Patient Stories

Foster Parenting

The first few years of my life, I didn't know much about stability or security. I was in and out of foster care, living with six different families by the time I was eight years old.Then I met Bea and Larry Thomas, who became my foster parents.

It was 1994, and I was part of the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) program. The program helps hundreds of children with developmental disabilities, emotional challenges, and medically fragile conditions find homes when they can no longer live with their parents.

Janie is sitting at the kitchen table, engrossed in her artwork. Giraffes and elephants dance across the page as her mom, Ann, rests a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her attention and says, "Janie, can you tell me who the president is?" Janie looks up at her mom and gleefully says "Barack Oh-BAH-ma," drawing out the syllables and taking time to enjoy each sound.

Autism

When Addie Chason was born her parents had big dreams for her future and before long their tiny home seemed too small to contain them. When Addie was 16-months-old, the Chasons found a larger home that seemed just the right place for Addie to grow. It had a yard, a neighborhood full of kids, and a top-notch school nearby.

The playground is a symbol of childhood, a dream of brightly colored slides and ladders, merry-go-rounds and swings. But for some children, like Aidan Gaiser, playgrounds don’t hold the promise of fun. When Aidan was a toddler, he would hover at the edge of the playground, not sure how to play.

His hesitation was a sign of a bigger issue. For his age, Aidan seemed like most children. He knew about seven words, he responded when someone said his name, and he was developing very typically. But then he started to regress, and at 22 months old, he was diagnosed with autism.