Hope spinning

My head is spinning. Literally. I have thoughts running about a mile a minute, and feel both the excitement and the enormity of the task ahead.

The orphanages in Guangxi have sent me 21 "questions" or topics they would like to have addressed. Twenty-one. At first glance I thought that it would be literally impossible to address them all within the limitations of time that we have. But as I have thought and reflected on these questions, there is a common theme: "how do we help the hearts of our kids"? I'm not talking hearts in the literal sense, but the heart/soul. This is the first time the orphanages have asked directly for training about the emotional aspects of their children. They asked questions such as "how do we handle emotional problems of different ages"?, "kids long for family life, why? and what can we do"?, "how do we help kids who hate their birth parents"?, "how do we help children emotionally who have cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, hyperactivity, deafness, or mental challenges"? The fact that they are asking these questions is a breakthrough in my mind, and brings me hope. Hope that the orphanages are beginning to see the importance of the whole child, and are developing the insight that in order to help a child, any child, they need to be mindful of a child's emotional development.

This means I have a great deal of work ahead of me. Coincidentally (*NOT*), last December I was awarded a grant to study with Dr Bruce Perry, who is a leading expert in treating children with neglect and trauma. His premise is focused on relationship based healing. He emphasizes the importance of having stable, predictable, nurturing people as healers for those who have been neglected, abused, or traumatized. Through repetitive nurturing, and sensory based co-activities, he has seen tremendous emotional progress for some of the most traumatized and vulnerable children. At the time I received the grant, I thought that the information would be invaluable for understanding my own children better as they have been impacted by both neglect and trauma, as well as for my professional skills as a pediatric OT working with a high risk population in early intervention. I now understand that I received this grant as preparation for what was to come for November. It is information which will help address the very questions posed of these thoughtful orphanages. I honestly am in awe with how I have received some unknowing preparation which could bring hope to the children I will see.

The task is huge, but what I am realizing is that there is now a new awareness on the part of these orphanages. They truly understand that the emotional life of a child cannot be separated any longer from the physical life. They get it, and this is a big step forward. This understanding, and the change that could possibly come from it, is what hope looks like.