Inkluzija

PETRA'S LIFE STORY

Ljiljana Pap

Petra was born in 1990. in Zagreb. As a three month old baby she was separated from her family due to a lack of basic care. At the beginning, Petra was placed in a hospital since she required intensive care and afterwards she was placed in the Home for Children and Youth. In 1994 Petra was placed in a foster family but after several months the foster family returned Petra into the Home. In the fall of 1995 Petra was placed in the Center for Rehabilitation Zagreb upon a recommendation from the commission which categorized Petra. Petra's sister J., after having similar childhood experiences was placed in the same institution one year prior to Petra.

As a five year old girl, Petra meets her one year older sister for the first time in the institution and due to the occasional visits by her father, she meets some of her remaining brothers and sisters. Petra, the youngest of the children, is excluded from the occasional weekend visits to the mother's home.

After more then seven years spent in the institution, lacking any feeling of family belonging and attachment, we believed that placing the child in a specialized foster family care will be very important for Petra's emotional and social development

Therefore, in April 1998, Petra together with her sister J. left the institution and entered the specialized foster family.

Once she had a new family, Petra had so much to make up. For the first time she had a space of her own, her shelf and she didn't have to carry her few belongings with her all the time. She now had the opportunity to become independent in those activities which were not existent in the institutional setting: she could go and visit neighbors, visit the foster grandmother, take care of the household animals, bring milk from the shop, pick vegetables in the garden and help prepare meals - all of which prompted the development of consciousness about her abilities.

Petra was enrolled into the first grade of a special school, but her great motivation and resistance to her "different" tasks (different from the tasks of both her older sister and another girl who entered the foster family - both girls attend regular classes) prompted us to enroll her in a regular class. As a result of her great efforts and the constant support and assistance form the family, Petra still attends a regular class according to a individual program.

Petra also made many friends in the new environment. She plays with them, rides her bicycle, friends come to visit her often especially since the yard of the family house is filled with toys and a space for playing basketball. In the summer the family puts up a tent in the yard where the children can play and enjoy the nice weather.

For Petra household activities represented a real challenge. At the beginning she preferred to do different chores outside the house: taking care of the garden, picking fruits and vegetables, feeding the livestock. Later on, Petra requests to be included in indoor household activities as well. Everyone praises Petra because she is very hard working and because she does the set tasks well.
Petra lives in a house on top of a hill with an open courtyard, a garden, green fields and a forest next to the house. She enjoys the freedom of movement daily, she is familiar with all the secret places she likes, she builds huts in the forest and truly enjoys winter.

Following the initiative of her foster family, together with her sister and the third girl in foster care in the family, Petra was baptized in the local church. Together with all the other second and third grade children in the neighborhood she attended religious school and was confirmed. She was very proud to participate in this.

The foster family tried to enrich Petra's life which until now had very limited experiences due to her life in the institution. Therefore, during the summer vacation Petra goes with her family to the seaside, together they make excursions, visit the theatre or go to the movies. Petra has her own passport and has been to Austria, Gardaland and Slovenia.

Petra actively participates in all family events, celebrations, her initiatives are stimulated and her attempts praised. Living in a positive family atmosphere Petra also shows her love and affection to the other family members. She sometimes brings flowers from the fields to her "mother", or sometimes just calls her while she is playing outside to give her a hug and tell her she loves her.

Today, Petra is a fourth grade student. She independently takes care of her appearance, her clothing, she enjoys helping with household activities and has hobbies. She now lives in her foster family with two of her sisters (the second sister, now 22 years of age, came to visit once and refused to leave). She is very attached to her family, caring towards the family members, well mannered towards the people in her local community, aware of the duties she has and accepted by the family members and all of their relatives and friends. Petra is a happy girl.
When asked about the future, her answers always include her foster family.

The institution as a traditional "solution" for children with developmental disabilities, the negative attitudes in general towards change, fear of failure of foster family care, insufficient financial support for foster families - these are all barriers to spreading the program of specialized foster family care.
In spite of these barriers, we see the smiles of children, their

abilities in overcoming daily situations, their great achievement regarding education, and the fact that these children know where they belong, that they are accepted, loved and happy with the people surrounding them - all of this points to an improvement in the quality of life of these children as well as their foster families.

This motivates us to furthermore develop and improve the Program of Specialized Foster Family Care.



