In an adoption world where disruption looms all too often, this session offers a positive approach for workers and families. Here is a way to make sense of (and deal with) some of the negative feelings that adopted children can make their parents feel. Understanding this dynamic, as well as other key parent-child interactions which… More
Children who have been prenatally exposed to drugs, particularly alcohol, can have significant challenges with learning and behavior. When parents or foster caregivers understand the underlying causes and the impact on the brain from prenatal exposure, they can develop therapeutic parenting and teaching strategies that allow both parent and child to experience success! Presented by… More
Many children in adoptive and foster families come to us with challenging behaviors. Parents and caregivers need to have the knowledge, skills, and understanding of where these behaviors come from, and how to deal with them. This is one of the most common topics in support groups. Join us as we discuss and explore ideas… More
Learn about an innovative program currently operating in Missouri that has the potential to revolutionize mental health treatment for kids in the child welfare system who have suffered extreme trauma. Designed by an adoptive parent whose children were in residential care but not getting better, this program is based on her personal approach to “What I need… More
Visit the NACAC resources or other websites to learn more about specific disabilities and challenges that are more common in adoption and foster care. Attachment/Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) NACAC Webinar: Parenting the Hurt Child NACAC Webinar: Healing from Food Insecurity: Beyond the Stash Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children (ATTACh) Attachment and… More
Children who have been in foster care are more likely to have a disability or behavioral challenges than children in the general population. These disabilities can make being an adoptive parent more difficult, and we encourage adoptive parents to learn as much as possible about the issues affecting their children. Read the articles and view… More
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder in the United States. The disorder affects an estimated 3 to 7 percent of all children, and often persists into adulthood. Many researchers (Simmel, et al. 2001, and others) believe the rate among children in foster care—and those adopted from foster care—is substantially… More
Adapted by Diane Riggs from Beyond Sexual Abuse: The Healing Power of Adoptive Families, published by Three Rivers Adoption Council in cooperation with Wayne Duehn, PhD, Sherry Anderson, MSW, and Kirsti Adkins, MPH. Parents teach pre-schoolers about good and bad touch to give them tools for avoiding and reporting sexual abuse. But foster and adoptive… More
by Kari Fletcher, NACAC parent support specialist Kari Fletcher is a parent support specialist for NACAC’s Adoption Support Network program, which provides peer support to adoptive families across Minnesota. She is the adoptive parent of two children who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and previously worked at the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. If… More
My children are my greatest treasure on earth. They are worth more to me than all my possessions combined. Most of you feel the same way about your children—whether they were born to you or placed into your family to blossom. Our children are what matter, and there is no close second. That is why… More
A few years after adopting three children with FASD from Russia, Diane Black and her husband were exhausted from supervising a hyperactive and destructive son, a son with autistic traits, and a daughter who was sweet but disconnected. Three years later, after removing casein and gluten from the children’s diet, Diane wrote about “the slowly… More
From the Winter 2010 issue of Adoptalk Hello! My name is Serena and I’d like to take you through the journey of my life so far. Unfortunately, it didn’t start out very well. I was born in Tennessee and doctors needed to detoxify me right away because of the drugs and alcohol in my system… More
by Vicky McKinney, from Spring 2004 Adoptalk Suppose you had a brain tumor. Would you want an operation performed by someone who has only read about brain surgery or would you seek an experienced neurosurgeon? In our world of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), treatment and care issues are similarly complicated, but some service providers… More