Adoption and fostering: advice, topics and issues Books

Book SynopsisThe extraordinary and riveting story of separated Chinese twins, with one twin seized by the authorities and adopted into America, by the Samuel Johnson-winning author of Nothing to Envy. In 2000, a Chinese woman gave birth to twins in a bamboo grove, trying to avoid detection by the government because she already had two daughters. Two years later, an American couple travelled to Shaoyang to adopt a Chinese toddler they thought had been abandoned. Their understanding had been that China's brutal one-child policy was leading to hundreds of abandoned girls, desperate for the care of adopted parents. What they didn't know - and what award-winning journalist Barbara Demick uncovered in 2007, while working as a correspondent in Beijing - was that their daughter had been snatched from her beloved family and her identical twin. Under China's one-child policy hundreds of poor Chinese were giving up their children due to soaring fines and threats of violence. More sinister still, international demand for adoptees was sky-rocketing, and local officials were forcibly seizing children and trafficking them to orphanages, who were selling them abroad. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove tells the gripping story of separated twins, their respective fates in China and the USA, and Barbara Demick's role in reuniting them against huge odds. Painting a rich portrait of China's history and culture, it asks questions about the roots, impact and consequences of China's one-child policy, the ethics of international adoption, and, ultimately, the assumptions and narratives we hold about the quality of lives lived in the East and the West.

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Book SynopsisConcise and easy-to-understand, this book provides an introduction to what attachment means and how to recognise attachment disorder in children. Colby Pearce explains how complex problems in childhood may stem from the parent-child relationship during a child's early formative years, and later from the child's engagement with the broader social world. The book explores the mind-set of difficult and traumatised children and the motivations behind their complex tendencies and behaviours. It goes on to offer a comprehensive set of tried-and-tested practical strategies that can be used with children affected by an attachment disorder. This second edition has been updated to include the new DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Reactive Attachment Disorder and an increased number of illustrative case vignettes.This is a perfect introduction to the subject for parents, carers and practitioners in supportive roles caring for children.Trade ReviewAlthough short, this revised edition remains for me a core text in supporting teachers' understanding of attachment, its importance and what happens when it goes wrong. Pearce makes this complex field highly accessible without losing any rigour; this book will be one of the most enlightening reads of your career. -- Andy Bloor, Senior Lecturer in SEN and Disability Studies, University of Derby, UKColby Pearce provides answers. In a straightforward way, he defines and describes normal and disordered attachment. The first edition and my participation in Triple A training have added to my confidence and competence as a carer. This is a ' must read ' book for anyone involved with children. I am pleased to recommend it. -- Margaret Quinn, Foster CarerPractical, credible and evidenced based, this is a must read for all those working directly with troubled, challenging and unhappy children inside and outside the care system. Pearce explains the aetiology of different attachment disorders and provides workable strategies to support children consistently across their care, educational and therapeutic environments. -- Lynne Peyton, Child Care Consultant, Author & Trainer, UK and IrelandTable of ContentsPrologue: A Tale of Three Mice. Chapter 1. Understanding Attachment and the Influence of Parental Care. Chapter 2. A Short Introduction to Attachment Disorder. Chapter 3. CARE to Promote Attachment Security. Chapter 4. Treating Attachment Insecurity and Disorder. Postscript: Eyes are Mirrors for a Child's Soul. Glossary of Terms. About the Author.

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Book SynopsisAre you in the process of adopting and feeling out of your depth? Do you already have an adopted child and are feeling overwhelmed?Sharing the secrets that will enable you to face the challenges of adoptive parenting with confidence, Sophie Ashton offers tips and strategies which have worked for her family. She discusses preparing for the journey ahead, parenting with empathy, facilitating your child's attachment, helping your child feel listened to, and providing structure and consistency in order to successfully integrate your child into your family and go on to have a stable happy family life.An honest and reassuring account of what it can really be like to be an adoptive parent, this practical hands-on guide will help you prepare for the highs and lows of being a parent and give your child and your family the best chance to flourish.Trade ReviewThis is an essential book to prepare and accompany adoptive families and the professionals that support them for both pre and post adoption. The book offers a down to earth approach to managing the inevitable challenges and often trying situations that impact adoptive families. It is a well thought, well written and comprehensive 'adoption survival guide'. A highly recommended read. -- Inbar Sagiv, Integrative Child Psychotherapist (MA) and Social Worker (BA)This is the most honest, sensitive and hands-on practical book I have ever read on how to successfully navigate the emotional challenges of adopting a child. This is not advice based on theory, it is an experiential account of what works. Not just in terms of preparation, but right through the long, long period of ups and downs, angst, fear, frustration, tears, love and adjustment to the dawning of a happy family unit. Sophie Ashton handles raw emotional and psychological issues involving the dynamics of the whole family head on. Her focus on building self-esteem and nurturing through the senses to develop the brain are crucial. Do not read 'The Secrets of Successful Parenting' if you want a Disney perspective, this is a real book that, I believe, will become a reference book for many people wanting to adopt or have adopted a child. -- Dr Lynda Shaw, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Fellow of the Royal Society of MedicineThis is a must-have guide of tried and tested success strategies that adoptive parents can continually refer to when experiencing overwhelming challenges and emotions. This book offers practical support and structure for facing inevitable (but often taboo) difficulties, helping adoptive parents to integrate their adoptive child in crucial aspects of development such as self-esteem and attachment. The real-life examples reassured me that, through effective communication and self-care, I could manage and face any difficulty. I was also reassured that my own responses to our adopted child were natural and encouraged to carry on in a well informed and positive way. This book is engaging, inspiring and relevant. -- Adoptive Mother, BuckinghamshireSophie has managed to do something unique: to simultaneously show the realities of adopting a child, and also give us lots of good ideas on how to make this happen successfully. As a potential gay adopter, I found the suggested games and activities very inspiring. Sophie obviously has lots of hands-on experience in this area, and does not approach the topic from a purely theoretical angle. This makes her book feel human, and the suggestions immediately applicable. Potential adoptive parents, as well as those for-ever parents who need some practical advice, would really benefit from reading this book. -- Mariano Tufro, Potential Adoptive ParentI read this book whilst going through the adoption process myself, and it was the only one of many I read that gave practical solutions to real-life problem situations we might encounter with any adopted child. It is also the most candid about the feelings of frustration and bewilderment you may feel when dealing with your adopted child. The fact that it is written by somebody speaking from experience adds credibility to the advice being given. The book should serve as a source of inspiration and hope for those who are really struggling with their child and is proof that you can work through any difficulties and have your own happy ending. The emotional side of things is coupled with tried and tested methods for coping as adoptive parents, whilst also dealing with difficult children. If we are lucky to have a child placed with us I will definitely be using this book as an invaluable reference point, and I highly recommend it to anybody either going through the process or who has adopted already and is struggling with challenging situations. -- Lal Lister, Potential Adoptive ParentBy far one of the best all-around adoption books I have ever read. I can feel the real-life, in the trenches experience of the author come through with deep wisdom and understanding. If there were an adoption parenting road map for establishing love and relationship in a home this is it. Please read and reread. Books at this level of true applicability and parenting guidance are rare. -- Bryan Post, www.postinstitute.comSophie Ashton has added to the rich literature by adopters for adopters. We know at Adoption UK how valuable the advice of experienced adopters is. Adoption transforms children's lives because adopters provide parenting that goes beyond what most parents have to deal with. Many adopted children and their families need and receive the support of professionals, what all benefit from is the wisdom and knowledge of those who have been there. Sophie's contribution is a valuable one and I can fully recommend this book. -- Hugh Thornbery, Chief Executive, Adoption UKTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part 1: Prepare for the Emotional Journey. 1. Anticipate the Emotional Journey. 2. Anticipate What May Cause You Frustration. Part 2: Parent with Empathy. 3. Understand Your Child. 4. Facilitate Your Child's Memories and Emotions. 5. Support Your Child Through Their Grieving Process. Part 3: Pay Back the Nurture Debt. 6. Nurture With Compassion. 7. Nurture Through the Senses for Brain Development. 8. Build Your Child's Self-Esteem and Facilitate Their Attachment. Part 4: Communicate Thoughtfully. 9. Help Your Child Feel Listened To. 10. Communicate With the Outcome in Mind. Part 5: Enable Your Child's Development. 11. Provide Structure and Consistency. 12. Close the Development Gap. Part 6: Prepare Carefully For Your New Arrival. 13. Involve Family and Friends. 14. Take Control of the Introductions and the Transition. 15. Carefully Integrate your Child Into Your Life. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThrough words, pictures, photographs, certificates and other 'little treasures', a Life Story Book provides a detailed account of the child's early history and a chronology of their life. Fully updated, this clear and concise book shows a unique family-friendly way to compile a Life Story Book which promotes a sense of permanency for the child, and encourages attachments within new families. Joy Rees' influential model works chronologically backwards rather than forwards, aiming to reinforce the child's sense of belonging and security before addressing the child's past and early trauma. The book contains simple explanations of complex concepts, practical examples, helpful suggestions and includes some simple checklists. This new edition has been expanded to include fostered children and those living in kinship care or with a special guardian. Perfect for social workers, adoption agencies, adoptive parents, foster carers and kinship carers, Life Story Books for Adopted and Fostered Children is a refreshing, innovative and common-sense guide.Trade ReviewJoy Rees has the gift of explaining theoretical concepts in a straightforward and jargon-free manner and of empowering adults - whether social workers, adopters or foster carers - to feel confident in tackling what is a complex and sensitive task. Joy's book is a practical guide and includes a wealth of examples of ways to frame sad and difficult stories without leaving the child feeling responsible. -- Jeanne Kaniuk OBE, Managing Director, Coram AdoptionThis book has been my go-to guide in terms of constructing family friendly life stories since its publication - I'm thrilled to see that this second edition broadens the scope to include children in foster care or special guardianship arrangements, as well as adoption, as Rees' model fits them perfectly. Busy practitioners will love the selection of sensitively written sample stories that will prove invaluable in ensuring all children who need them have timely access to a child-friendly life story book - a book that their adopters and carers will use with confidence to support their children to integrate their histories. -- Katie Wrench, Co-author 'Life Story Work with Children who are Fostered and Adopted' (JKP, 2013) and author of 'Helping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe – Building Protective Behaviours' (JKP, 2016)Table of ContentsForeword. Introduction. Chapter 1. A New Approach. Chapter 2. A Life Story Book is Not... Chapter 3. A Different Perspective. Chapter 4. The Inner Child and Subliminal Messages. Chapter 5. Involving Adoptive Parents. Chapter 6. Compiling a Life Story Book. Chapter 7. Sample Life Story Books. Chapter 8. Final Thoughts. References. Further Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisWritten for busy foster carers and adoptive parents, this book provides a concise introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and how to support a child with a diagnosis. It emphasises the common strengths children with ASD have, as well as offering strategies for any behavioural issues that are likely to arise, highlighting how these can be exacerbated by the care system and adoption process.The first part of the book looks at the different aspects of autism and the challenges it can pose for children and parents, providing strategies for managing difficulties at home and at school, using social stories, and reducing sensory input in a child's environment. The second part looks at issues that arise for fostered or adopted children, including placement transitions, contact, and explaining the past. It concludes with helping parents to think about self-care.Trade ReviewAdoption UK regularly supports adoptive parents who are struggling to decide whether their children has autism or an attachment disorder and what difference those two diagnosis might mean. This book will be invaluable to them as it provides a really helpful and simple description of how autism can present in different children, and how this can be similar to attachment difficulties. This book will help parents to get to know their child and their autism. It provides lots of real life examples and explores issues specific to adoption - such as moving from fostering to adoption. It will be invaluable bedside reading for many adopters. -- Ann Bell, Adoption UKAs an specialist autism professional, an adopter and an ex-foster carer, I found this book is a joy to read! It is rare that a book by professionals is so accessible. It will be a great resource for support workers, teaching assistants, care staff and professionals who want a book about autism and attachment that they can read easily, rather than academic text books. -- Heather Moran, Consultant Child Clinical Psychologist, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, NHS UK Author of the Coventry GridAccessibly written and fantastically informative. The authors bring clarity and certainty to what is often a misunderstood and inaccessible word and present it in an easy and relatable form. -- Al Coates MBE, Social Worker/Trainer/SpeakerTable of ContentsPreface; 1: What Is Autism? 2: How Is Autism Assessed? 3: Overriding Principles For Parenting A Child With Autism; 4: Everyday Transitions At Home And School; 5: Placement Transitions & Contact; 6: Attachment & Belonging; 7: Life Story, Loss And Trauma; 8: Looking After Yourself; 9: Seeking Help And Resources; Appendix 1: Getting To Know My Child