	. PETRA'S LIFE STORY Ljiljana Pap Petra was born in 1990. in Zagreb. As a three month old baby she was separated from her family due to a lack of basic care. At the beginning, Petra was placed in a hospital since she required intensive care and afterwards she was placed in the Home for Children and Youth. In 1994 Petra was placed in a foster family but after several months the foster family returned Petra into the Home. In the fall of 1995 Petra was placed in the Center for Rehabilitation Zagreb upon a recommendation from the commission which categorized Petra. Petra's sister J., after having similar childhood experiences was placed in the same institution one year prior to Petra. As a five year old girl, Petra meets her one year older sister for the first time in the institution and due to the occasional visits by her father, she meets some of her remaining brothers and sisters. Petra, the youngest of the children, is excluded from the occasional weekend visits to the mother's home. After more then seven years spent in the institution, lacking any feeling of family belonging and attachment, we believed that placing the child in a specialized foster family care will be very important for Petra's emotional and social development Therefore, in April 1998, Petra together with her sister J. left the institution and entered the specialized foster family. Once she had a new family, Petra had so much to make up. For the first time she had a space of her own, her shelf and she didn't have to carry her few belongings with her all the time. She now had the opportunity to become independent in those activities which were not existent in the institutional setting: she could go and visit neighbors, visit the foster grandmother, take care of the household animals, bring milk from the shop, pick vegetables in the garden and help prepare meals - all of which prompted the development of consciousness about her abilities. Petra was enrolled into the first grade of a special school, but her great motivation and resistance to her "different" tasks (different from the tasks of both her older sister and another girl who entered the foster family - both girls attend regular classes) prompted us to enroll her in a regular class. As a result of her great efforts and the constant support and assistance form the family, Petra still attends a regular class according to a individual program. Petra also made many friends in the new environment. She plays with them, rides her bicycle, friends come to visit her often especially since the yard of the family house is filled with toys and a space for playing basketball. In the summer the family puts up a tent in the yard where the children can play and enjoy the nice weather. For Petra household activities represented a real challenge. At the beginning she preferred to do different chores outside the house: taking care of the garden, picking fruits and vegetables, feeding the livestock. Later on, Petra requests to be included in indoor household activities as well. Everyone praises Petra because she is very hard working and because she does the set tasks well. Petra lives in a house on top of a hill with an open courtyard, a garden, green fields and a forest next to the house. She enjoys the freedom of movement daily, she is familiar with all the secret places she likes, she builds huts in the forest and truly enjoys winter. Following the initiative of her foster family, together with her sister and the third girl in foster care in the family, Petra was baptized in the local church. Together with all the other second and third grade children in the neighborhood she attended religious school and was confirmed. She was very proud to participate in this. The foster family tried to enrich Petra's life which until now had very limited experiences due to her life in the institution. Therefore, during the summer vacation Petra goes with her family to the seaside, together they make excursions, visit the theatre or go to the movies. Petra has her own passport and has been to Austria, Gardaland and Slovenia. Petra actively participates in all family events, celebrations, her initiatives are stimulated and her attempts praised. Living in a positive family atmosphere Petra also shows her love and affection to the other family members. She sometimes brings flowers from the fields to her "mother", or sometimes just calls her while she is playing outside to give her a hug and tell her she loves her. Today, Petra is a fourth grade student. She independently takes care of her appearance, her clothing, she enjoys helping with household activities and has hobbies. She now lives in her foster family with two of her sisters (the second sister, now 22 years of age, came to visit once and refused to leave). She is very attached to her family, caring towards the family members, well mannered towards the people in her local community, aware of the duties she has and accepted by the family members and all of their relatives and friends. Petra is a happy girl. When asked about the future, her answers always include her foster family. The institution as a traditional "solution" for children with developmental disabilities, the negative attitudes in general towards change, fear of failure of foster family care, insufficient financial support for foster families - these are all barriers to spreading the program of specialized foster family care. In spite of these barriers, we see the smiles of children, their abilities in overcoming daily situations, their great achievement regarding education, and the fact that these children know where they belong, that they are accepted, loved and happy with the people surrounding them - all of this points to an improvement in the quality of life of these children as well as their foster families. This motivates us to furthermore develop and improve the Program of Specialized Foster Family Care.