print this page
Click Here to see Aleeyah's television interview
Click Here to see Aleeyah's video
Aleeyah is a sweet little sprite of a girl. She seems to enjoy each day, whether she is listening to someone sing a song, moving to the radio, splashing in a pool or taking someone’s hand for a walk. She attends a special needs school five days a week, where she gets help learning some sign language. So far, her teacher says that the sign she uses most frequently is “more.” She likes breakfast, lunch, and snack times at school and she has learned this year to sign if she is ready for the next bite or snack item. She also sometimes uses her “more” request for an extra hug. A social worker who knows her quite well said she has heard her say a single word sometimes, saying one word like, “Go,” or “Yeah,” or “Geez.” Some of her caregivers hold hope that with continued speech therapy and encouragement Aleeyah’s vocabulary might increase. Time will tell.
Most of the time, to go to school, Aleeyah’s foster dad says she will head right for the front door and put out her arms ready for her coat. She responds best to routine, he says. She appears to love music, dancing, and spending time on her mini trampoline or on a swing. Aleeyah enjoys movement, and the textures, tastes, sounds and colors of things— treats for each of her senses. She likes to go outside, ride to family outings for fast food or do routine shopping, but unfamiliar or unexpected lights or noise may get her upset enough to cry. Most of the time, though, she welcomes short outings, always keeping track of the doorway where she entered a space. Aleeyah will quickly and accurately head for the correct door when she believes it is time to leave. Sometimes she enjoys the sights, smells and sounds of a big department store or flea market, but needs a safe hand to hold. Aleeyah does best with predictable fun, adjusting to changes a little at a time.
Aleeyah was born with a genetic condition that requires ongoing special care, and the school where she is enrolled adapts to her needs every day. For the bus ride from her foster home, she has an extra aide who gives her and the other five or six children who ride that bus some extra supervision and care. Her teachers and aides all report that she is “happy, bouncy, lovable, and busy.” She “gives back” they say, as if to thank them for their efforts, with smiles that “light up a room.”
Aleeyah’s school instructor says she is “wonderfully happy to be here,” when she attends school, her second year. She has started to take drinks by herself from a regular cup, a real milestone for Aleeyah, says her teacher. When it is lunchtime, Aleeyah is a good eater. This year, to keep her from taking too much food at once, they help her load her fork with the right amount and she lifts it to her own mouth. Another significant step in the right direction! At school she is a “sensory seeking learner,” so stringing beads, using shaving cream to “paint” and stacking shapes are all on Aleeyah’s learning plan.
At school they reward Aleeyah with encouraging smiles when she moves toward more independence. The long term goal, the instructor said, is to have her eventually use a communication board or device to make her wants and needs known to her adoptive family, her friends and caregivers.
Aleeyah’s foster dad speaks thoughtfully of their relationship, nodding and simply saying, “She needs me.” And of course, like every child, Aleeyah needs life-long patience, encouragement, love, and the count-on-it commitment of adoption to be her very best sweet and spritely self. Is Aleeyah calling to you?
Get more information about adopting Aleeyah. Call Northeast Ohio Adoption Services at 1-800-686-6627, ext. 126.