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Book SynopsisChildren who have encountered trauma early in life can experience real differences in their social and cognitive development. This comprehensive guide introduces what such developmental difference means, how it affects a child, and offers strategies to help support or alleviate problems that commonly arise.Dr. McLean explains how children with developmental differences understand the world around them and offers easy to use techniques to help children with sensory and emotional regulation difficulties or delays in language, communication or memory development. This book will provide you with the knowledge and confidence you need to meet your own child's individual needs, and to help them to flourish.Trade ReviewCarers often cry out for information about how to understand the challenging behaviours of children who have come into their care. Dr McLean provides not just an understanding of key developmental milestones and the role of adversity, but practical guidance on how to meet the needs of children with 'developmental difference'. -- Professor Daryl Higgins, PhD, MAPS ICPS Director Australian Catholic UniversityAddressing a broad range of parenting and practice issues in a clear accessible style this guide is an informative and valuable resource for adoptive and foster carers , practitioners and educators. -- Professor Elizabeth Fernandez, The University of New South Wales, AustraliaI commend this book as an essential read for all current and future caregivers who want to understand their child's behaviour and to parent more effectively. -- Amanda Porter, Chief Executive Officer Connecting Foster & Kinship Carers – SA IncThe author has usefully brought together information on multiple aspects of a child's development, which, when functioning as it should, contributes to the child attaining a healthy and fulfilled life. New insights are provided for the reader - not necessarily on the specific developmental differences, which are knowledge-base dependant, but rather on how this all connects and interrelates; the body-mind connection. This book is written with foster carers and adoptive parents in mind. The information it contains is also beneficial for professionals within fostering and adoption services, enhancing their knowledge of child development from multiple aspects and is, therefore, a valuable resource for all. * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1: Early Adversity And Developmental Difference; 2. An Introduction To Normal Development; 3: An Introduction To The Reasons For Challenging Behaviour; 4. Developmental Difference In Sensory Regulation; 5. Developmental difference in language and communication; 6. Developmental difference in emotional regulation; 7. Developmental Difference in Executive Functioning; 8. Developmental Difference in Social Information Processing; 9. Communicating about your child's Developmental Difference to others; 10. Summary; Resources

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Book SynopsisWhen I am ready, I need you to talk to me and help me understand my feelings...'This reassuring story helps children aged 5+ with attachment issues to understand their feelings, open up to a caring adult and learn how to choose positive behaviours. Ben is made up of lots of different 'parts' - to name a few, he has happy, caring, angry, excited, hugging and yelling parts. Ben explains how all these parts are okay, and that a caring adult can help you to understand and manage them more easily. This book also features activities to help children talk about their feelings, and a simple introduction to attachment theory for adults.Trade ReviewDifficulties with attachment are central to the experience of many children and young people. This practical, accessible and engaging book is a great resource for starting to explore these ideas in practice, and helps children and those who care for them to develop a way of talking about and coping with complex emotions. An essential addition to any professional's toolbox! -- Dr. Bethan Roberts, Specialist Clinical PsychologistAn illustrated book which although small in size is big on information. Markham and O'Donnell have used their many years of experience to create All About Ben which shows children that an emotional reaction is normal. This book encourages them to think about how to cope when they are feeling challenged by offering them practical solutions which they can work through. -- Dr William Marshall PhD.The simple language and lively illustrations make this book child-friendly and engaging. Fun to read together, it provides a tool for a carer or other relevant adult to discuss difficult topics with a child. Together they can explore negative, and positive, actions and the feelings that led to these. Significantly, the book helps the adult to support the child in addressing attachment issues. -- Educationalist and former HM Inspector of Education, now retiredA book that will interest every family and every teacher, All About Ben is a realistic and sensitive journal of the challenges Ben encounters. All children would find this book essential reading too, from youngsters who can identify themselves as Ben to other children who identify Ben as a relative, best friend or classmate. Enjoy and share with others, as every Ben we know deserves understanding, nurturing and support. -- Lynn Dyas, HeadteacherTable of ContentsIntroduction. All About Ben.

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Book SynopsisThere are thousands of grandparents raising their grandchildren in the United Kingdom, the majority as a consequence of parental drug use or mental health issues. This book recounts the real-life stories of grandparent carers who chose to put their own lives on hold so that their loved ones can be properly cared for.Whilst most grandparent carers remain as unsupported informal carers, some seek to formalise their position by becoming Social Services Kinship Carers or achieve legal routes to independent care as Special Guardians or with a Child Arrangement Order. Whether formal or informal, full-time grandparent carers face life-changing futures. Immediate concerns are work, child care, the behaviour of the child, contact with the birth parents and financial support, and there is often no clear path to learning their rights and available support. There is also the challenge involved in balancing their bonds with their adult children while protecting their grandchildren. In this book, grandparents talk in detail about these issues and of how professionals and services have at times helped and not helped. These candid stories also explore how moving to live with grandparents can be experienced by both child and carer as simultaneously a gain and a loss.The stories offer support, and the book also includes professional advice to encourage grandparents to acknowledge their value, accept their limitations, develop realistic expectations about what they can and cannot achieve, and recognise that all successes should be celebrated.Trade ReviewThere is nothing more important to a child's life chances than being raised in a safe, stimulating and nurturing environment. The contribution and sacrifice of grandparents who step in to provide this is, therefore, of immeasurable value and should be supported as much as possible. This collection of testimonies will, I trust, offer reassurance, a sense of community and much practical wisdom to grandparents who are similarly placed. -- The Rt Hon Frank Field MP DL, Member of Parliament for BirkenheadThis book is a powerful collection of grandparents' experiences of stepping in to care for their grandchildren as kinship carers, their sacrifices and struggles for support. It's also full of love and hope - grandparents putting their grandchildren first and doing whatever it takes to support them; kinship carers supporting each other through peer support groups. And, importantly, it's a rallying cry for more recognition and support for kinship carers who have been taken for granted for too long. -- Dr Lucy Peake, chief executive, Grandparents PlusThis is a vitally important book for anyone caring for or considering caring for grandchildren, anyone who in the informal network around someone caring for grandchildren and for agencies working with these families. The stories are painful to read but show determination and dedication. They are hopeful stories for families struggling with the impact of addiction. This is a book of acquired wisdom and resourceful information. -- Joy Hasler, grandparent and founder of Catchpoint, a registered Adoption Support Agency

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Book SynopsisTrauma can have a significant impact on the stability of a child's development and can put additional pressures on the education staff working with them. Showing you how you can best support children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences, this guide is full of practical guidance on how you can adapt your teaching with this group.Covering a range of issues a child may have, such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, pathological demand avoidance, attachment difficulties and many more, this book provides the trauma-informed tools you need to care for these children and to give the best possible opportunities from their education. It also addresses the difference children may experience in learning, how they behave, how teachers can ensure home--school cooperation, and how teachers can act in a trauma-informed manner.

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Book Synopsis· What are attachment difficulties?· How do they affect children?· How can you help?This book provides clear and concise answers to these important questions - and more.Much more than just a simple introduction to the subject of attachment, the book is also full of advice and practical ideas you can try. It tackles some challenging questions, such as 'what is the difference between trauma and attachment?', and explains how having an understanding of attachment is only part of the overall picture when it comes to caring for traumatized children. It is an essential read for any adult parenting or caring for a child who has experienced attachment difficulties.Trade ReviewOut of a complex field of study De Thierry's latest works have delivered prime knowledge that is easy-to-grasp. This simple guide will increase confidence to supportively approach attachment difficulties and through its easily applied teachings will play a powerful role in strengthening relationships. A must read for anybody working with children and caregivers. -- Ben Rockett, PhD, Research PsychologistThis book is easily digestible yet manages to cover the well researched topic of attachment brilliantly. As a nursery owner I will be ensuring my team read this and as a mum of three boys, I have taken the guidelines and easily accessible advice laid out in the book and reflected on my own parenting techniques that can so easily be tweaked to ensure stronger and more positive attachments with all three of my children. Thank you Betsy. It's great that someone has taken the time to digest these huge topics and present them so that we all may have a positive impact on children's lives. -- Charlotte Lucas, parent, owner and founder of Free Rangers Nursery, UKTable of Contents1. What is attachment? 2. How does an attachment grow stronger? 3. The brain science around attachment. 4. The safe place and co-regulation. 5. What is an unhealthy attachment style? 6. Anxious, controlling or helicopter parenting. 7. Attachment trauma. 8. A healing adult relationship. 9. Resilience, bad days and top tips!

