Vignettes 7, 8, & 9

Vignette #7- Sleeping
Zane is a whirlwind of energy during the day, and his tired parents wonder why, at the age of 3, he doesn't sleep well at night. He is up often in the middle of the night, and he wanders the house, often waking up his parents to play with him. The family had expected some issues regarding bedtimes and weren't disappointed. Zane sobbed and called out for his Chinese foster parents for almost 2 weeks. After two months though, they are sleep deprived and getting cranky.
Family A- sleeps in shifts. Each parent gets three hours of sleep, then is woken by the other. They aren’t as tired as they were, but miss snuggling with each other. They wonder how long this could go on.
Family B- tries different techniques- white noise in his room, music, a fan, before finally barricading his bedroom door with a mattress on which rests an exhausted parent. At least, he can’t explore and get hurt this way.
Family C- implements a regular, calming bedtime routine. They walk Zane back to bed every time he gets up, and tuck him in. They decide that if this doesn’t work, they could always get a prescription for sleeping pills.

Vignette #8- Toileting
Jordan, age 4, has been toilet trained since he was 2. In the month since he's come home, he has demonstrated his ability to use the toilet when needed. For the past several days, the family has noticed a smell coming from the heating vents. Yesterday, Mom caught him urinating into the duct in his bedroom, although the bathroom was only a few feet away.
Family A- boards up his heating vent. The cold room will remind him to use the bathroom.
Family B- puts him on a urination schedule- every half hour he goes to the bathroom, and no liquids after dinner.
Family C- paints a target with nail polish in the toilet bowl and rewards him for bulls-eyes.

Vignette#9- School Issues
Susie is flunking Kindergarten. Her parents did not know that was possible, but indeed, her teacher is seriously concerned about her development, peer relations and attention span. She is agressive with other children, appears spacey and dreamy at times, and still sucks her thumb. She appears to be more in line with a 4 year old, and the school recommends that she be held back a year, and recommend medication for ADD as well.
Family A- brings Susie to a series of doctors. They have a bone scan done to test her chronological age, test her I.Q. and check for ADD. They ultimately choose to have her transferred to a private school with smaller classes. They also learn about parenting a cognitively delayed child.
Family B- fights the school. How dare they insinuate she can’t keep up! A letter to the superintendent should show them!
Family C- glumly nods. They trust professionals, and understand that the teacher means well. She has a class to run after all. They will re-enroll her next year.