New Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund Applications on hold pending government decision.

A new family for Asha

 

It is a joy to be around three-year-old Asha. Her desire to achieve a new goal or understand a new word is so rewarding. She is learning new ways to communicate and her development is clear to see. Asha needs a new family – two parents or one parent with good support – to love, nurture and guide her through life and encourage her to reach for the stars. She’ll need day to day care, and help to support her continual development, so she can exceed her potential.

Nursery rhymes are her favourite – like most three-year olds, but she welcomes and appreciates being sung to on any occasion. Asha loves animals – often associated with children who can’t easily express themselves – and the calmness her foster family dogs bring, give her a sense of well-being and fascination for all animals.

Asha’s Cerebral Palsy diagnosis can sometimes be a frustration for her, but she is learning all the time, and is overcoming the impact it has on her mobility and the ability to fulfil the busy life of a toddler. Asha currently needs support in sitting upright and when standing, she uses a frame and specialist mobility chair when sitting, all supporting the stiffness in her lower limbs, but with medication these are getting stronger. Asha can eat and drink independently, and is working on her co-ordination around this.

There is a lot of uncertainty but all of this makes Asha even more unique, and when you meet her, her determination and personality shine through.

Asha’s life today

Asha currently lives with her foster family, who have seen her develop and grow, and she is part of their lives, but as foster carers – who look after children for a short period of time – they are committed to helping us find her a new and permanent family. Foster carer Amy tells us more.

‘Paul and I have been foster carers for about five years, and Asha is the first child we have cared for with additional physical needs. It didn’t faze us at all, but we did need to consider how taking her would impact our lives and those of two of our children living at home. But actually, as soon as we saw her – at nine months old – we knew we had to help make the next stage in this little girl’s life, the best we could.

We work with the social workers, the medical professionals and the local Child Development Team, who have been excellent in the support they have provided from day one. Asha has a likely diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. She moves around aided by a specially adapted mobility chair, and has just recently started to crawl, with support. She is doing a good job communicating using Makaton, and wears glasses to support her sight, but it is so good to see her using new signs. She has good hearing, and we sing everything, from ‘let’s get ready to go out’ to ‘where is Katy (our dog)’, Asha absolutely loves it!

Many people in our community said, ‘it must be so hard caring for her, with all her needs.’ To be honest, at first, we all struggled a little. It was new to us, and most importantly, so new to Asha, as a baby, having to adjust to ‘these new people’ in her life! So now, we have a fantastic routine, we have a full day, from morning walks and her playgroup – which Asha loves – to physiotherapy time before her nap, then trips to the park with the dogs, see friends and lots of good food in between. And I still have time to work a few hours a day.

There are many medical appointments, usually in the afternoons, seeing specialists mostly, but Asha takes it in her stride. She can get anxious if there are too many people around or too much change in her routine, and she can be quite strong-willed. As we’ve got used to each other, I am able to manage any upset, and she is becoming more independent, which means we can think about her going to a specialist nursery for a few hours.  It isn’t always easy, as Asha’s new family will discover, but they will settle into a nice routine – it takes an investment of time, trust and belief.’

 

Support for Asha’s new family

To help families who think they could be Asha’s carers or want to know more, we caught up with Asha’s social work team; Heather, Michael and Caroline,

‘There’s no doubt it, caring for Asha long term will be incredibly rewarding; the nurturing and support around her development, teaching her about her African/European culture and the reasons for her being in Care, are incredibly important now and in the future.

There will be a local ‘Team Around the Child’ approach wherever you live; disability, health, education and respite (with her current foster carers). An extensive financial support package too, ongoing and to help Asha settle into your home, with adaptations if needed. Sensory toys and equipment, alongside any therapy to support her development. Families wanting to adopt or care for Asha through long-term foster care, are welcome, with experience of children with Cerebral Palsy or not, but being open-minded, able to manage change and uncertainty, and to love unconditionally, will go a long way.’

 

Find out more

Please contact Michael, Asha’s Family Finding social worker for a chat. Michael will talk you through the care Asha will need and find out a little more about you. We welcome families from a range of backgrounds, living in the United Kingdom.

Call the team on 07739 970690 or ask for a callback via email [email protected]

 

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