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Book SynopsisGet your family talking about adoption with the ultimate collection of films to help the whole family to explore their feelings in a fun and safe way. With a film for each week of the year, Addison Cooper has compiled the best movies, new and old, for family-friendly viewing. Among those featured are Finding Dory, Frozen, Paddington, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, Star Wars, Divergent, The Blind Side and I am Sam. Carefully selected, the movies included will help families to comfortably talk about important adoption-related topics. They are accompanied by descriptions of the themes and ideas to get the conversations started. Helping all members of the family to explore both the pain and joy of adoption, they cover a range of issues which can arise such as culture, identity, control, and reunification. With something for everyone - from kids, to teens, to grown-ups - this is a must-have for all adoptive families.Trade ReviewAdoption at the Movies does two huge favors for adoptive parents. First, it reveals the whys and hows of having tough conversations with our kids. Second, through previews it guides us through how to best use films as conversation starters that can foster intimacy and trust, while alerting us to potential hazards. This way parents can make good decisions about what to see and what to wait on. I wish I'd had this guide from Day 1 as an adoptive parent to my children. -- Lori Holden of LavenderLuz.com, author of The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption.This book is comprehensive and thoughtful, a true resource for parents who wish to use films as a springboard for positive and helpful dialogue about adoption with their children. Addison has done the hard work for us, analyzing the most applicable stories of our day and guiding us through the potential of each film in helping our adopted children process their own stories. -- Christina Matanick, creator of ReMoved filmAdoption at the Movies takes your cinema entertainment and transforms it into a powerful tool to help your adoptive child to thrive in life. -- Darren Fink, Co-Founder, Transfiguring AdoptionMovies have that magical ability to transport us to a different place and see things in new ways. They can be a useful, and sometimes less painful, vehicle for gaining insight into important life issues. With Addison Cooper's guidance, adoptive families can easily choose films to help them initiate important conversations in a non-threatening manner. Building on his popular Adoption at the Movies blog, Cooper's new book (of the same name) organizes 63 movies into four main categories. Alphabetical, age, and topic indexes add to the book's usability. Adoptive families and professionals who work with them will find this to be a welcome resource. -- Linda May Grobman, MSW, LSW, ACSW, Publisher/Editor of The New Social Worker MagazineOpen communication is vital to the well-being of any family, but parents through adoption may struggle to introduce the subject. Adoption at the Movies can help parents get past this stumbling block. When you watch a film with an adoption theme, the topic is already on the table, er, screen, so the conversation can unfold naturally. Cooper's clear-eyed assessments of dozens of films, including excellent discussion questions, should lead to many enjoyable evenings-and many more hours of healthy conversation-in any family formed through adoption. -- Eve Gilman, editor of Adoptive Families magazineAdoption at the Movies is a well-researched and accessible resource for all adoptive families who watch films together. Addison Cooper shows how many films aimed at children are essentially about absent or neglectful caregivers, loss and the search for belonging and why these themes may trigger difficult feelings in adopted children. His book gives parents the tools not only to make informed decisions and to prepare before watching a film but it suggests ways in which each film can be used as a starting point for a significant conversation. It is great to read something that not only forewarns but forearms too and which encourages families to explore themes and difficulties together and to use films as a resource. The book is easy to use, packed with popular films and appropriate to a wide age range. I wish I'd read it at the start of our journey as an adoptive family but I'll certainly be using it now. -- Sally Donovan, author of No Matter WhatAdoption at the Movies is a great resource for any parent, educator or mentor who works with youth; and it's a comprehensive, must-have resource for foster and adoptive parents. The author provides discussion topics and activities, which will help make the most out of any family movie night. -- Yasmin Mistry Director, Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP)This is the most insightful book I've read about parenting adopted teens. Naftzger draws from her own experience as an adoptee and a therapist to offer parents practical tools for improving communication with their child, without ever being preachy or prescriptive. Most importantly, she honors the emotions, integrity and intellectual capacity of the adopted teen at every turn, helping parents better understand the complexity of their child's experience. -- Nicole Opper, Director/Producer, Off and Running: An American Coming of Age StoryTable of ContentsSection 1. Setting the Scene. 1. Unique and Not Unique. 2. When Adoption Surprises You. 3. Two Hidden Enemies of Healthy Adoption: Silence and Secrecy. 4. How Movies Can Help, and How This Book Works. Section 2. The Movies. 5. Disney Films . 6. More Movies for Kids. 7. Thirteen Movies to Watch with Your Teens. 8. Eleven Movies for Parents. Section 3. What Happens Next? 9. When Movies Aren't Enough. 10. Where to Go From Here: Additional Resources.

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Book SynopsisCombining cutting-edge neuroscience with attachment theory, this book shows how adoptive parents can help their traumatised child develop. It looks at the many different factors that can manifest in trauma, and how parents should respond to them.

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Book SynopsisNurturing Attachments Training Resource is a complete group-work programme containing everything you need to run training and support sessions for adoptive parents and foster or kinship carers. Based on attachment theory and developed by expert author and trainer Kim Golding, this rich resource provides an authoritative set of ideas for therapeutically parenting children along with all the guidance you will need to implement the training.The training resource includes theoretical content and process notes for facilitators, and a range of activities supported by online downloadable content with photocopiable reflective diary sheets, activity sheets and handouts. It is structured into 3 modules with 6 sessions per module. Module 1: Provides an understanding of attachment theory, patterns of attachment and an introduction to therapeutic parenting. Module 2: Introduces the House Model of Parenting, providing guidance on how to help the children experience the family as a secure base. Module 3: Continues exploring the House Model of Parenting, with consideration of how parents can both build a relationship with the children and manage their behaviour. This will be an invaluable resource and one-stop guide for any professionals involved in training foster carers and adoptive parents, as well as residential child care workers and kinship carers.Trade ReviewI am thrilled to be able to highly recommend Kim Golding's latest book Nurturing Attachments Training Resource to those providing professional services to adoptive parents and carers of traumatized children with attachment difficulties. This highly readable work presents in detail Kim's group training program for adoptive parents and carers that she has used for a number of years. Kim presents clearly the three modules (each involving six sessions) that make up the training and includes handouts and other materials that can be copied and utilized. She presents the key components of the group process itself as well as supportive research to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program.Kim's comprehensive and creative work will also be of great benefit to professionals in the development of their own knowledge of raising children and youth impacted by trauma and attachment problems. Professionals may also use these materials to guide their interventions with individual families. Finally, adoptive parents and carers may also find this work of help when facing the unique struggles they encounter in their efforts to provide good care to their vulnerable children.In short, I am certain that Kim's work will contribute greatly to our efforts both to understand the care that these children need as well as to guide their parents and carers in their efforts to provide such care. We will all experience much gratitude to Kim for Nurturing Attachments Training Resource in the years ahead. -- Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D., President of the Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Institute, Pennsylvania, USAFoster carers and adoptive parents can make bringing up children and young people with complex needs and helping them feel part of their new families appear effortless, but my experience of working with some of the best shows that it's far from easy. I welcome any resource that supports carers to do this well. This material, from an author with a great deal of knowledge about the tasks involved, and with its focus on what they can do and everyday strategies which will make a difference, is very welcome. -- Dr Andrea Warman, social care research, policy and development consultant, UKIn Nurturing Attachments Kim Golding explores parenting children who have attachment and trauma-related difficulties in a theoretically sound manner. Golding's work will be a valuable resource for anyone facilitating parent education/support groups. This programme will not only help its users develop a comprehensive understanding of the complexities that exist in the relationships they have with their children, but also show how they can use this understanding to transform these relationships. Golding has done a masterful job at integrating theory with a practicality that will enable parents to feel more effective in their parenting roles. -- Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder/Director of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, USA, Co-author of Adopting the Hurt Child (2009), Parenting the Hurt Child (2002), and author of Parenting Adopted Adolescents (2009)This is an excellent training manual and provides a structured programme with theory-based strategies for therapeutic parenting... The course gives a good overview of attachment theory and the core difficulties for traumatized children... The material is well illustrated with relevant case studies and advice on common problems which can occur in running groups for parents.Golding's work will be an invaluable resource for anyone facilitating parent education/support groups. -- Peter McBride, trainer and independent social worker * Seen and Heard *

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Book SynopsisA raw and heart-wrenching literary memoir about a queer couple's attempt to adopt a child.But would you take a ginger child? a social worker asks Patrick Flanery as he and his husband embark on their four-year odyssey of trying to adopt. This curious question comes to haunt the journey, which Flanery recounts with startling candour as he explores what it means to make a family as a queer couple, to be an outsider in a foreign country, to grapple with the inheritance of intergenerational loss, and to discover that the emotions we feel are sometimes as mysterious to ourselves as to others.This uniquely powerful book moves deftly between heartbreaking memoir and illuminating meditation on parenting, adoption and queerness in contemporary culture, stopping along the way to consider recent science fiction film, camp horror television, fiction and visual art. At the end, which could also be the beginning of a new journey, Flanery asks whether we might all imagine ourselves as ginger children-fragile, sensitive, more easily hurt than we think possible, but with the hope that we are also survivors, with greater powers of resilience than we know.Trade ReviewA compelling, heart-wrenching memoir that exquisitely describes a visceral pain all too many of us feel. * The Spectator *The Ginger Child is completely fascinating. I don't think I've ever read such a self-lacerating book about how an ostensibly straightforward desire - to have kids - is policed and politicized, and how operating outside the norm throws one up against one's own shortcomings. It is shocking, and consoling, in its honesty. A book that will certainly change the landscape of adoption literature but more broadly should be read by everyone who has - or has ever wanted - kids. -- Emma BrockesThe Ginger Child is a real eye-opener; reading it you wonder how anyone manages to persevere in the adoption process at all. Patrick Flanery details the extraordinary journey of one queer couple trying to adopt in contemporary Britain and the often absurd challenges they face along the way. The book, whilst sometimes harrowing, even jaw-dropping, since you share Patrick and Andrew's journey alongside them, is also beautiful in its quiet indignation and lucid honesty. Exquisitely written - it pulls off quite a feat in that it is as compelling as it is lyrical - this is a book to be savoured by everyone interested in the shaping of family, in loss, in the joy of discovery, in love - meaning that this is a must-read for everyone. -- Jackie KayA rare, brilliant and essential exploration of adoption in queer families, and one of the most significant additions to the canon of queer literature in years. -- John D'AgataFlanery is a master of puzzling, alarming and even terrifying storytelling. * A.S Byatt, Guardian *Patrick Flanery is an exceptionally gifted novelist. * Philip Gourevitch, New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisTherapeutic parenting is not your usual parenting style. It's a special, specific way to raise kids who have experienced trauma in their past, and requires a lot of commitment and determination - this is about far more than love and care.But where do you start?This book is the ideal first step for anyone who wants to understand how therapeutic parenting works. It offers simple summaries of the key ideas behind it, fully illustrated throughout with informative cartoons and graphics. Over 40 different issues are covered, from dysregulation and fear, to setting boundaries and parenting in the midst of trauma.The perfect introduction for new therapeutic parents, family members, teachers or other adults who need to help support you and your child, this Quick Guide will also be a source of inspiration for more experienced parents.Trade ReviewUsing light-hearted analogies and their wealth of first-hand knowledge, Sarah Naish and Sarah Dillon encourage us all to see the behaviour of children with developmental trauma in a whole new light. This accessible Quick Guide is a source of enlightenment, comfort and hope for all parents and professionals. It will help us to discover what the authors describe as 'the hidden path', so we can translate and see behaviour as a means of communication and in doing so support healing. For the sake of the increasing number of children with developmental trauma, everybody needs to tread this path. -- Daniel Thrower, CEO and Anne Oakley, Attachment Lead, The Wensum Educational Trust, NorwichWhat an amazing book! I read through each part and can easily put children's names to the behaviours that are explained. It's funny, serious, passionate reassuring and very helpful to any Therapeutic parent. The way it is written makes it ideal for a quick ten minute read/reminder for specific behaviours or a longer introduction for less experienced TPs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and sure that it will help thousands of other parents. -- Jen Dalby, Therapeutic parentTable of ContentsAcknowledgments. 3Introduction Sarah Naish. 31 WHY DO OUR CHILDREN DO THE THINGS THEY DO?!41 The Unskilled Pilot - (A lack of trust)52 The Spider Parent- (Fear of adults)73 My Friend the Spider- (Staying safe)104 The Automatic Car- (Illogical behaviours)125 The Plane Crash (part 1) - (Impulsiveness)156 The Deal Breaker -(Breaking promises)187 The Land of Now- (Unable to link cause and effect)208 The Crumbling Wall - (Hidden disabilities)232 RAISING PENGUINS. 269 Penguins Don't Fly- (Our children are different)2710 The Messy Nest (Destruction)3011 The Girl Who Wouldn't Try - (Self sabotage)3212 Squeezing the Glass- (Over controlling)3513 The King of the Castle (Traditional consequences don't work)3714 Lie Tennis- (Lying)4015 The Apprentice Who Wasn't Sorry- (Fake apologies)4316 The Lift - (Unintended consequences)463 IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS - The Unhelpful Others. 5017 The Goldfish -(Risk averse practice)5118 The Measuring Stick - (Judgement from others)5419 The Cart - (Our burden)5720 The Ostrich Teacher- (Unhelpful schools)6021 The Snowflake Parent- (Unhelpful others)624 PARENTING IN THE TRAUMA TORNADO.. 6422 The Eye of the Storm- (Managing chaos)6523 The Elephant- (Staying kind)6724 The Steam Train- (Keeping on track)6925 The Rude Wind- (Responding to rudeness)7126 The Conductor - (Controlling behaviour)7427 The Missiles- (Responding to arguing)7728 The Cliff Top- (Keeping boundaries)7929 The Inquiry Lie- (Honesty)825 SAFER PARENTING- Therapeutic Responding. 8430 The Needle on the Record- (Changing our responses)8531 The Plane Crash Part 2- (Unable to calm)8732 ACE Detective- (Working out what is behind the behaviour)9133 The Frightened Dog- (Connecting in a crisis)9434 Sharing the PIE- (Sibling rivalry)9635 The Shame Pit- (Overwhelming shame)10036 The Escalator - (Natural and logical consequences)1036 WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!10637 The Trap Door -(Triggers)10738 Trauma Pancakes- (Multiple issues surfacing)11139 The Jigsaw Child- (Why sabotage happens)11440 The Smoke Detector- (Unexpected behaviours)11741 The Monster in the Cupboard - (Difficult quiet times)1197 THE OVERWHELMING NEED.. 12242 The Two-year-old Psychopath- (Lack of empathy)12343 The Pet Spider- (Being controlled)12644 Memory Beach- (Memory issues)12945 The Hand-Grenade- (The 'trouble-maker')13246 The Car Crash- (Feeling overwhelmed)1348 FILLING THE CUP. 13547 The Empty Cup- (Exhaustion)13648 The Boring Place- (Getting a break)13849 Eeyore Parenting- (Losing hope)14050 The Rabbit- (Isolation)14251 The Empathy Bowl- (Effective listening)1449 HOPE. 14652 The Twisty Turny Steps- (Fear for the future)14753 The Diet Fail- (Having a bad day)14954 Slides and Ladders- (Overcoming obstacles)15155 The Trauma Lake- (Foundations for change)15356 The Hidden Path- (Inspiration)154

