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Thanksgiving adopted story | adopted, story, thanksgiving - News - Jacksonville Illinois News and Information Jacksonville Journal Courier
Loden Hoyt went from item to item in his room, showing off his “New Moon” movie poster, some toys and Chicago Cubs gear.
He motioned to a St. Louis Cardinals hat hanging on a hat rack, then shook his head disapprovingly.
To emphasize the feeling of home, Ed and Autumn Hoyt painted his room orange, the color at Illinois School for the Deaf, with the words Loden in block letters above his bed, and they decked out his bathroom with SpongeBob SquarePants memorabilia.
Eight-year-old Loden is from Ethiopia.
The Hoyts always knew they wanted to adopt so they brought Loden into their house on Mound Road three months after purchasing it in April 2009.
“It happened pretty quick,” Ed Hoyt said.
Both the Hoyts work at Illinois School for the Deaf — Ed as the athletic director and Autumn as a school psychologist. They moved back to Jacksonville in 2007 after graduating from Illinois School for the Deaf in 1999. Ed Hoyt is hard of hearing and Autumn Hoyt is deaf. The two have been together since high school.
The couple had to teach Loden how to sign, Autumn Hoyt said. In the past year, Loden has gone from mostly gestures to expressing himself clearly.
“It’s amazing how much growth he’s had in just a year,” Autumn Hoyt said.
At Illinois School for the Deaf, Loden is able to join in sports and learn valuable academic and leadership skills as well as the self-confidence to interact with other children.
“We want to put Loden in a position so that when he’s older he can succeed and be independent,” Ed Hoyt said.
The Hoyts knew they wanted to adopt so when the opportunity came up, it was just a matter of making the house more child-friendly and developing a routine that worked for everybody.
Though technically an international adoption, the experience felt more domestic than international.
Loden, for one, had attended Illinois School for the Deaf since January 2009 when he was adopted by a family that lived near Chicago who didn’t know he was deaf when they went through the process. With a third child coming along, he was not the right fit for them.
“They knew ISD was the perfect place for him,” Ed Hoyt said.
The Hoyts, who always wanted to adopt, brought him in.
It took Loden about five or six months to decide he was a Hoyt. He started calling Autumn “Mom” and then two to three months later called Ed “Dad.”
“It was awkward at first,” Autumn Hoyt said. “Normally you expect to start with the baby but we started with a 7-year-old.”
When school started, Ed Hoyt had to get up earlier and get ready first and then wake Loden up. The family learned the importance of a schedule and following a routine.
“Our goal is to give him all the other opportunities that the other kids have,” Ed Hoyt said. “We just want to give a kid those kinds of love and opportunities in life because we’re all pretty fortunate. He’s probably the best thing that happened in my life.”
Loden is one of four deaf international students adopted by families in Jacksonville.
Craig and Angie Kuhn adopted Colin for his April 23 birthday.
When Angie Kuhn saw his birthdate, she knew that it was meant to be as all three of her children have April birthdays.
When Kuhn heard about the 18-month-old deaf boy with special needs, she decided to ask her husband, who is deaf, figuring he would say no.
Instead, he suggested they look into it.
“I’d always been interested in adoption,” Kuhn said. “I said if something fell into my lap, we’d pursue it.”
In international adoption, the rules are determined by the other country’s adoption policies. In Russia, it’s by the region, so adopting a 1 1/2-year-old from Perm, Russia, was a costly endeavor that involved visiting twice.
The Kuhns had to be cleared and approved by the Federal Bureau of Investigation two separate times and had to buy visas for each time they went to Russia because visas are typically good for only one trip to Russia.
The whole process, which usually averages $25,000, cost about $45,000, Angie Kuhn said, making Colin “one valuable little man.”
When Colin first came to the United States, he had many needs. At an orphanage in Perm, he had little attention — especially considering his deafness — his nutrition was poor and he was wearing clothes for a 12-month-old even though he was 2.
