Shelli

This is Shelli. She is 3 and a half years old and she is waiting for a family of her very own. Shelli loves music and she hums Chinese songs all day long. She also likes to play hide and chase games with her friend. She readily smiles and laughs.

Shelli's life wasn't always so filled with smiles. She lived in a very poor and greatly understaffed orphanage until she was almost 3 years old. Her club feet hindered her physical development and the lack of care negatively affected her emotionally on a very deep level.

Thankfully, Shelli was moved to a specialized care home in February of this year. Her feet were casted for several months to correct her club feet. She is now wearing a bar most of the day to keep her feet positioned, but that wearing schedule will decrease with time. She is currently walking with hands held, can pull to stand at furniture, and can crawl very fast. Update: Shelli took her first steps on her own this week!

When Shelli arrived at her current home, she was a very withdrawn and scared little girl who refused to even leave her sleeping room. She also had very negative reactions to being fed. This led to a feeding tube being placed in her nose out of necessity for nourishment. In September, a speech therapist traveled to China to develop a feeding therapy program for Shelli. Her nanny has been working diligently since then and she is making steady progress. She is now starting to eat rice cereal and porridge from a spoon. She is also drinking water from her favorite purple sippy cup. She is allowing others to wipe her face and is requesting food.

Shelli communicates with her caregivers by nodding her head 'yes' and 'no'. She also learned the sign for 'more' when working with the speech therapist. She is showing that she is understanding requests receptively. She knows which people are able to take her downstairs and outside. She has requested to go outside by taking her teacher's hand and placing it on the doorknob of the door. Recently she has begun to babble saying ba ba, ma ma, bye bye, etc.

It is reported that Shelli has average fine motor skills and that she uses her hands and fingers to manipulate toys. She likes to go to school at the care home.

Although Shelli is in a good place now and is getting the care she needs, it does not replace the kind of love she would receive from a forever family of her own. She needs a family who will believe in her, will challenge her, and will help her reach for the stars.

Shelli is available through any agency on the shared list as a special focus child. Please don't hesitate to contact me at traci_p73@yahoo.com for more information.