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Book SynopsisThis is the go-to guide for practitioners, parents and carers who want to expand their understanding and skills for therapeutic parenting - a deeply nurturing parenting style particularly effective for children who have experienced trauma or adversity.It provides an easy to understand explanation of the latest theory and research in trauma and neuroscience, and explains how these relate to everyday parenting strategies. It provides clarity on complex areas, such as early developmental trauma in children, and insights into key challenges, including managing transitions, sibling relationships, challenging behaviour, the teenage years, and how to find time and space for self-care.With experience, professional expertise, and text features to aid learning throughout, this book is the one-stop shop for everyone wanting to truly understand every aspect of therapeutic parenting and trauma.

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Book SynopsisHelp your little one unlock their inner courage!Riley the Brave is the story of a little bear with big feelings! Join this super-cool, cape-wearing cub as he embarks on a journey to face his fears.Riley is joined by all of his animal friends who care for him as he faces his difficult feelings. Along the way, Riley learns how sometimes, being tough or loud isn't the bravest thing to be - sometimes it's asking for help, or being brave enough to let someone into your heart. Written for any child who is looking to unlock their inner courage, and particularly those healing from difficult life experiences or trauma, this book creates a safe space for conversations about complex thoughts and feelings. It also features an educational afterword for grown-ups which explains how the book helps children, and how to get the most out of it.

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Book Synopsis"I'm NOT going to school today!"Riley the Brave is a little bear with big feelings. Some days he wakes up feeling cheerful and ready to brave the day. He has energy to get dressed, eat breakfast and have some fun!But some days he wakes up feeling like a grumpy porcupine. His brow is scrunched and he thinks that it is going to be a terrible day. Today, Riley is having one of those days! What can be done to help him?All children struggle to make it to school some days, and this can be even tougher for children who have had difficult life experiences and extra challenges at school. This book creates a safe space for conversations about big thoughts and feelings, and offers positive tips for families to try. It also features an educational afterword for grown-ups which explains how the book helps children, and how to get the most out of it.Trade ReviewKids will see themselves in the pages of this book! And caregivers will find new tools to keep their mornings from falling apart. Riley the Brave Makes it to School is a book children will love and caregivers will read with recognition and relief. Kids will feel understood and supported in their big feelings during transitions. After all, it's even hard for Riley to go to school some days. Parents will be empowered to try new ways of approaching these moments with playfulness, acceptance, compassion, and empathy as modeled by Riley's safe big critters. The Afterword (for grown-ups) is packed with information and practical tools. I highly recommend this insightful, realistic, and encouraging book for kids and caregivers alike. -- Lisa Qualls, Author of 'The Connected Parent'We all have rough mornings. Smooth out the wrinkles with Riley the Brave! This story and the educational afterword provide a brain boost of empathy, connection, and fun! -- Kendra Morris-Jacobson, MA, Director of Oregon Post-Adoption Resource CenterA wonderful story tackling real-life issues - this book is a gift for parents and early childhood teachers everywhere. -- Terry Ball, Executive Director, Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals

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Book SynopsisMeet Lucie - she is a rambunctious, inquisitive, seven-year-old girl who was adopted! Lucie has lots of questions about everything. When Lucie's pregnant Aunt Grace and Uncle John come to visit, new curiosities bubble into Lucie's mind. What does the baby do in there? Does he eat? That night Lucie has an amazing dream, that her birth parents are a king and queen who live in a castle. She knows she grew in her birth mother's tummy, but if her birth parents lived in a castle, why didn't they keep her?The next day, Dad helps her to make an amazing discovery - he tells her how to find a special connection with her birth parents, and how you can too!Forever Fingerprints is a heartwarming, fun story written for children aged 5-11 which uses an everyday experience to embark upon a gentle exploration of some of the difficult questions and feelings commonly expressed by children who are adopted. Adoption expert Sherrie Eldridge also provides a valuable 'Parent Tools and Activities' section, with ideas for creative activities and suggestions on how to explore issues such as belonging, identity, self-esteem and connection.

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Book SynopsisDesigned as a professional complement to Sarah Naish's bestselling A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting, this tried and tested resource offers practical tools for all professionals supporting therapeutic families.Based on the latest research, and with photocopiable worksheets, pro formas and charts to use with parents, these tools will help you to build supportive and stable relationships with families and reduce family breakdown.The resource is structured into three parts:1. The Trauma Tracker Tool - designed to support the stability of the family and to predict possible incidents by providing an understanding of the presenting behaviours in the context of the child's history2. The Developmental Foundation Planner - to help professionals to identify and address unmet developmental needs in a structured way as soon as a child is placed with a family and thereby help reduce instances of family breakdown3. The Behaviour - Assessment of Impact and Resolution Tool (BAIRT) - which enables practitioners of most levels to engage in a step by step intervention, breaking down the most complex behaviours with a problem solving supportive process, thereby reducing the effects of blocked care and enabling engagement with parents in an honest, positive process. Simple to use, and easy to implement, these tools will enable you to create therapeutic, trauma-informed assessments, intervention and support.

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Book SynopsisThis is a true story about two non-identical twin brothers who were adopted soon as they were born due to unfortunate circumstances. They were taken up by two different families who happened to be in the vicinity of about ten miles from each other - none of the two families knew each other. Everything was running smoothly until circumstances led one of the boys to search for his biological parents and his other brother. How successful was he? Was it like looking for a pin in a haystack in the wide world? It was many years, according to the foster parents, since he had been adopted - there had been a lot of tear jerking moments.

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Book Synopsis'Touching, tender . . . filled with wonderful humour' Sarah Haywood'A very special book' Katie FfordeThe Sunday Times bestselling novel, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Rosie Project.My name is Hope Nicely. Why am I writing this book? That's easy. This book is going to change my life.My boss, Karen, says a friend is a stranger you haven't met yet. I think that's right. Veronica Ptitsky and Danny Flynn are strangers, except I have met them now because they're in my writing class. Karen says friends always have your back. They don't mean your real back, of course. It's called an analogy. But I don't want any friends, actually (only dog ones). I have my mum, Jenny Nicely, who says adopting me was the best thing she ever did, even if my thoughts bounce a bit differently to other people's thoughts. She is proud of me for writing my book which will be a Big Achievement. I tell her that writing my story is going to change my life.Except when my life does change it isn't because of my writing but because something happens to my mum, Jenny Nicely, and she isn't here anymore. And, flip a pancake, this is not what I wanted. I'm not very good at being on my own and I wish she were here to tell me everything will be right as rain again soon. Maybe I do need some human friends after all . . . 'A gorgeous, funny, heartwarming read. Leaves you smiling' Ericka Walker, author of Dog DaysTrade ReviewHope Nicely's Lessons for Life is a sunburst of a story, full of love, kindness and one of the sweetest, most engaging central characters you're likely to meet. I was drawn in from the very first page by Caroline Day's sensitive portrayal of Hope Nicely's inner voice; as I followed Hope on her mission to make sense of the present, to uncover the past and to write her book, I found myself sharing in her triumphs and frustrations, her laughter and tears. It's a touching, tender story, but Hope Nicely's wonderful humour and delicious honesty mean that it's never sentimental. An absolute joy * Sarah Haywood bestselling author of The Cactus *I can't even find words to say how much I adore Hope Nicely's Lessons for Life! A heart-bursting book, full of tears, laughter and hope. Gorgeously written with an incredible protagonist and I cannot recommend it enough, it's FABULOUS * Jessica Ryn, author of The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside *How I wish Hope had been in my writing class. A gorgeous, funny, heartwarming read. Leaves you smiling * Ericka Waller, author of Dog Days *A very special book. Hope is extremely endearing and her rules for life relevant for us all. Really enjoyable * Katie Fforde *Hope is a bit different - she has Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and is on a mission to discover her birth Mum, who she hopes will answer the difficult questions of why she was abandoned as a baby. Her unique experience of the world will warm your heart with Hope's character and dialogue so well crafted by Day. A novel that reads as if Hope is sat with you. A book of acceptance, kindness and ultimately hope * My Weekly *I loved it! A sharply drawn character with beautiful soft edges who has lessons in her for all of us * Anstey Harris *A gorgeous, funny, heartwarming read. Leaves you smiling * Ericka Waller *This touching, uplifting debut novel oozes heart, and you'll fall in love with Hope, sharing in both her success and her sadness. * Daily Mirror *If you loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, this book is for you. * Sunday Mirror *Uplifting and touching, if you loved Eleanor Oliphant, this is for you. * Fabulous, The Sun on Sunday *This touching, big-hearted debut is funny, sensitive and has lessons for us all about optimism and perseverance * The Mail on Sunday *A gorgeous tale about love, acceptance, and living your best life no matter what * The Sun, PICK OF THE WEEK *A book full of hope, friendship and acceptance * Woman's Weekly *Captivated from the very first page! Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Hope's story will stay with you long after the final page * NFOP magazine *

