The children with whom I work
I wish that you all could see the children that I work with. If you saw them, you would call them babies because they about the size of 1 to 1 1/2 year olds, In actuality they are about 3 to 3 1/2 years old. A year and a half ago, I was able to go to the orphanage with a friend of mine who was adopting a child with Down’s syndrome. That opened the door for us to start working with the other babies in that room. At the time, they only laid in bed. They couldn’t sit up independently much less crawl or walk. They were never on the floor.
As time progressed, we were able to get them on the floor in the PT room and began to work on their sitting and crawling along with holding them and loving them. The workers were able to see that the children were not hopeless and they began to work with them as they saw us work with them. Now they are able to sit and stand independently and all but 4 of the 9 are able to walk. 4 are able to walk independently. One child can now eat independently and walk independently and was able to progress to the room with the independent babies and now sleeps in a junior bed instead of a crib. This is my goal for all the children.
The orphanages in Ukraine are organized in three levels. The first level is in the hospital until they are about 1 to 1 1/2 years old, although there may be a few younger. Then they are transferreed to an orphanage for children up to 5 years old. After that they go to the 5 year and older orphanage. For the handicapped children which includes Down’s children, this is absolutely horrible. If the children are in a crib when they leave, they likely will remain in a crib for the rest of their lives. Therefore, it is my desire, for the children I work with, to become independent especially in eating and walking so that they can be independent and in a normal bed. Fortunately the orphanage where I go is very good to the children and they are happy children. I have considered adopting or fostering all the children in my room (9 of them) but then I would have my own orphanage in a sense. I guess that wouldn’t be too bad of an idea because the children would be allowed to be on the floor and stimulated to progress.
