to have a family for 3 years. Due to unforeseen events, I have not been able to conceive a child. My husband and I have decided to adopt. We would like to have a baby, but the wait list for a baby is extremely long and we have already been trying for a family for years. Therefore we have decided to adopt a child who is a little older.
My husband and I are working adults who live in a nice upper middle class area. We have both worked hard to get where we are today. We have some money saved, but not enough to where I do not have to work or we go on extravagant vacations to Europe or the Bahamas. I have been a teacher for 15 years working primarily in early childhood education and have earned two Masters degrees. I have part of my doctorate completed but had to discontinue working on it because of funds. Therefore I am currently not in school. My husband is a full time Diesel Mechanic and has been for 17 years. He works hard and wants to provide a stable life for our family.
We instantly fell in love with a special boy named Finn. Finn is a sweet boy who is approximately 4 1/2 years old who was recently diagnosed with Autism. Finn exhibited some Autistic traits as a toddler, but was not officially diagnosed till his fourth birthday. As far as doctors and other caregivers are able to tell Finn is a high functioning autistic who does have some issues when it comes to physical contact. He is extremely bright but at times can have difficulties expressing his thoughts or feelings and empathizing with others. Finn has had challenges when interacting with other children because he does not always understand the rules, or will question the rules. Other children do not understand that Finn has difficulties relating to them, posing issues with the children. Finn is preschool, but it does not offer extra services that Finn will need to become a successful member of society. Finn's current foster mother does not have the time to work with him as much as he needs because of her full house. Also, the state has not started providing services to Finn either.
In our home Finn will be supported by my husband and me, and both of our families are close by to provide support and help with Finn's adjustment. Luckily the school that I work for has a great special education department for children starting with a special needs preschool. Through my school Finn will receive occupational therapy, speech therapy, and have a case manager that will monitor his progress. There is also a behavior specialist who will work with Finn at school 3 times per week and will work with him at home 6 days a week. The behavior specialist is going to set goals and assist my family in making the transition a positive situation for Finn. The behavior specialist will be with Finn for as long as needed and specializes in children with Autism. The specialist will work with Finn and our family to create the optimal environment for him. The goal is that providing Finn with these services now, in the future he will be successful enough to be independent in life and productive in society.
I really enjoyed reading your posting. I think you have pretty well covered what needs to be covered in order to explain your hypothetical family situation. Honestly I cannot think of anything that will add anything to your assignment. The one question that does come to mind is that as Finn gets into school, is he going to be primarily in special ed classes or is he going to be integrated in the mainstream classroom with other students? This would be an important question to answer especially when Finn gets into 1st and 2nd grade. You laid out the plan very well and this situation does seem very realistic.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! This would be an amazing story of a parent getting all the necessary resources they need for their child before entering primary school. So many times I see situations where parents don't have a clue on where to get the help their child need. Early intervention is very important to help the child and family you did a great job explaining that and setting the stage for Finn to succeed.
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