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Book SynopsisA sensitive picture book to help ease the anxieties of foster children aged 4 to 10 entering placement.In A Different Home, Jessie tells us her story of being placed in foster care. At first she is worried and has lots of questions. The new home is not like her old home -- she has a different bedroom, different clothes, and there's different food for breakfast. She also misses her family. When Jim and Debbie, her foster parents, answer her questions she begins to feel better and see that this different home is kind of nice. Written in simple language and fully illustrated in color, this storybook is designed to help children in care, or moving into care, to settle in and answer some of the questions they may have. Accompanied by notes for adults on how to use the story with children, it will be a useful book for foster parents and caseworkers, as well as social workers, teachers and anyone else working with children in foster care.Trade ReviewThe depth of empathy running through the story is heartfelt. I could hear, smell and feel the little one all the way through. This book will surely comfort and go some way to allay the very real fears that run through you as a child when being placed in the care system. -- Jenny Molloy, Looked After Children Adviser and Trainer, and author of Hackney Child written as Hope DanielsA Different Home transported me back to the time when, at the age of 7 or 8, I was dropped off with total strangers. I had no idea why I was there or how long I'd be there for. The strangers' house was clean, their fridge was full, and they were nice -- but they were still strangers. They changed my life in a positive way, for which I am grateful, though much of my anxiety could have been relieved had they been able to read this book with me. -- Rhonda Sciortino, former foster child and author of 'Succeed Because of What You've Been Through'A Different Home shows how children often feel about entering foster care and being away from the only home they have ever known. It's accurate, honest, warm and a great resource for parents and professionals. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, Psychologist, National Expert in Foster Care/Adoption and Trauma, USAThe really lovely pictures in this sensitive picture book are a huge asset and show clearly Jessie's feelings as well as her development from fear to acceptance, and some advice to foster parents from the authors, experienced at fostering, are an asset too. -- Healthy Books blog

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Book Synopsis'This book is your hot flask of tea or coffee, and a cosy blanket which will keep you warm, safe and well on your journey, ensuring you reach the other side, mentally and physically well.'So, you want to help your child by therapeutic parenting, but how are YOU?This easy-to-follow, dip-in dip-out resource addresses common challenges and feelings experienced by therapeutic parents and offers 80 practical strategies to help you cope and survive. Bestselling parenting author Sarah Naish writes with humour and compassion, sharing her personal and professional experiences covering all of the essentials: self-maintenance, coping with isolation and rejection, scheduling holidays and, of course, the therapeutic importance of cake!Think you don't have the time or inclination for a bit of 'self-care'? This book will save time, save energy and help solve your problems - a 'must have' for all therapeutic parents.Trade ReviewAs an adopter myself, living and breathing trauma, this book offers a lifeline for essential maintenance to sustain us for the long haul. It made me laugh out loud, reminding me that the 'crazy universe' I now inhabit is not such an isolating experience, despite it sometimes feeling that way. -- Louise Michelle Bombèr, adoptive parent, author and Director of TouchBase Centre

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Book SynopsisRiley the Brave is a little bear with big feelings. He really wants to have fun at the fair, but sometimes he struggles just making it to school, especially on the STINKY, BUMPY, NOISY bus!It is hard for Riley to focus and have fun when he is feeling so many confusing sensations! He has porcupine moments and grumps at his friends, or turtle moments when he just wants to be alone. He even had a tiger moment, roaring at his teacher. With all these big feelings, how can he ever go to the fair?Riley the Brave's Sensational Senses teaches children about their senses through a playful story with real-life strategies for emotion regulation. It also features an educational afterword for grown-ups that explains our eight senses and includes tips for getting the most out of the book.Trade ReviewThe perfect book to help children feel empowered, and excited, about tending to their sensory needs so they can learn, play, and BE their awesome selves with confidence! -- Debbie Reber, founder and CEO, Tilt Parenting, author Differently WiredA great resource written with warmth and empathy offering a wealth of ideas and strategies to support children with sensory difficulties. -- Sarah Lloyd, author of Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems in Children with Developmental TraumaThis is a delightful book written in a compassionate way for children both young and old to understand their senses. It is filled with strategies for them to use so that they can feel in control - or their own normal. Every parent and person that works with children, both young and older would benefit from reading about Riley. This is a great addition to the Riley the Brave series. -- Debb Oliver, Ed.D. Co-Founder and CEO of MindfulSEAD, Author Leading Schools with Social Emotional Academic Development (SEAD) and The Learning Transformation.In this new addition to the Riley the Brave series, Sinarski continues to help kids listen to and understand their bodies. By normalizing the outbursts and behaviours that often stem from unmet sensory needs, Riley makes it okay to ask grown-ups for help. He encourages kids to be open to trying new things, including therapy. This book helped my daughter make sense of the many BIG sensations she often feels - both inside and out. It gave our family a framework to create a plan to anticipate her sensory needs, with specific ways to help her feel safe and comfortable wherever she goes. -- Melissa “HR Mom” GriffinAs a psychologist who has worked with kids and families for decades and as the parent of a child with some distinct sensory needs this is a fantastic resource.This book is an excellent way to learn as parents, and help our children understand their bodies and feelings so that they can thrive. -- Dr, Laura S. Anderson, child and family therapist, Common Chord

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Book SynopsisWhile clearing through her mother's bedroom after her death, Emma comes across a thirty-year-old newspaper clipping that her mother had kept, announcing the arrival of a new baby boy. Realizing that the baby must be the son she gave up for adoption, Emma becomes transfixed by this link to her first-born. But she now has a husband and two teenage children, all of whom know nothing of her past...Vividly recalling the stigma of her schoolgirl pregnancy and the pain of her separation from the baby, this absorbing and illuminating story follows Emma's search, years later, for Oliver, her adopted son.Trade ReviewMany mothers who have lost a child to adoption will be able to identify with Emma's experience. This novel could be usefully recommended to adopted adults and birth relatives of historical adoptions who are seeking contact or post-reunion, as well as to counsellors, therapists, students and social workers new to work with adults affected by adoption. -- Perlita Harris Lecturer University of Bristol.This novel could be usefully recommended to adopted adults and birth relatives of historical adoptions who are seeking a reunion or post-reunion, as well as to social work students and social workers new to post-adoption work with adults affected by adoption. -- Adoption & Fostering JournalTable of ContentsPart 1: Family Life - The Present, Chapters 1-2. Part 2: Giving up Oliver - 1966, Chapters 3-12. Part 3: Facing the Truth and the Adoption Triangle - The Present, Chapters 13-28. Part 4: A Reunion and a Family Party, Chapters 29-30.

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Book SynopsisHow can we determine success in foster placements? Based on exhaustive research, the authors discuss the primary concerns in foster placement planning, considering the high frequency of placement breakdowns, their impact on the child's behaviour and school performance, and the challenges this places on foster families.The specific needs of the foster child are given close attention in determining a pathway to success. By monitoring and describing the individual characteristics of the child within the context of the placement, the authors are able to reveal what types of supports are most beneficial.The implications for this research are considerable. Social workers are given new methods of assessing the needs of foster children which emphasise the process of care and not just the outcome. Policy makers are provided with rich qualitative accounts with which to increase and strengthen the success of foster placements. This is essential reading for social workers, policy makers and foster families.Trade ReviewOnce more, the team at the University of York presents us with a rigorous study replete with elements contributing to debate and decision-making. -- Child and Family Social WorkOne hopes that this excellent series will be widely read. -- Adoption & FosteringTable of Contents1. Introduction. 2.The Sample: Characteristics and Reasons for Placement. 3. Placements and Destinations. 4. A Kind of Loving: The Children's Accounts. 5. Outcomes. 6. Explanations: Social Worker and Carer Accounts. 7. The Case Studies. 8. Spirals of Interaction. 9. Measuring Success. 10. Foster Children: Characteristics, Personalities and Problems. 11. Birth Families: Characteristics and Patterns of Contact. 12. Foster Families' Characteristics: Reactions to Child and Approach to Main Carer. 13. Social Work Support. 14. Other Forms of Supports. 15. Change and Containment. 16. Summary and Conclusion. Appendix 1: Are our Samples Representative? Appendix 2: Selection of Placements for Interview. References.

