Another Foster (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah shrugged. “Alright, let’s hope things go smoothly this time.” She said, hoping to avoid a meltdown like the day before. She headed downstairs and packed a small bag with some waters, juice boxes, and some packaged snacks like granola bars and nuts. “Hey Alex, you think maybe we should grab a change of clothes?” She suddenly thought as she was about to head to the car. 
 

Kaley happily ran in circles until she was prompted to go downstairs. She headed downstairs obediently and once it was time, allowed Alex to get her in the car. 
 

“Let’s go kiddo.” Sarah said said once everything was ready. She double checked Rocky was buckled before she climbed into the passenger seat. 

[justagirl4fun]

"That might be a good idea." Alex dashed back upstairs to grab a change of clothes for each girl. He wasn't too worried about Rocky having an accident but the odds of her being filthy by the time they left for the doctor were pretty high. 

As soon as they got to the park Rocky took off running for the zip line. Alex helped Kaley out of the car and waited to see what she wanted to try.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah set down her bag on a bench where she could easily see most of the playground, letting Rocky run wherever she wanted. 
 

Kaley froze when she got to the park. She was suddenly overwhelmed and anxious. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been around this many people. She clutched her mouse close to her chest, having refused to let go of it since getting dressed. She cautiously approached the swing set, staring at the options even within that. There were of course the typical swings you’d see, bucket swings for babies and toddlers, the normal swings, but there were also swings that were seats with a bar that came down and attached to the front, allowing kids to swing who can’t support themselves on a typical swing, and also a swing wheelchairs could pull into. She tried to climb up onto the regular swings, hesitantly looking around as she did. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex trailed Kaley to the swings. "You want to go on?" he asked before giving her a boost. Once she was settled he started pushing her gently. 

Rocky ran from one thing to another. She rode the zip line twice before scaling a rock climbing wall then slid down the fire man's pole before hopping in a seat that spun around and around.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley was a little caught off guard when Alex pushed her. She’d never been on a swing before. She’d seen them on TV but didn’t know what it actually felt like. She quickly jumped off, deciding she didn’t like it. She fell to her knees, but was able to get back up easily. She quickly wandered off, wanting to find something different. She wandered over to the sandbox, quickly discovering she didn’t like that either. She adventured up the playground structure and went down a short slide. She started giggling a bit once she processed the experience, deciding to climb back up and go down repeatedly. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex felt bad that Kaley seemed to not be enjoying the playground, so he was glad when she found the slide. He found a nearby bench and sat to keep an eye on her.

When Rocky got tired of spinning she moved on to the swings. "Hey mom, look how high I am!" she yelled as she pumped her legs as hard as she could until she was swinging so high the chains were nearly parallel with the ground.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley continued to repeat going up the stairs and down the slide for a while. After quite a few times up and down, she ran into a kid bigger than her not allowing her to pass. When she didn’t listen to the kid and tried to go past anyway, she ended up getting pushed down and sat in shock for a second before silently bursting into tears. Scared and panicking, she just ran, not having a direction or destination, just running off to get away. 
 

Sarah felt her heart in her throat when she saw how high Rocky was swinging. She knew her daughter was a thrill seeker but it always made her nervous. “Wow! But not so high!” She called out. “Want me to come push you?” She asked. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex wanted to yell at the kid for pushing Kaley, but didn't have time when she bolted. He jumped up and took after her. "Hey, Kaley. Kaley! Stop!" he yelled, afraid she was going to run into something or get kicked by someone on the swings. "Kaley, come back here!"

"I'm not gonna fall!" Rocky rolled her eyes but stopped pumping until she was swinging lower. Alone she was clearly quite capable of swinging on her own she did enjoy having Sarah push her for a bit.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley panicked even more when Alex yelled. She crouched and hid behind the first bush she saw. She ran and sat down behind it, hyperventilating and rocking back and forth as she cried. Being pushed out of nowhere was scary enough for the traumatized girl but hearing Alex yell at her was even harder. 
 

“I know I know.” Sarah smiled as she got up and headed over to Rocky. She started pushing her high, though not as high as before. “You know mommy just worried about you getting hurt.”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex was relieved when Alley finally stopped and scooped her up. "Honey, you can't run like that, you're going to get hurt," he said gently as he hugged her. "I'm sorry that boy was mean to you, but you don't have to run. You can always come to me when something bad happens."

