Waiting Wednesday: Aiden

It's Wednesday, and meet Aiden!

Aiden

Boy, born May 2007

From a volunteer who spent several months at this orphanage:

Aiden is visually impaired (I'm not sure if he has some vision or if he is 100% blind). Aiden has some more significant delays however it is difficult to tell if he is cognitively delayed for medical reasons or if his delays are simply a result of institutionalization / lack of stimulation. Aiden engages in a lot of self-stimulation such as poking his eyes, tapping his head on the side of his crib, rocking back and forth, etc. When I first met Aiden he was able to walk around the edges of the crib holding on to the sides, but he would not walk independently, even while holding on to someone's hands. As I worked with him however and he grew to trust me he began to take his first steps and now he loves to walk! Still, at least while I was there, the workers never let him out of his playpen.  Aiden does not speak but he responds to his name and I believe he understands simple directions. He is not toilet trained but he is learning to feed himself.  Aiden is difficult to engage. He doesn't initiate interaction but when you play with him/tickle him, etc. he is full of smiles and laughter. I believe that this boy has way more potential than can be seen right now. Whoever Aiden's family will need to be persistent about getting in his face in order to force him to engage and patient with what may be slow progress but I believe that with the consistent love and stimulation that a family would bring this little guy has all kinds of potential.

More pictures available.

$132.50 is available towards the cost of my adoption!

In the past I've posted about (just click on their names in the WW links on my sidebar) Andrey S, Victoria, Logan, Ryan, and Brody for Waiting Wednesday posts. I've all posted about Liza (Liza Lorenz in MM links on sidebar), and Andriy (Andriy for the Burlingham Family in FF links on sidebar). All of these kids either have been at or are currently at the baby orphanage I got to visit on my mission trip last summer. Some of them I have met, some I haven't, but all are close to my heart just like they are close to Andrea's heart. Andrea spent 3 months over in that city and got to meet and hold on mostly all of the kids listed above. And today, as I feature Aiden, I'm going to use yet another post of Andrea's because she can express much better than I can how much these children need families.

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Imagine living in a world of complete darkness where your only stimulation is the constant noise of crying and yelling and the occasional elbow in the ribs as another child crawls over you in the communal playpen… That is what life is like for Aiden.

Aiden is four-years-old. He has sandy blond hair, gorgeous blue eyes and two of the yummiest cheeks you have ever seen. He is also blind. Sometimes I think that blind children are the ones at the greatest disadvantage in an orphanage. Right from infancy, babies in the orphanage are not held. They are rarely given the opportunity to listen to music. The only stimulation they receive is what they see as they look around their room, watching the other children, etc. But what about the children who cannot see? Theirs is a dark, empty, lonely world.

After four long years of darkness, Aiden has withdrawn into his own little world. He spends his days rolling back and forth on the floor as you can see him doing here. He has done this so often for so long that he has a huge bald patch at the back of his head. He does not like to be held. Instead, he receives comfort and stimulation by poking at his eyes and sucking his fingers raw. 

Aiden was my greatest challenge. He did not like to be held in my arms or sit on my lap and he did not really interact with the toys I would bring. There was one thing that did break through his walls though… he loved to be tickled and would laugh and laugh as I smothered his face with kisses!

When I first met Aiden, he would often walk around the edges of the playpen, holding onto the sides. He had the ability to walk while holding onto someone’s hand but because he did not like to be held on to like that, he would most often refuse to do so. During one of our one-on-one times, I stood Aiden up on his feet and managed to get him to take one or two steps without holding onto anything. The next time he took a few more and before I knew it, he was walking all by himself! It was if he had finally developed enough trust in me to know that I would not let him walk into anything and he was loving his newfound freedom. One day I went up to his room to get one of my other kids and there he was walking around the playpen, not holding onto anything, just smiling and laughing. It was one of the greatest moments of my trip…

The sad reality is, blind children are often the last to be chosen. Out of the 500 children that have been adopted through Reece’s Rainbow over the past five years, so far only three of them have been blind. I understand the fear, the idea of not being able to see is a concept that is hard for most of us to wrap our minds around. I myself wonder if/how I could parent a child with severe visual impairment. Then I read the stories of others with visual impairment who are simply living their lives doing most of what I can do and more and I am reminded that blindness is only a limiting disability if you let it be. I worry that Aiden’s visual impairment along with his more significant delays will put him at the bottom of the list when it comes to being chosen for adoption. I so don’t want that to be the case. Even if you’re not being called to adopt Aidenyourself, you can help him find his family by spreading the word, donating to his grant fund and remembering him in your prayers. Will you help me make sure this little man has the chance to live a life of joy, meaning and potential? For more information or to donate, click here.