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Book SynopsisMost adopted children and their families will, sooner or later, encounter the challenges of dealing with unresolved attachment issues or early traumatic experiences.New Families, Old Scripts is an accessible introduction to understanding these challenges and helping children and their families to develop a shared language and understanding of one another. Steeped in the experience of the authors, the book offers a wealth of practical guidance and intervention in a no-nonsense style that will be readily understandable to both families and the professionals who work with them. Case examples bring the issues to life, while sample letters addressed to the parent offer sensitive, jargon-free advice on the issues they are likely to encounter - whether it be dealing with anger and aggression, understanding sibling issues or how to react to sexualised behaviour. The authors also explain some of the theoretical background to trauma to encourage a better understanding of the relationship between trauma, attachment and development.The accessible combination of theoretical approaches and practical advice makes New Families, Old Scripts an ideal resource for social workers and adoptive or foster parents.Family Futures Consortium provides services for parents and professionals working with adopted and fostered children, including training and consultation for statutory and voluntary agencies nationwide. In their therapeutic work with families, they have evolved a unique intensive, multi-disciplinary approach to supporting children with attachment and trauma-related difficulties.Trade ReviewAimed at adoptive parents and the professionals who support them, this handbook describes the lasting effects of early maltreatment, separations, and losses on children's development. Case studies illustrate some of the behavioural challenges commonly faced by parents who adopt older children. To facilitate quick reference, the volume is organized alphabetically by topic. Some of the issues addressed include aggressive behaviour, dissociative states, emotional outburst, sibling rivalry and sexualized behaviour. -- Schi Techi Book NewsThis book is designed for direct use with children and their adoptive parents, as well as a resource for working with wider family members, social workers and other professionals involved with adoptive children and families. The authors are both well known for their work in this field and bring credibility and knowledge to their writing.Practitioners in the after adoption field will find this book valuable in a number of ways, as will those working with adopters at any stage in the process, or indeed anyone coming new to this area of work. The authors convey a strong sense of what it feels like to parent a child who has been traumatised and had difficult and poor attachment experiences.I would encourage everyone to approach this as a helpful and thought provoking addition to their toolkit and to reflect on where it challenges and where it adds insight and practical tools. -- Adoption & FosteringThis is a book to help children manage their feelings, make sense of their behaviour and help them reconnect in new families with a calm , quiet, voice and gentle touch. It reminds all parents that with understanding commitment and support young people can find a way of understanding `all of themselves' and learn to integrate their relationships with the world. -- Lapidus QuarterlyTable of ContentsForeword by Alan Burnell, Family Futures. Introduction. Thumbnail sketches. Alphabet of Issues. 1. Accent on change. 2. Aggressive and angry behaviour. 3. Attention seeking/ needing. 4. Basic building blocks of the brain. 5. Bedtime and sleep. 6. Cracking the code. 7. Control issues. 8. Cradling for closeness and comfort. 9. Critical connections. 10. Dealing with danger. 11. Dissociative connections. 12. Dissociative states. 13. Eating and food issues. 14. Emotional outbursts. 15. F is for feelings. 16. F1 kids. 17. Games to encourage attachment. 18. Good child (am I being good enough?) 19. Impact on parents. 20. Looking after yourself. 21. Managing separations. 22. `NO'. 23. Nutrition. 24. Putting it all behind us. 25. Puzzling pain responses. 26. Reassurance or validation. 27. Rivalry between siblings. 28. Rudeness and swearing. 29. Self-regulation. 30. Sensory issues. 31. Sexualised behaviour. 32. Taking, borrowing or stealing. 33. Terrible shame. 34. Think toddler think (T3). 35. What not to do! 36. Your way forward - final reflections. 37. References. Resources and related reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisStories and storytelling help children to develop emotional literacy, make sense of their world and appreciate different points of view. Fox Eades shows how storytelling is a crucial element of children's education that can enrich the school curriculum and encourage social and thinking skills.The author discusses the different kinds of story that are useful in the classroom context, including traditional stories, fairy tales and sacred stories, and explores the impact of individual and group dynamics on the telling and reception of these stories. She also considers recognised therapeutic uses of storytelling. She provides a series of sample stories and gives practical tips on adapting these to suit different situations and meet different needs. She also advises on a range of techniques such as using props, allowing `reflection' time and prompting interaction. Sections on collective stories and the child as storyteller explain how children can be inspired to compose their own tales that offer opportunities to practise self-expression and negotiation.This practical and engaging book provides all the tools and techniques needed to use storytelling effectively, and will be an essential resource for primary school teachers and others working with children in educational contexts, social workers and parents.Trade ReviewClassroom Tales, by Jennifer M Fox Eades, is a practical, well-researched and scholarly work, engagingly written and providing a thorough background to the history of storytelling and its range of cultural, religious, geographical, social and therapeutic uses. Eades, a teacher and educational advisor with an MA in Psychoanalytic Observation, writes with clear psychological understanding and often from a personal perspective, casting light on some of the deep and complex levels on which storytelling can work. -- Lapidus QuarterlyThe book covers a multitude of topics from the importance of story telling, to how to tell stories, creating your own stories and encouraging children to tell their own. I enjoyed reading about Fox Eade's personal experiences of using storytelling in the classroom and have found plenty in this book to inspire me. -- Education OtherwiseStorytelling is an intrinsic part of the human make-up and the tradition of oral storytelling is probably as old as spoken language itself. In this book the author, Eades, makes the point that we all tell stories in our everyday lives. For children, the opportunity to listen to and to be apart of oral stories as well as stories in books is a vital part of their learning. Of particular interest are the sections on how powerful storytelling is as an outlet for emotions, especially anxiety, anger and fear. I think this book would be an invaluable resource in all early years settings. -- Early TalkJennifer Fox Eades effectively encourages practitioners in the art of storytelling and shows how valuable this is. Storytelling is very different although no less valuable than reading stories. It is enjoyable to all ages and abilities, it is creative and encourages active learning and is inclusive as stories work on many levels and children can take from it what they need. One of its biggest advantages is its flexibility - the only limit being your own imagination. This is a valuable resource for people working with children at many levels. I thoroughly recommend it. -- The National Child Minding AssociationThe book is a recommended buy for teaching/learning assistants/mentors, SENCO's and teachers in primary schools who are undertaking training in therapeutic play. -- Play for Life JournalThe first point to make about this guide to the delights of storytelling is that non-teachers should not be put off from reading it.As a parent with (only) two young boys to worry about - and not a classroom full of youngsters - I have no hesitation in recommending it to other mums and dads not in the teaching profession. -- www.adoption-net.co.ukStories are good for you. So says Jennifer Eades, whose own damascan revelation occurred while working with highly troubled teenager girls who sat entranced for hours listening to stories that they had missed out on as children. Not just listening, either: using the stories to unpick and understand their own problems. Just as Hindu medicine once used stories as a "cure", Eades uses them to help autistic children change their behaviour.Story telling is an "ancient human skill" and "has elements to it that are not present when a book is read aloud". How you tell a story will in part depend on how your listeners respond - it is a shared, living experience. Eades uses a rain stick, or lighting a candle, or donning a silk scarf, to signal a story is about to begin. A silent start and the pauses in a story build up enjoyment and anticipation and the tale "itself sinks into our hearts and minds".Teachers and children can and should learn storytelling. I once complained when a teacher would not let my son tell her about something exciting he had done at the weekend. She had to start their literacy hour. But Eades reminds us that children telling stories about themselves are an essential part of the lesson - "if you cannot give a coherent spoken account of what happened over the weekend, you will not be able to write one down either".As a teacher, when I tell a story it makes me feel a more direct connection with the children than any other activity. In an age when we complain that children are hard-wired to their computer game modules, let us not forget that a good tale well told will stay with them longer than the latest game.Like a good story, Classroom Tales is both simple and profound and should be made compulsory reading on all initial teacher training courses. Highly recommended. -- TES Extra for Special NeedsJennifer M Fox Eades' informative and easily readable book is a very welcome reminder that story telling and creating is not only pleasurable but will enrich children's learning and personal development. Through her varied work and research in Psychoanalytic Observation of Children and Families, Ms Fox Eades had achieved amazing results with children of all ages from challenging teenagers to the very young. -- Facts and FictionsTable of ContentsPreface. 1. The Importance of Stories and Storytelling. 2. How to Tell Stories. 3. Traditional Tales. 4. Creating Unique Stories. 5. Children as Storytellers. 6. Stories and Thinking Skills. 7. Stories and the Environment. 8. Sacred Stories. 9. Storytelling across the Curriculum. 10. Stories and Emotional Literacy. 11. Storytelling and Reflection. Appendix 1: Sources. Appendix 2: Useful Addresses. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisConventional parenting is not adequate to address the needs of children whose emotional development has been frozen, distorted or interrupted as a result of trauma. Therapeutic parenting is a psychodynamic model of parenting tailored for traumatized children, providing a safe, secure environment in which the traumatized child will have the best opportunity to recover.Living Alongside a Child's Recovery asserts that a good understanding of child development and attachment theory is essential to effective therapeutic parenting of a traumatized child, and the book details the roots of trauma as well as the impact this has on a child's ability to maintain normal family bonds, whether with birth parents, foster parents or with staff in a residential setting. It also explains the practicalities of carrying out effective therapeutic parenting, including how to design a therapeutic physical environment, the importance of routine and security, how to approach issues of hygiene and organizing mealtimes. The authors examine individual and group work settings, and also explore transitions; how to manage a child's move to a permanent placement while at the same time ensuring that their needs are prioritized.This book forms part of SACCS' integrated approach and is an ideal accompaniment to The Child's Own Story: Life Story Work with Traumatized Children by Richard Rose and Terry Philpot and Reaching the Vulnerable Child: Therapy With Traumatized Children by Janie Rymaszewska and Terry Philpot, both of which also feature in the Delivering Recovery series.Trade ReviewThis is a thoughtful and understanding insight into the needs of traumatised children. It should find its way onto the desks and into the mindset of many professionals... The book offers an adaptable model of care that can improve the resilience and wellbeing of young people traumatised through abuse... This is an important text with the potential to help develop or change practice and to influence how we plan and resource our efforts to help children recover. -- Children & Young People NowThis book is very practical. It describes in detail- and explains the rationale for - the SACCS approach. Pugh and Philpott discuss creating a therapeutic environment in the home, the process of bringing a child into placement, food, feeding and mealtimes. In addition, they consider the role of the key worker, how to meet a child's developmental needs and plan transition to a permanent placement. I feel inspired and moved by the work SACCS undertakes with some of the most fragile and damaged children in our society. I really hope that the methodology they employ is used to inform practice in training and in supporting foster carers and social workers. -- Counselling Children and Young PeopleAn easy read with profound food for though which is part of a series through SACCS a member of The Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities... A lively and informative look at therapeutic parenting which includes case studies and exercises to aid comprehension. -- Charterhouse Website ReviewI thought this book was so good I wanted more information about the organisation behind it (SACCS) and the book series "Delivering Recovery" of which this is the third book. -- Wren Sidhe, Foster CarerTable of ContentsForeword: Mary Walsh, Founder and Chief Executive of SACCS. A Note and Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. A Deep Wound: Abuse and its Effects on Traumatized Children. 2. Mind, Body and Soul: Attachment, the Brain, Trauma and Abuse. 3. Another Kind of Parent: What is Therapeutic Training? 4. The Adult's World: Consultancy and Supervision. 5. A Place for Us: Creating a Therapeutic Environment. 6. The New Arrival: The Process of Admission. 7. Food for Thought. 8. Someone to be There: The Role of the Key Carer 9. A Chance to Grow: Meeting a Child's Developmental Needs. 10. The Means to Recovery. 11. A New Beginning. Notes. References. The Story of SACCS. The Authors. Subject Index. Author Index.

