Thank you for all the e-mails we receive asking about how Haven is doing. We truly appreciate everyone’s care and concern.
Now that school is a thing of the past, Haven is doing so much better. Goodness, did we learn from that mistake. It seems that home is where she is most comfortable. This is her safe place.
As we approach our five month anniversary of Haven’s adoption, we look back and see how far she has come in a relatively short period of time. She IS learning new things every day, she IS trying hard to accomplish things that she previously would have just given up on. Yes, we had so hoped that she would at least be saying simple words by now, but she is not. She is still completely non-verbal. Still, we rejoice in the victories we do see, each one tells us that her brain is functioning and she does have the ability to learn new things. We are so thankful for that.
We recently had an evaluation done on her development—she is at the level of a 17 month old baby (for new readers of my blog, Haven is 8). The road ahead is a challenging one, but what a privilege to witness the baby steps she takes as she learns new things. It is just like having a toddler in the house—watching a little one learn new things. Opinions on her ‘official’ diagnosis seem to be divided. Some professionals feels that she is, indeed, Autistic. Others have mentioned a disorder called Selective Mutism as a possibility. At this stage there is no way of knowing, only time will tell—and we have a whole lot of time to figure things out. We’re in no rush, we just take things one day at a time.
We are so thankful for this child—chosen by the hand of the Father, destined to be in our family before the foundation of the earth. Who knows what her life will look like in 20 years time? It does not matter—she is absolutely perfect, just the way she is. We are so blessed to call her our daughter.
Could she be any sweeter than this?