At 3 1/2, he is functioning at about a 2-year-old level, which is much better than he was a year ago when the family first brought him here.
Angie Kuhn’s children Grace Hughes, 10, Grant Hughes, 7, and Chloe Kuhn, 2, have adapted well.
“I think the adjustment was easier for us because he was so young,” Angie Kuhn said. “When you adopt a child who’s older, sometimes they’re more frightened to come to an adoptive home. Colin was just oblivious. Behaviorally, you can have more concerns with older children that are adopted. Colin will probably shape into whatever we make him shape into.”
Craig and Angie Kuhn work at Illinois School for the Deaf, Angie as principal of the high school and Craig as the American Sign Language coordinator.
“It’s important for Colin,” she said. “He will always be deaf and it’s important for him to have deaf peers and role models.”
Kuhn’s sister Allison Fraas looked into adoption initially through the same agency as her sister.
When that feel through, Fraas and her husband Matt still wanted to adopt.
Fraas saw a picture of an 8-year-old named Ian from China on the website of an agency in Delaware who “looked like he had the Fraas family spirit,” she said.
“We thought he was playful and bright and fun,” Fraas said. “A lot of pictures of orphans don’t look so healthy or happy and he looked really great. We decided to call and inquire about him.”
Though not the first to inquire, the Fraas family was chosen because of their resources with deaf children. Allison Fraas, for example, is the reading specialist at ISD.
“For a child it was something we felt called to do because it was so readily available,” Allison Fraas said. “We really strongly discussed whether or not we should proceed with because it was a big deal for the kids or Matt to learn American Sign Language. That’s a big responsibility.”
Ian knew Chinese sign language and not American when he first arrived but, because sign languages are highly gestural, many things were easy to translate, Fraas said.
“We could kind of figure out what he meant most of the time and teach him the English the rest,” she said.
Ian has adjusted well in his new home, which isn’t always easy for older boys. The hardest adjustment was for their 6-year-old son Aidan who lost his rank as oldest. Adopting out of birth order is not recommended and things became like an alpha male competition at first, Allison Fraas said.
Once school started and routines got back in place, communication got better and the two get along now, she said.
“Ian’s had a really good adjustment,” Allison Fraas said. “Whenever you ask him if he wants to go back to China he says, ‘No.’”
The children, Aidan and Annemarie, 4, have picked up on sign language faster than Matt Fraas, Allison Fraas said.
Fraas mentioned another young boy at an orphanage in China to ISD colleague Penny Sagez, who looked into adoption but was unable to because she is single.
The laws for adoption with the Philippines, however, were not so restrictive.
Sagez has always considered adopting an older child and originally thought of adopting someone around the age of six or eight but when she heard about 12-year-old Joshua, it felt right.
“I just followed my gut,” Sagez said. “Now I can’t remember life when he wasn’t here and I don’t want to.”
Joshua has transitioned really well, facing everything with an intense curiosity. Though homesick, he is taking things in stride, Sagez said.
Sagez is a speech pathologist at Illinois School for the Deaf and is going on her ninth year.
“Considering where I’m at, I felt it was a great opportunity to bring him here because I had so many resources available that it just felt natural,” Sagez said.
The biggest obstacle with communication was that Joshua wasn’t used to it, Sagez said. In the Philippines, people just wrote notes back and forth to each other.
Joshua has been timid and doesn’t want to express himself in any way that might upset Sagez. She has been working with him to more freely let his needs be known.
“Kids in America let you know what you want when they want it,” Sagez said. “With him, I really had to pull it out of him. It was a struggle at times.”
Joshua is most excited for the snow, something he’s never seen in his life.
“I don’t think he’s ever seen below 75 degrees,” Sagez said. “He wants snow so bad. He keeps thinking snow will be in one area. I can’t wait for it to snow; he’s just going to freak. I can’t remember the last time I looked this forward to the holidays.”
Sagez is also looking forward to December because Joshua turns 13.