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Book Synopsis* What are the consequences of fostering for children, their carers and their birth families?* What are the best ways of recruiting, retaining and supporting foster carers?* What are the most important elements of a successful placement?* Can foster care offer a permanent alternative to care at home?Fostering Now brings together authoritative research on foster care in the UK. It provides a succinct overview of a wide range of research projects and highlights the main implications for policymakers and all professionals involved in the fostering process.Drawing on the varied experiences and views of foster children, social workers, foster carers and parents, this book looks at how placement outcomes are influenced by factors such as foster carers' parenting styles, contact with the child's own parents, and the child's gender, ethnicity, age and physical and emotional health. Other important areas examined include care given by relatives, the effects of foster care on education, and what happens to foster children when they return home.Fostering Now identifies the most significant challenges currently faced by foster care and draws out the key messages for policy and practice. It offers important insights into the state of foster care today, and suggests how it can be improved in future. This book is essential reading for social workers, policy makers, academics and foster carers.Trade ReviewThe Department of Health can be justly pleased with the high quality of the research which it has commissioned and the reader can be assured that this book is built on solid foundations. There is, indeed, a substantial amount of the evidence upon which we are now exhorted to base practice. The book will be an excellent starting point for this, clarifying the particular issues with which the policy-makers, managers or practitioners may be grappling and referring them back to specific studies. -- Child and Fostering Social WorkThe book is well laid out. It helpfully begins with an overview of how fostering has changed in the last 20 years in the light of legislation and fostering... I would recommend it as an essential reading for all involved in fostering. -- Foster CareThis volume provides an overview of recent research on foster care in the UK. Drawing upon the varied experiences of foster children; social workers, foster carers, and parents, it identifies how placement outcomes are affected by factors such as foster carers' parenting styles and children's gender, ethnicity, age, and physical and emotional health. Other issues addressed include (for example) the recruitment and support of relative carers (such as grandparents) and the effects of foster care on education. -- Book NewsIan Sinclair has succeeded in producing a volume that deserves to be read and used by all those involved in the contemporary looked after system. The title implies that the focus is exclusively on foster care. Those working in other areas of family placement would also derive much benefit from reading this book. -- Research in Practice NewsletterTable of ContentsForeword. The Overview Process. 1. Introducing the Report. 2. Home or Away? Some Basic Issues. 3. Developing Roles for Foster Care? 4. What Should Foster Care Provide? 5. Placing Children in Foster Care. 6. Making Placements Work: The Children. 7. Making Placements Work: Foster Families. 8. Making Placements Work: Birth Family and Contact. 9. School and Education. 10. Recruitment and Retention. 11. Training, Professional Support and Organisations. 12. Conclusion. Appendix A: The Researchers' Summaries of their Projects. Appendix B: Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisChildren in public care complain that they have too many placements. Professionals agree but little is known about the reasons for this instability or how it affects different groups of children. The Pursuit of Permanence explores this core issue for children's services.Based on the largest study of the English care system in recent years, the book examines the children (what they need and what they want), their movements into, out of and within the care system, the nature and quality of their placements and the outcomes (whether the children are settled or happy). It analyses the reasons for movements and outcomes in different groups of children, and the relative impacts of the departments, social work teams and placements. It concludes with suggestions about how the care system should work, what it should offer and how it should be managed and inspected.This detailed, innovative and comprehensive study is essential reading for all professionals and academics involved with fostering, leaving care, adoption and children's services, as well as policy makers and students on social work courses.Trade ReviewThe primary value of the study is in its detailed insights into the workings of the care system, helping to move beyond the patchwork that is generated by official statistics, performance measurement and relatively small-scale research... This is a long awaited study and represents a very welcome and valuable addition to the child-care literature -definitely a recommended read. -- British Journal of Social WorkThis study provides a rich source of information for those in quest of permanent placements for children in care. -- Adoption & FosteringThis book is the result of a large in depth study of the English child care system, designed to provide reasoning for the movements of children throughout the care system. It looks at why some placements are more successful than others and how things differ between councils...a very comprehensive study, carried out by highly qualified individuals. -- Adoption TodayThe findings of this research are likely to have significant implications for policy decisions and funding in Emgland in the next few years. -- CAFCASSFor any professional involved in making or supporting decisions about children the book provides both evidence and inspiration to develop quality placements, decisions and staffing to ensure that care matters. -- Lawyers for ChildrenSome clients of Britain's foster care system complain they are moved from place to place so often they have difficulties bonding with their caregivers and establishing place relationships in the communities and schools in which they are sent. Others settle in their first foster homes and thrive. Are these differences the result of individual differences? How much influence do professional and their agencies have on whether a foster care placement is successful? This study, the largest of the English foster care in recent years, examines the reasons for movements, the nature and quality and quality of placements, and the role of social status or other individual characteristics of children and youth. -- Book NewsThe Book is a strong reminder that amid all the complexities of the care system, there is a very simple aim - helping children to feel secure and giving them a chance to develop the positive attachments that we all need as human beings. -- Children and Young People NowTable of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Who is Looked After? The Children's Characteristics. 3. Who is Looked After? The Children's Families, Wishes and Behaviour. 4. Groups of Children and Their Chance of Permanence. 5. Admissions and Discharges. 6. The Children and Their Different Paths in Care. 7. Going Home and Leaving Care: The Case Studies. 8. Placements: How They are Used. 9. Placements: How One Leads to Another. 10. Children Based in Care. 11. Children and Outcomes. 12. Placements and Outcomes. 13. Carers, Homes and Outcomes. 14. Teams and Outcomes. 15. Councils and Outcomes. 16. An Overview. Appendix 1. Representativeness of the Study Samples. Appendix 2. Analysis of National Data. Appendix 3. Monitoring and Quality Assurance. References. Subject index. Author index.

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Book SynopsisThis book is full of the techniques that we have used successfully over the years. Many we have adapted to suit their needs and many we have made up ourselves. What we have become particularly good at is not giving up!'A mother of two adopted children, Celia Foster wrote Big Steps for Little People as a personal `insider's guide' to parenting adopted children.Drawing on the hard-won wisdom gained in her own family life, the book offers a thoughtful account of life with adopted children and examines the issues that many adoptive families encounter, including the development of children with attachment problems and how to tackle behavioural difficulties. It combines real-life anecdotes with suggestions and strategies that other parents can put to use.This book will be a great comfort and help to all adoptive families and offers insights for the professionals who work with them.Trade ReviewAll those involved in the adoption of children, old hands and new, will be stimulated and encouraged by this infectious read. -- From the Foreword by David Howe, Dean of the School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, University of East AngliaThis work is a treasure for foster and adoptive parents and for the professionals who work to assist them. -- From the Foreword by Daniel A. Hughes, clinical psychologist, consultant, trainer and author, Pennsylvania, USAPersonally, I feel that it is ideal for prospective adopters or adopters with young children and would be a good point of reference and an insight for social workers... She writes in a way that as a fellow adopter I could really relate to. She writes with refesing honesty and just when you think that this woman is too good to be true with all these charts and tools and good ideas that her children respond to, she admits that it is an uphill struggle and she has despaired at times. She also points out that although children can appear to be all right it is still wise to address their past as difficulties may arise at a later date. It is little things like this that appealed to me. This book really does have all bases covered. After the first read it is the type of book that you can go back to dip in again and again. Overall I would say this it is a good, easy and interesting read that meets all its aims and objectives. -- Adoption TodayBig Steps for Little People is a practical book that addresses the issues of parenting adopted children...This book is especially useful where professionals are working with parents. It is an excellent tool for educational psychologists and Children's Care specialist colleagues running support groups for adoptive parents. -- Debate, Pamela Melville-Slade, Educational Psychologist, Devon Learning and Development PartnershipTable of Contents1. Being Taken into Care. 2. Settling In. 3. Some of the Realities of Settling In. 4. Early Steps, Chores and Tasks. 5. The Grieving Process. 6. Brain Development. 7. Family History. 8. Dealing with Emotions. 9. Different Types of Behaviour. 10. Control Issues. 11. Dealing with the effects of Difficult Behaviour. 12. Time Frame of Children's Development. 13. Big Steps Forward. 14. Back to the Story.

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Book SynopsisWhy was I abandoned?Why did my parents adopt me?What if I want to meet my biological parents?Children who find out they are adopted have many questions that are difficult for a parent to answer. This book explores children's thoughts and feelings and provides parents with guidance on how to respond to difficult questions.The author covers all the common questions that children ask and provides sensitive, candid answers in a way that children will be able to understand and relate to. Each chapter is devoted to a particular issue, such as why a child is adopted, who chose the child's first name and what happens when the child grows up. The book recognizes the emotions and reactions of everyone in the family and includes separate conclusions for parents and children.This handy guide offers useful advice for parents and will also be of interest to counsellors and other professionals working with children.Trade ReviewThis is a small, easy to read book...There are helpful chapters on how children might ask about looking different from their adoptive family or manage ambivalent feelings about their country of birth. -- Youth in MindThis little book is written in a very accessible format; dealing with a range of questions that might arise about adoption, these matters are dealt with gently and thoughtfully. -- Seen + HeardChapters are well constructed with an introductory section followed by excerpts from interviews with adopted children of various ages. The checklist for children and notes for parents in the final chapters are succinct and reassuring, as is advice to parents that they should bear in mind that asking fro help is not a sign of parental incompetence. -- RostrumTable of ContentsContents: Preface. 1. Why was I abandoned: could it happen again? 2. Why have my parents chosen me? 3. How did my parents adopt me? 4. We're a family now – just like other people! 5. Everyone says I'm different! 6. Where does my first name come from? 7. Who were my parents when I was born? 8. Where do I come from? 9. Sometimes it's hard to be adopted! 10. What about when I grow up? 11. Will I be able to adopt a child when I grow up? Appendix 1: A checklist for children. Appendix 2: A note for parents only. Appendix 3: Useful websites.

