Developmental Assessments

This week, I did health and developmental assessments on some of the babies at the main house. One of the babies I saw was 6 month old Darline. The information from my assessment, together with formal medical and psychological examinations will help our orphanage staff to match this gorgeous baby girl with a family on our waiting list.Darline came to GLA 2 months ago. At 8 lb, she was significantly underweight. She also had recurrent fevers, that were caused by a mild bacterial infection. My assessment of Darline last week was overwhelmingly positive. I noted that her general health was good and that she had gained almost 5lb since we admitted her to the orphanage in July. Her eating and sleeping patterns were normal for an infant of her age. She was strong, bright, alert, sociable, engaging and doing all of the things that a 6-7 month old infant should be doing.

'Focusing on people and objects and following moving objects through a 180 degree angle.......

Turning in the direction of a shaking rattle and recognising her name...........

Smiling, cooing babbling and giggling........

Rolling from her stomach onto her back and from her back onto her stomach. Sitting. Weight-bearing on her legs. Holding her own bottle. Reaching in all directions and grasping toys. Shaking a rattle. Bringing her hands and her toys to her mouth and chewing on them (this is considered a important aspect of babies development. They learn a lot through the sense of touch).'

Yes, Darline is doing all of those things. She is strong, healthy, beautiful, happy and developmentally, she is right on track. It is very encouraging to see the wonderful progress that she has made in her short time at GLA. There are many, many families who request healthy baby girls. Darline will not have to wait. Somewhere out there, a family is waiting and ready to accept her proposal!

Some of our children, though, have special needs and are not so easy to place. One of the babies I assessed this week did not turn her head to the sound of a shaking rattle. She did not respond to louder noises either. Unfortunately, I won't be able to send her for a hearing test. Our Pediatrician tells me that none of the audiologists in Haiti have the equipment needed to screen for hearing loss in children under the age of four. They are not prepared to cover the the cost of the apparatus (around $6000 USD). At this time, I have concerns about the hearing of four of our main-house children. All I can do is observe them and hope that GLA and their partner agencies will find families for these babies, despite the uncertainties we have about their current hearing and about their development.