“He’s such a good kid,” Sagez said. “He’s so happy about everything.”
Loden Hoyt went from item to item in his room, showing off his “New Moon” movie poster, some toys and Chicago Cubs gear.
He motioned to a St. Louis Cardinals hat hanging on a hat rack, then shook his head disapprovingly.
To emphasize the feeling of home, Ed and Autumn Hoyt painted his room orange, the color at Illinois School for the Deaf, with the words Loden in block letters above his bed, and they decked out his bathroom with SpongeBob SquarePants memorabilia.
Eight-year-old Loden is from Ethiopia.
The Hoyts always knew they wanted to adopt so they brought Loden into their house on Mound Road three months after purchasing it in April 2009.
“It happened pretty quick,” Ed Hoyt said.
Both the Hoyts work at Illinois School for the Deaf — Ed as the athletic director and Autumn as a school psychologist. They moved back to Jacksonville in 2007 after graduating from Illinois School for the Deaf in 1999. Ed Hoyt is hard of hearing and Autumn Hoyt is deaf. The two have been together since high school.
The couple had to teach Loden how to sign, Autumn Hoyt said. In the past year, Loden has gone from mostly gestures to expressing himself clearly.
“It’s amazing how much growth he’s had in just a year,” Autumn Hoyt said.
At Illinois School for the Deaf, Loden is able to join in sports and learn valuable academic and leadership skills as well as the self-confidence to interact with other children.
“We want to put Loden in a position so that when he’s older he can succeed and be independent,” Ed Hoyt said.
The Hoyts knew they wanted to adopt so when the opportunity came up, it was just a matter of making the house more child-friendly and developing a routine that worked for everybody.
Though technically an international adoption, the experience felt more domestic than international.
Loden, for one, had attended Illinois School for the Deaf since January 2009 when he was adopted by a family that lived near Chicago who didn’t know he was deaf when they went through the process. With a third child coming along, he was not the right fit for them.
“They knew ISD was the perfect place for him,” Ed Hoyt said.
The Hoyts, who always wanted to adopt, brought him in.
It took Loden about five or six months to decide he was a Hoyt. He started calling Autumn “Mom” and then two to three months later called Ed “Dad.”
“It was awkward at first,” Autumn Hoyt said. “Normally you expect to start with the baby but we started with a 7-year-old.”
When school started, Ed Hoyt had to get up earlier and get ready first and then wake Loden up. The family learned the importance of a schedule and following a routine.
“Our goal is to give him all the other opportunities that the other kids have,” Ed Hoyt said. “We just want to give a kid those kinds of love and opportunities in life because we’re all pretty fortunate. He’s probably the best thing that happened in my life.”
Loden is one of four deaf international students adopted by families in Jacksonville.
Craig and Angie Kuhn adopted Colin for his April 23 birthday.
When Angie Kuhn saw his birthdate, she knew that it was meant to be as all three of her children have April birthdays.
When Kuhn heard about the 18-month-old deaf boy with special needs, she decided to ask her husband, who is deaf, figuring he would say no.
Instead, he suggested they look into it.
“I’d always been interested in adoption,” Kuhn said. “I said if something fell into my lap, we’d pursue it.”
In international adoption, the rules are determined by the other country’s adoption policies. In Russia, it’s by the region, so adopting a 1 1/2-year-old from Perm, Russia, was a costly endeavor that involved visiting twice.
The Kuhns had to be cleared and approved by the Federal Bureau of Investigation two separate times and had to buy visas for each time they went to Russia because visas are typically good for only one trip to Russia.
The whole process, which usually averages $25,000, cost about $45,000, Angie Kuhn said, making Colin “one valuable little man.”
When Colin first came to the United States, he had many needs. At an orphanage in Perm, he had little attention — especially considering his deafness — his nutrition was poor and he was wearing clothes for a 12-month-old even though he was 2.
At 3 1/2, he is functioning at about a 2-year-old level, which is much better than he was a year ago when the family first brought him here.
