September 2005
Alexander had a mellow summer. He continued to struggle with impulse control
issues and behavioral challenges. Although we had hoped that Alexander would
be successful participating in some of the summer camp programs, in most cases
he was unable to maintain appropriate behavior even with one-to-one support.
Instead of attending summer camp programs which seemed to over stimulate Alex,
we had Alex stay home with us most of the summer. Alex actually did fairly
well with this type of a schedule. He was able to ride his bicycle, roller
blade, and catch insects at his leisure. Because most of the boys were
participating in different summer programs, our house was a very mellow
environment for Alex. Also a couple of times each week Alex was able to take a
long bike ride down the coast with one or more of his brothers and at least
one of our helpers. We are learning that Alex seems to need activities that
can burn-off a lot of his excess energy while not being too structured and
requiring complete compliance.
Alexander continues to participate in his Tae Kwon Do lessons and has even
advanced to some of the Leadership classes. He will soon test for Blue Belt.
Alex has done exceptionally well in Tae Kwon Do class and we believe that the
consistency of the expectations and the short length of the class (45 minutes)
several times a week allows Alex to maintain his appropriate behavior.
Alexander has also started taking roller skating lessons on the weekends and
will try skateboard riding lessons after school starting in a few weeks. Alex
says he is looking forward to school starting.
June 2005
Alexander has really come a long way in the six months since he joined our
family. Alexander seems well-bonded to us and to his brothers. He is always
writing "love notes" to us and letting us know how happy he is with his new
family. We are also very happy to have Alexander as our son.
Alexander has just completed the second grade at Moffett Elementary School and
is ready for summer. Next year he will be a third grader at Perry Elementary
School. Alexander is enrolled in several camp programs including Camp James
and
Science
Adventures Camp. These will be his first camp experiences.
Alexander is a bright little boy who needs lots of space to burn off his
excess energy. Lately Alexander has been enjoying riding his bike to the beach
and along the bike trail. Our helper, Derick, has been working with Alexander,
Jarrod, George, and Saul on bicycle safety at least once a week. The boys are
working on watching for pedestrians and for cars. They are also learning how
to use the cross walk and to lock-up their bikes. Some days they ride along
the beach for four or five hours! Alexander loves riding his bicycle, but boy
is he exhausted when he gets home. I think we may have found the perfect match
for Alexander's ADD/HD.
Alex, David and Kavin at Special Camp for
Special Kids
December 2004
Alexander (9) joined our family in
December 2004. Alex was born in Russia and lived there until he was 8 years
old.
During
the summer of 2004, Alex and his little brother were adopted and arrived in
the United States with their new family in July. After a month or so in
Michigan, Alex, his brother, and his adoptive family moved to Mexico.
Unfortunately shortly after this move it was clear that this adoption was not
a match.
That's
when Alex's first family sought out another family to adopt Alex. The family
connected with our family and within a few months Alex became our son.
Alex
arrived from Mexico to LAX on December 23, 2004 and was able to spend the
Christmas holiday with our family. Alex is a happy boy who is full of
energy. He loves riding his bicycle all over the neighborhood and has made
friends on every street! Alex takes swim lessons and Tae Kwon Do classes
where he is now earned an Orange Belt. In a few weeks Alex will finish second
grade. This summer Alex is looking forward to attending several camp programs
including Camp James where he will have plenty of time and space to burn off
some of his excess energy!