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley flinched and cowered when Alex found her. She covered her ears and tried to make herself as small as possible. She was still breathing fast and crying, being scared and confused. “Sorry.” She squeaked out after a while. “Something bad.” She parroted back quietly, trying to rock back and forth again though finding it difficult in Alex’s arms. 

[justagirl4fun]

"It's okay. I'm not mad." Alex found a bench in a quiet spot and sat rubbing Kaley's back while she calmed down. "You didn't do anything wrong, I know that boy upset you. I just want you to come to me when you're upset, so I can help you."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley eventually calmed down and silently clung to Alex. She was scared and overwhelmed. Having never let go of her mouse, she held it as tight to her chest as she possibly could. She tried to think about what Alex said and she wanted to believe him. “No more.” She mumbled quietly. Suddenly everything was too much. Kids were screaming and laughing, the sun was bright, there were smells everywhere. She just wanted to leave. If she had the energy she’d bolt again, but she wasn’t strong enough to at the moment. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex could tell she was overwhelmed. "You want to go?" He stood up, still holding her, and approached Sarah, who was still pushing Rocky. "Babe, I think we better go. She's had enough," he said quietly.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Want to go.” Kaley echoed back to Alex. She hid her face in his chest, deciding to trust him for now. She just wanted to get away from how overwhelming everything was. 
 

Sarah could see Kaley was stressing out and figured she must’ve had a real hard time if she was clinging to Alex. She nodded and safely brought Rocky to a stop. “Okay kiddo we gotta go.” She looked at the time on her phone. It was 12:45 already. “Should we bother going home or just start heading to the pediatrician?” She asked Alex, unsure if it was worth loading the girls up into the car twice. 

[justagirl4fun]

"But we just got here!" Rocky protested with a pout as she stomped her feet. "I don't wanna go yet!"

"Let's just go right to the doctor's office," Alex said, trying to ignore Rocky's defiance. He turned and walked briskly to the car and got Kaley buckled in, making sure she had her mouse and quilt before he got in the driver's seat.

[Shy-Diapers]

“We’ve been here for an hour now Rocky.” Sarah corrected gently. “Kaley is having a hard time and she has an appointment anyway. The park will be here all summer and we can come back another day.” She said as she grabbed the girl’s hand. She made sure to scoop up her bag before they got to the car. 
 

Kaley rocked back and forth in the car seat as much as she could though she wasn’t happy with how little she could. Needing some way to release her anxieties and and fears she started biting her hands, still sniffling. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Well an hour isn't that long," Rocky argued crossly as she got in her car seat. "It's not."

Alex had forgotten to bring Kaley's chewy toy, but found one of Rocky's in the glove box and passed it back. "Sweetie, please don't bite yourself," he requested.

[Shy-Diapers]

“I know, but we can come back another day.” Sarah said, trying not to get frustrated. She hoped they could avoid a second kid melting down before they got to the doctor. 
 

Kaley reluctantly accepted the chewie, gnawing on it and starting to zone out as Sarah drove to the doctor. She draped her quilt over her head and shoulders as best she could in the car seat, trying to block out the lights and sounds around her. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky sulked in the back seat. Two days in a row their fun outings were cut short because of Kaley! The last straw was watching Alex give that girl one of her toys. It just wasn't fair! She turned away from Kaley and stared out the window, tears rolling silently down her face.

Alex drove across town to the pediatricians office and carried Kaley inside to the waiting room. After grabbing the paperwork from the receptionist he took a seat in an empty corner away from the play area and started filling out forms.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed when they arrived at the pediatrician’s office and saw her daughter crying. “Honey what’s wrong?” She asked kindly. She let Alex and Kaley go ahead without them, figuring they could catch up after talking for a little while. 
 

Kaley wasn’t too fond of the doctor’s waiting room. The lights were so bright and it smelled weird. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever been to a doctor. She climbed up next to Alex and hid in her blanket with her mouse. She watched the room anxiously, still chewing on her toy. When they got called back to a room and the doctor introduced himself, Kaley freaked out again. She hid her face in Alex’s leg, hoping to disappear. 
 

