Childhood Development

Last week we attended a very informative, stimulating presentation at Rio Salado Community College by Janet T. Johnson, Ph.D., Faculty Chair, Education.

We learned that during the early years of development it is experience that drives the formation of brain development. The more experiences...the more development. The experiences are simply: talking to, singing to, reading to and playing with the child, as well as touching and cuddling.

Often these experiences are not at a sufficient level in an orphanage, so it is even more important to focus on them when the child is brought home.

We talked about brain scans, synaptic density, bonding/attachment issues, vision and language development and the mental development benefits of the Mozart Effect (from listening to and performing classical music).

We especially welcomed this information, as we have been so focused on learning all we can to be successful with the Russian adoption process, that we have not had time to learn much about raising a child.

This tied in directly with a thinkingofadopting.com webinar this week with Todd Ochs, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine talking about his experiences as an adoption pediatrician and an adoptive parent. We learned more about what to look for and what to ask when we visit the orphanage.

More On the Referral

We were told today that we should get a referral this month! Here’s a little more info on how that might be.

The referral process differs from region to region in Russia, and often changes. Some regions mail medical information and photos, maybe a video to review prior to the first visit. The Bryansk region will initially tell us only the age and sex of the child, no photos, no medical or other info. This is called “traveling blind”.

After receiving the referral call, we then journey aboard trains, planes, buses and cars to the federal Ministry of Education office in Bryansk where we see a photo or photos, and hopefully some medical information. There we obtain permission to see the child, then travel to the orphanage, possibly in the town of Klintsy, a two hour car ride. We will likely first meet with the orphanage director and resident doctor, then will be taken to a room to meet the child.

We ask questions (which we have carefully prepared from reference material) through our translator, perform certain observations/tests, take notes, pictures and video. Once back in Bryansk, we can then e-mail/overnight this info to an international adoption specialist doctor in the U.S. and wait for an evaluation in a day or two. Most likely we will make our decision while still in the region. We then return home to Phoenix while the paperwork is processed that will arrange for the court date.

At least, that is the way it works on paper. In reality, this will be a highly stressful and highly emotional experience; all at the end of an exhausting trip, surrounded by people with a far different language and customs. We will be under pressure to make the “right” decision. It needs to be an informed decision, but it will take a lot of faith and instinct. We must be persistent to get the information that we need, yet very diplomatic. We will thankfully be in the company of the facilitator/translator for our agency, who will provide us assistance and guidance.