As we left Shawn and her siblings in the hotel room to enjoy the wifi connection, Anju noticed a Somali hotel worker cleaning in one of the rooms that had the door open. She was wearing a flowing garment with head covering. Anju walked up to the doorway and asked the woman (I'd guess in her 20's), "You from India?" The lady laughed and told Anju that she was from Somalia. Anju looked confused. I smiled at the worker and we went on our way. Anju asked in the elevator, "Why that lady wear India clothes? She not from India?" We discussed cultural clothing choices and the difference between Asia and Africa on our block walk to campus.
During the study, Anju again was given the opportunity to interact with a stranger while I ignored her doing "paperwork" (Parents magazine on a clipboard). She did NOT want anything to do with the stranger and stood holding my knees the whole time, asking to sit on my lap, which I was not supposed to allow. This was a change from last time, when she did leave me and was tempted by the toys the stranger had. She did cooperate with playing with me and the stranger later, however. We did a lot of the same activities. We played with play-doh, blew bubbles and tossed balloons. We built a structure with blocks. They sent in remote controlled trucks with weird decorations to see how freaked out she would be by them. She was more scared than last time, but didn't cry. They took her height and weight: 34 inches tall and 24 1/2 pounds. (Grew 2 inches, lost a half pound.) And, they took saliva samples throughout the 2-hour appointment, which we will also be doing at home.
Then the new aspect of the study. Instead of having sensors attached to her chest and back, she was supposed to wear a hat full of sensors to test her brain activity when stressed. I thought she would never do it, but believe it or not, she allowed them to put on the wet hat, place the sensors, and then use an eye dropper with water to activate the sensors that weren't being picked up by the computer. You may recall that the video they showed while attaching the sensors last time was not to Anju's liking, and she suggested Winnie the Pooh instead. She was elated that this time when they put on a video for her, it was Winnie the Pooh! Of course this was the video they always used for that test, but she was very excited that they had taken her advice. When the hat was on, they had her focus on a toy for a minute, then shut off the lights so it was completely dark for an unknown period of time. This went on for 5 or so minutes. When she was done, they asked her if she wanted a picture of herself in the funny hat. She responded that it wasn't a FUNNY hat, it was a WET hat. She thought Jonah would enjoy it, so allowed a picture.
Anju's next appointment will be at age 4 1/2, and the last time will be when she begins 1st grade to see how she has adjusted to school. They usually come and observe the child in the classroom, but most kids are in the Twin City metro area. We'll see if they really drive 5 hours one way to observe her.
She asked the staff for toys for her brother and sister in addition to the toy bag they gave her. So, armed with a goody bag for herself and 2 stuffed gorillas for her siblings, she proudly left the building. "I wear a wet hat, Mama! When we come again?"
Posts about Anju's first adoption study visit:
http://staffordsoflengby.blogspot.com/2009/08/home-at-last.html
http://staffordsoflengby.blogspot.com/2009/08/adoption-study-details.html
Posts about Anju's second adoption study visit:
http://staffordsoflengby.blogspot.com/2010/04/adoption-study-take-2.html
http://staffordsoflengby.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-about-study.html