“Hi, I’m Dr. Howard.” The man said kindly. He shook Alex’s hand and tried to wave to Kaley but she had already started hiding. “So,” he said turning back to Alex. “What brings you in?”

[justagirl4fun]

"We always have to go home early cuz of her," Rocky sniffled, "an' daddy gave her my toy. He didn't even ask first." It wasn't like her to be so ornery, but between Kaley's arrival and being off her usual, structured routine of school, she was really feeling out of sorts. And even though Sarah had said she'd talk to Alex, it didn't seem to Rocky like he was trying to be nicer.

"Well, Kaley here just came to stay with us a couple days ago. Foster care. The social worker didn't have much information on her, and as far as we know she doesn't have any official diagnoses, but she does exhibit some signs of autism," Alex explained. "We just wanted to get her seen as soon as possible so we can get whatever referrals we need to get her the services she needs."

[Shy-Diapers]

“I know sweetie.” Sarah sighed. She pulled Rocky out of the car seat and sat down in the front with her in her lap. “It’ll get easier when she’s settled in more. I’m sorry Daddy gave her your chewy toy. Kaley needed it so she wouldn’t bite her hands. I know it’s upsetting though.” She stroked the girl’s hair and sat with her for as long as she needed. “I know things are hard right now, but I promise they’ll get better.”

 

Kaley was still hiding as much as she could behind Alex, not wanting to see or be seen by the doctor. “No more.” She mumbled quietly, clenching white knuckled onto her mouse. 
 

The doctor sighed and nodded. “I don’t suppose she’ll let me take a look at her will she?” He knew that foster kids needed physicals shortly after going into care. Though he supposed they had some more time if the girl was too scared. “Regardless, I can give you some referrals to a child psychologist for testing. Is there anything in the meantime that I could help with? What are her signs?”

[justagirl4fun]

"He should still ask first," Rocky said dejectedly, though she was no longer crying.

Alex pulled Alley out from behind him and scooped her up. "She might shut down a bit, but I think she'll do okay," he said. "I think the most troubling issue we've has is that she eats very fast. Just shoves everything in her mouth as fast as she can, and gets very upset when we try to calm her down. She also bites her hands or hits herself when she's upset. She rocks a lot and flaps her hands. Her speech is very limited and most of what she does say is just parroting back what I say to her. And she doesn't really play with toys, she mostly just likes lining things up or organizing them." He wracked his brain, trying to remember if there was anything important he was missing, and wished Sarah was there to help him out.

[Shy-Diapers]

“I know honey.” Sarah said soothingly. “Sometimes even grownups do the wrong thing.” She added. Once it seemed like Rocky was doing better she got them out of the car again. “Come on, let’s go meet up with Daddy and Kaley.”

The doctor nodded and jotted some things down as Alex spoke. “It’s hard to tell what of that is trauma and what might be a developmental issue.” He said honestly. He started to examine Kaley once she was on the table. First he checked the basics, blood pressure, lungs, etc. He frowned a bit when he saw the bruises and injuries. He gave her back to Alex when he was done and sat down. “Well, she seems mostly healthy. The social worker might want her to get a forensic exam based on what I saw.” He said with a sigh. “I’ll give you a referral to a child psychologist like I said. Until then I can give you some general ideas. Usually for kids who eat like that can benefit from having food available to them without them having to ask and without limits.” He suggested. “If her lack of speech is from something other than trauma which it might be given the parroting you mentioned, she might benefit from AAC, Augmentative Alternative Communication.” He explained, jotting something down on a piece of paper for Alex. “Insurance can take a while to approve of special devices, but if you have a tablet laying around or can buy an inexpensive one, there are a few apps that are useful. They have pictures and when you tap on them the device will speak it aloud. They’re usually only around five to twenty dollars.” He handed Alex a slip of paper with some of the names before grabbing a sheet of stickers from a cabinet behind him and handing them to Kaley. “Do you have any other questions or concerns?” He asked finally. 
 

Kaley immediately started crying when Alex removed her ability to hide. As soon as the doctor started checking her out she shut down. She stared at the wall and her eyes glazed over. She was desperate to distance herself from what was happening. She couldn’t remember ever going to the doctor, so having someone examine her was too similar to her abuse for her liking. As soon as she was back with Alex she hid in his chest, big tears still rolling down her face as the small girl quivered. She made no acknowledgement of the stickers and didn’t accept them.