Angie Kuhn’s children Grace Hughes, 10, Grant Hughes, 7, and Chloe Kuhn, 2, have adapted well.
“I think the adjustment was easier for us because he was so young,” Angie Kuhn said. “When you adopt a child who’s older, sometimes they’re more frightened to come to an adoptive home. Colin was just oblivious. Behaviorally, you can have more concerns with older children that are adopted. Colin will probably shape into whatever we make him shape into.”
Craig and Angie Kuhn work at Illinois School for the Deaf, Angie as principal of the high school and Craig as the American Sign Language coordinator.
“It’s important for Colin,” she said. “He will always be deaf and it’s important for him to have deaf peers and role models.”
Kuhn’s sister Allison Fraas looked into adoption initially through the same agency as her sister.
When that feel through, Fraas and her husband Matt still wanted to adopt.
Fraas saw a picture of an 8-year-old named Ian from China on the website of an agency in Delaware who “looked like he had the Fraas family spirit,” she said.
“We thought he was playful and bright and fun,” Fraas said. “A lot of pictures of orphans don’t look so healthy or happy and he looked really great. We decided to call and inquire about him.”
Though not the first to inquire, the Fraas family was chosen because of their resources with deaf children. Allison Fraas, for example, is the reading specialist at ISD.
“For a child it was something we felt called to do because it was so readily available,” Allison Fraas said. “We really strongly discussed whether or not we should proceed with because it was a big deal for the kids or Matt to learn American Sign Language. That’s a big responsibility.”
Ian knew Chinese sign language and not American when he first arrived but, because sign languages are highly gestural, many things were easy to translate, Fraas said.
“We could kind of figure out what he meant most of the time and teach him the English the rest,” she said.
Ian has adjusted well in his new home, which isn’t always easy for older boys. The hardest adjustment was for their 6-year-old son Aidan who lost his rank as oldest. Adopting out of birth order is not recommended and things became like an alpha male competition at first, Allison Fraas said.
Once school started and routines got back in place, communication got better and the two get along now, she said.
“Ian’s had a really good adjustment,” Allison Fraas said. “Whenever you ask him if he wants to go back to China he says, ‘No.’”
The children, Aidan and Annemarie, 4, have picked up on sign language faster than Matt Fraas, Allison Fraas said.
Fraas mentioned another young boy at an orphanage in China to ISD colleague Penny Sagez, who looked into adoption but was unable to because she is single.
The laws for adoption with the Philippines, however, were not so restrictive.
Sagez has always considered adopting an older child and originally thought of adopting someone around the age of six or eight but when she heard about 12-year-old Joshua, it felt right.
“I just followed my gut,” Sagez said. “Now I can’t remember life when he wasn’t here and I don’t want to.”
Joshua has transitioned really well, facing everything with an intense curiosity. Though homesick, he is taking things in stride, Sagez said.
Sagez is a speech pathologist at Illinois School for the Deaf and is going on her ninth year.
“Considering where I’m at, I felt it was a great opportunity to bring him here because I had so many resources available that it just felt natural,” Sagez said.
The biggest obstacle with communication was that Joshua wasn’t used to it, Sagez said. In the Philippines, people just wrote notes back and forth to each other.
Joshua has been timid and doesn’t want to express himself in any way that might upset Sagez. She has been working with him to more freely let his needs be known.
“Kids in America let you know what you want when they want it,” Sagez said. “With him, I really had to pull it out of him. It was a struggle at times.”
Joshua is most excited for the snow, something he’s never seen in his life.
“I don’t think he’s ever seen below 75 degrees,” Sagez said. “He wants snow so bad. He keeps thinking snow will be in one area. I can’t wait for it to snow; he’s just going to freak. I can’t remember the last time I looked this forward to the holidays.”
Sagez is also looking forward to December because Joshua turns 13.
“He’s such a good kid,” Sagez said. “He’s so happy about everything.”