Adoption, young children and saving money

lynzpower

Id stop buying right now!

Stop stop stop.

If you are going to buy anything why not go and get a spa day for yourself (theres some good bogof bargains on lastminte- quidco cashback too!) and prepare yourself!

milkfloatquack

congratulations and best wishes to you and your DD.

Agree with everyone else about Surestart. Surestart may also be able to provide some help with language and communication; some Surestarts run a Hanen course (9 session course called "You make the difference") about helping your child to communicate. You can get the book of the course on amazon/winslow publishing for about £13. Also the NAS website has some useful advice about getting kids to communicate:-http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1070&a=5319 (obviously written for parents of kids with ASD diagnosis, rather than just speech delay, but much of the advice is I think generally relevant). The ican website may also be useful:- www.ican.org.uk and the afasic website and www.hanen.org

If your DD hasn't already been referred to speech therapist, I would try and get that going as soon as possible, as there can be long waiting lists.

milkfloatquack

in terms of activities:- depending on where you live, it may well be worth you getting a yearly membership to local theme park/zoo etc.

Ophie

lynzpower wrote: »

Id stop buying right now!

Stop stop stop.

If you are going to buy anything why not go and get a spa day for yourself (theres some good bogof bargains on lastminte- quidco cashback too!) and prepare yourself!

I'll try and stop buying, but I'm addicted... supposed to be saving up for her arrival and everything :rolleyes:

milkfloatquack wrote:

in terms of activities:- depending on where you live, it may well be worth you getting a yearly membership to local theme park/zoo etc.

I live in the a*sehole of no where... but I may use the clubcard deals for days out, nothing close enough for me to get an annual pass to

Thank you again for the responses, its lovely to hear from people who have been adopted and their views, people who have adopted and just other parents. The comments on here have been fascinating to read and any more I would welcome.

ladysparklexx

congratulations ophie

i am currently bringing up my two children on a very tight budget, when they were two mine loved the cheap activities like finger painting, playdough (great for squashing), saucepan and wooden spoon, playing with the sieves and jugs in thhe bath etc, also loved the library, feeding the ducks, the park, anything really that had my attention. Second the earlier poster about freecycle as this can be handy for equipment and also using your tesco points for deals for zoo admission etc can save loads of money.

If you find that you dont get on with a sling, try a hippy chick hipseat, we had one for our son who has mobility problems and we found this really worked.

Definately look into sure start they really helped us out.

My friend child for many reasons didnt talk till very late and they found music really helped, it might be worth looking in your area for childrens music thearpy classes or for any toddler music sessions, she found this really helped with the frustration some children get when they are not able to talk very well.

It would also be worth you talking to your health visitor that you will be assigned until she starts school, as she will know whats is available in your local area and can also provide a lot of support. She should also beable to provide you with information for toddler groups when she is settled at home and ready to start mixing that will have children there who are the same age so she is able to start mixing and learning off others and also you are able to make some friends with people with the same age children.

Good luck with everything im sure that you will both do really well.

Ophie

I am quite fortunate that I have spoken to my health visitor already and she is desperate to meet my daughter. I'm sure I said before that my daughter is tiny.. she will be 2 on 24th December, she is the height of a 10 mth old and the weight of a 5 mth old. SHe has only just started to walk, which isn't too bad really. She is on special milk high calorie stuff.

We are trying to get it agreed that if she should need speech therapy and there is a large waiting list on the NHS, that the SSD that she is from will pay for it privately. I should know the outcome of that in about a week, so that will be interesting!

ladysparklexx

awwww another one on special high calorie milk, my daughter is on neocate (might not be spelt quite right) which has to be mixed with milkshake powder for her to drink, but slowy she is growing on it, it provides all the vitamins she needs so any food absorbed is a bonus.

milkfloatquack

Re:private speech therapy - if SSD won't commit to the cost of regular therapy, it's still worthwhile getting a one-off assessment appointment with report and scheme of work/exercises for you to do with her (that will cost £100 to £150).

Ophie

Thank you for your advice. I'm still hoping that I won't have to use speech therapists, but there is always a chance and if it helps her then I'll do it.

We will do lots of bubble blow excercises and straw sucking and tutting

lynzpower

We are trying to get it agreed that if she should need speech therapy and there is a large waiting list on the NHS, that the SSD that she is from will pay for it privately. I should know the outcome of that in about a week, so that will be interesting!

Im fairly sure they "have" to fund it uner the legislation.

I can have a dig about it you want me to find the law, just let me know.