[blindkid] new parents with some questions

[Steve & Karen Leinart]

Jason,

First, welcome home and congratulations on your new son!  Much of what 
you describe sounds pretty typical of a newly adopted child that was 
institutionalized.  We've adopted 4 children from China, 2 of them 
visually impaired and about 3 years old at adoption, so I have seen 
several of the behaviors you're describing.   It doesn't sound like your 
son has experience with toys or received much stimulation, and perhaps 
not even much human contact.  Many children in those sorts of situations 
develop a lot of autistic-like self stimulating behaviors.  He likely 
didn't receive a lot of cuddling.  You will have to teach him about 
that.  You'll also have to teach him about toys.  Given all of the 
changes your son has been through in the past few days, it's perfectly 
normal that bed time and nap time may be extra stressful for him.  Here 
are the things I would work on with your child:  1)  Read up on 
attachment and practice good attachment parenting with your child.  He 
needs to learn how to trust you, attach to you, and accept and offer 
love.  A good resource is http://www.attach-china.org/.  Your adoption 
agency should also be a good resource to you in this regard.  2)  Get a 
good developmental assessment of your child.  Your pediatrician should 
be able to assist you with this.  Your son will likely need various 
therapies to help him catch up, some will be provided by the school 
system, and some you will likely do privately.  3)  Contact your local 
school system.  Let them know you have a newly adopted child with 
special needs and you'd like to get him evaluated.  They will conduct 
some evaluations themselves and get the ball rolling.  4)  Educate 
yourself on various school placement options in your area and start 
reading up on IEPs and special education.  You are embarking on an 
amazing journey with your new child.  You will see remarkable changes in 
him over the next weeks, months, and years. 

Karen Leinart