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Book SynopsisAdoptive, foster and stepmothers, like biological mothers, find their lives completely changed by motherhood although they are not always granted the rights and privileges accorded to those who give birth. Barbara Waterman explores the common experiences that are shared by all those who enter the motherhood portal. She highlights the importance of wider family, community and professional support for non-biological parents and primary care-givers of both genders, and their children. A stepmother herself and a practicing psychologist, Waterman's writing is illustrated throughout with vignettes of children and parents from a range of backgrounds. She shows the important ways in which a non-biological attachment is both more similar to and more different from a biological attachment than is currently understood. In doing this, Waterman broadens the notion of the `traditional' family, and offers a positive alternative to the myth of the perfect mother. All kinds of step-, adoptive and foster families and those coming into contact with them will find this thoroughly researched and personal book an indispensable guide.Trade ReviewA well-informed and passionate book, interspersing real life stories with research findings from social psychology, films and novels. The tone is intense and committed and likely to inspire and support many non-birth mothers and challenge some prejudices. -- Community CareIn this much anticipated book, Barbara Waterman artfully draws us into the world of the non-biological mother and her children. Readers will be impressed with the broad spectrum of psychoanalytic theory to feminist object relations. Whether we parent children, the pluralism of family and parenting situations is increasingly part of our patients worlds, and this book will help all of us gain greater understanding. -- Anna Sweetnam Ph.DTable of Contents1. When the Child is Delivered to You Rather than You Delivering the Child. 2. Cracked Wide Open. 3. Longing and Belonging. 4. Holding the Mirror; Holding Up the Ideal. 5. Love and Difference. 6. The Supporting Matrix. 7. Becoming a Mother. 8. Mothering as a Spiritual Commitment. 9. Conclusion. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisBreaking new ground in the areas of attachment and child development, Sue Jennings introduces the concept of 'Neuro-Dramatic-Play' exploring the sensory experiences that take place between mother and child during pregnancy and the first few months after birth. She explains how this interaction, that is essentially 'dramatic' in nature, is of crucial importance for the infant to develop a healthy brain, strong attachments and future resilience.Based on sound experience and observation, this book consolidates current theories of neuroscience, attachment and therapeutic intervention and challenges commonly held psychoanalytic ideas of child development. By expanding on the often narrow view of what is understood by attachment, this book makes a strong case for early years inclusion of play and arts therapies. Neuro-Dramatic-Play is also discussed in relation to fostering and adoption, teenagers and young adults, and children with developmental or cognitive disabilities.This accessible text will interest all therapists and practitioners who work with children and teenagers, including child psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, paediatric and perinatal nurses, paediatricians, child psychiatrists and play and arts therapists, and post-graduate students.Trade ReviewIn this thoroughly engaging book, Sue Jennings delights us once again with her often playful insights into the early years of a child's life...As always, when reading Sue Jennings' Work, I came away from the experience feeling enriched and rewarded, and I strongly recommend this book to anyone who works with children, no matter what their age. -- Children & SocietySue Jennings, in this important new book, breaks new ground in the attachment debate and shows us it is the sensory, playful interactions that naturally occur between mother and child during the first six months of life, that form this bond... Sue Jennings adopts a familiar style of relating to the reader - so that it feels almost that she is rolling up her sleeves and "getting down to it" in the many practical and sometimes surprising ways she describes of applying NDP.So this is a book for mothers, for mothers-to-be as well therapists, psychologists, carers and all the professions that become involved when this healthy bond is not formed. My hope is that this book becomes a core book in the teaching of attachment theory because it has much to contribute to current understanding. I hope its findings reach those government departments who are seeking to find solutions to problems that are the result of failure of individuals to form healthy attachments and that this leads to the funding of NDP projects and a greater trust in the arts therapies in providing effective solutions to these serious problems. -- DramatherapyThis is a must-have book for creative arts and play therapists and another fascinating book from this well-known author. It is especially powerful in providing insight into the importance of a mother's relationship with her unborn baby and their interactions during the first six months of life... The final chapter is essential reading for it is here that Jennings describes how NDP can help professionals in their choices and approach to therapeutic work with children... This chapter would make an excellent text for practitioners to discuss at a networking and support group. The appendix does, however, provide a guide to NDP games and activities suitable for all ages from pregnancy through to adulthood and including embodiment, projection and role (EPR) which sits alongside the NDP approach. An interesting book which combines theory, practical ideas and philosophical debate - I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it. -- Play for LifeJenning's book is easy to read and full of helpful references to other practitioners and ideas for different ways of applying her approach. It is a delightful bringing together of different approaches and captures, under the umbrella of Dramatherapy, attachment work that creatively emulates early mother and child interactions. A must read for anyone working with children who have had a rupture in their early attachment relationships and need help to develop a healthier secure attachment. -- Family futuresJennings provides a refreshing and informative approach to looking at the needs of the new born baby which is innovative and backed up with research. Her contribution in this area is particularly fascinating and insightful and it illustrates so well, the solid foundation of her concepts. -- British Association of Play Therapists MagazineThis is a highly accessible and refreshing text which would be a valuable resource for every therapist's toolkit; and is equally relevant to a wide range of professionals working with children and families. -- British Association of Play Therapists MagazineIn this book, Sue Jennings describes her groundbreaking theory of Neuro-Dramatic-Play. According to this theory, the foundation for a secure attachment is formed by a mother's playfulness with her baby during pregnancy and the first six months of life. Highly recommended! -- Charles E. Schaefer, Ph.D., RPT-S, Professor Emeritus, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, and Co-founder and Director of the Association for Play Therapy, Clovis, CA.This heartfelt book offers practitioners and parents exceptional guidance about how to engage a baby or child in vital dramatic play as soon as it makes its presence known. Its pages brim with fun activities, sound reflections on their rationale, and above all, with authoritative optimism. -- Dr. Alida GersieIn NDP, Sue Jennings explores the little understood process of the early shaping of the brain on the primitive, unconscious and nonverbal stage of mother-child interactions. On this journey, she brings to bear her considerable experience, solid intuition, and large heart. While most theoreticians tend to become too theoretical in the face of the unknown, Sue Jennings stays grounded in the body, intimate relationships, and moment-to-moment experience - a methodology sorely needed in the synthesis of neuroscience, human development and adult life. I recommend that you take this journey with Dr. Jennings. -- Louis Cozolino, Ph.D. is a professor of clinical psychology and the author of The Neuroscience of PsychotherapySue Jennings emphasises playfulness as a critical component in the early stages of developing attachment relationships and she highlights its contribution to neurological development. She provides a useful introduction to an important area; this book will entice and provide guidance to a range of practitioners, and parents, to engage in creative care of young infants and vulnerable others -- Eileen Prendiville, Director and Core Trainer of Children's Therapy Centre, IrelandAnother fascinating book by Dr Sue Jennings which gives an insight into the importance of a mother's relationship with her unborn child and their interactions during the first six months. NDP builds the foundation for healthy attachment play and compliments the EPR paradigm. Examples of NDP enable the reader to identify what usually comes naturally in the development of healthy attachments. The extensive list of activities, games and interactions suggested by Sue will be invaluable for my therapeutic work in the future. -- Sharon Morgan, Senior Social Work Practitioner and Play TherapistThis book provides a theoretical and practical guide to the role of Neuro-Dramatic Play (NDP) in the development of healthy attachment relationships... As an applied psychologist, one of the main attractions of the book is the extensive grounding in psychology of the NDP approach, drawing on the diverse areas of neuroscience, developmental psychology and play therapy... I found this an accessible and engaging text that would be valuable for a range of professionals, including educational psychologists, especially those with areas of interest/responsibility in early childhood development... Furthermore, new ways of understanding and working with young people with attachment difficulties are highlighted. The optimistic and pragmatic approaches highlighted make this an interesting and positive read. -- Dr Louise Hill, EP * Debate - British Psychological Society *Table of ContentsForeword by Dennis McCarthy. Introduction: Neuro-Dramatic -Play - Its Roots in Attachment and Play, Theatre and Ritual. 1. NDP - Definitions and Theories. 2. NDP and Attachment. 3. NDP - Play and Play Therapy. 4. NDP, Pregnancy and Birth. 5. NDP Childbirth and The First Six Months. 6. NDP and Resilience and Empathy. 7. NDP and Children with Attachment Needs. 8. NDP in Fostering and Adoption 9. NDP with Teenagers and Young Adults. 10. NDP and Children on the Autistic Spectrum. 11. NDP and Children with Learning Difficulties. 12. NDP for Practitioners. Appendix 1 - NDP - 6 Months Before and After Play. Appendix 2 - Embodiment-Projection-Role (0-7 years). Afterword by Mooli Lahad. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisAround three quarters of people who turn to adoption do so because of infertility and those working in this field need information, guidance and support to assist them in the process of adoption to support the adopters and to deal with any issues that may result from infertility.Adopting after Infertility is an accessible and informative interdisciplinary book that addresses the issues that professionals working with adopters and the adopters themselves face when going through the adoption process and the impact of infertility on their experiences. The book includes chapters on the effects of infertility, why people may choose adoption and the assessment and preparation process. It also covers what an Adoption Panel needs to know about the prospective parents, the experiences of those coming to adoption from minority communities or when living with health conditions and post-adoption support needs. Personal accounts by people who have experienced adopting after infertility are included throughout the book.This book will be essential reading for professionals and academics from a range of disciplines including social work, psychology, health, mental health and counselling. It will also be invaluable to students studying for post-qualifying awards.Trade ReviewI would recommend reading the book from start to finish as it is structured to follow the path taken by many adopter. This book does achieve its objective to provide those working in this field with information, guidance and support to assist them in the adoption process and to support adopter; it will be a useful reader to inform practice for professionals, academics and students. -- Seen and HeardADOPTING AFTER INFERTILITY is a highly sympathetic read and in my view one of the best books to cover this complex and soul searching subject for prospective adoptive parents and professionals alike... It is a gentle and empowering book that offers hope and direction whilst cutting through any hypocrisy or platitudes that may smother anyone dealing with infertility... In my view, it is perfect for anyone undecided whether adoption is the journey they wish to pursue, the prospective adoptive parent who has so much to consider, or professionals wishing to gain insight into this area for assessment and understanding of others. -- Adoption TodayThis book is a very helpful guide for assessing social workers and for post-adoption workers on the topic of infertility... This useful book, which includes first hand accounts and has a cross-cultural perspective, should be seen as core reading, particularly for those who are new to the field. -- Family FuturesThis book is a must-read for those with an academic, professional and personal interest in the topic of adoption and assisted reproduction. It provides an accessible, insightful - and at time emotive account - of what it means to be infertile, how the adoption process works, and what it is like to be an adoptive parent. -- BioNewsThe premise of this interesting and much needed text is to understand and begin to fill the gap, identified by the editors, in the research into the "influence of fertility experiences on adoptive family life"...This book is well thought out, well written and up to date, pertinent and accessible. Every Assisted Reproductive Unit should have a copy, and every independent counsellor should read it. -- BICA JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction. Marilyn Crawshaw, University of York, UK and Rachel Balen, University of Huddersfield, UK. 1. The impact of infertility and treatment on individuals and couples. Lone Schmidt, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 2. When treatment ends; the experiences of women and couples. Gayle Letherby, University of Plymouth, UK. 3. The shift from medical treatment to adoption: Exploring family building options. Petra Thorn, Practice for Couple and Family Therapy, Germany. 4. Where infertility arises from a prior health condition - fit to adopt? Marilyn Crawshaw and Rachel Balen. 5. Assessing infertile couples for adoption - Just what does 'coming to terms with infertility' mean? Marilyn Crawshaw. 6. Adoption and infertility: The role of the Adoption Panel. Jenny Gwilt, independent adoption consultant, UK. 7. 'For him, it's got to be your own son': Adoption and infertility in British South Asian communities. Lorraine Culley and Nicky Hudson, De Montfort University, UK. 8. 'A sense of belonging': The experience of a Black adopter. Sally Baffour, ThankU Charity, UK. 9. Infertility and intercountry adoption. Gill Haworth, Intercountry Adoption Centre, UK, Peter Selman, Newcastle University, UK and Jan Way, Intercountry Adoption Centre, UK. 10. A child at last: Adoption after infertility. Anthea Hendry, Art Psychotherapist, UK and Penny Netherwood, Leeds Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, UK. 11. Nature and nurture: What do theory and research tell us? Olga van den Akker, Middlesex University, UK. 12. Infertility and adoption: The search for birth parents and the impact on adult family relationships. Julia Feast, British Association for Adoption and Fostering, UK. Final Thoughts. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book guides childcare professionals through attachment theory and provides techniques for caring for children with attachment difficulties. It explains what attachment is, what different patterns of attachment look like in children and young people, how early attachment experiences affect their lives, and how this understanding can help childcare workers to develop therapeutic ways of caring. By understanding these issues, childcare workers are better equipped to help and support the troubled children they care for. This book shows how to promote recovery through secure base experiences in a therapeutic environment and provides solutions and methods to tackle challenging and problem behaviour, anger and the effects of trauma in children with attachment problems. This essential book will be invaluable to professionals such as residential carers, social workers and foster carers who work in a therapeutic environment with vulnerable and troubled children and young people.Trade ReviewThis book explores the impact of attachment difficulties on the behaviour of young people and offers a therapeutic framework and approach to care that attempts to address this behaviour. It offers a valuable resource to practitioners who work directly with young people, providing them with a strategy and practical tools to manage difficult behaviour in a way that supports young people and ensures their recovery -- Practice: Social Work in Actionthis is an excellent easy-to-read resource which can help practitioners in their work... I would thoroughly recommend Chapter 1 for those interested not just in patterns of attachment but also the implications of attachment in families where domestic violence is a feature... this book adds so many extra dimensions to the understanding of attachment and adds such extra value to the understanding of problematic attachment behaviours ad their management that it would be a shame not to have it on your bookshelf. -- Professional Social Work...this is overall an excellent, practical resource for those caring for children with attachment difficulties, and for the professionals supporting them. -- Journal of Mental Health`An excellent book that is well written, comprehensive and easy to read. It is full of practical advice and things to make readers think about attachment difficulties in teenagers...The book makes special reference to carers working in children's homes and would make an excellent text for care home workers. However, the book is not just for those who work in children's homes, as it contains some excellent practical strategies for parents and carers as well. There are also chapters on working with anger, working with conflict and working with challenging behaviour. Highly recommended.` -- Youth in Mind`This book is divided into eight easy to read, well-structure chapters each prefaced by a list of learning outcomes...Author Chris Taylor uses his own experience to provide an attachment-based model for making residential care a supportive environment for children recovering from the emotional damage done by dysfunctional families and the care system...This is a balanced and quietly persuasive text, with an admirable determination to ensure troubled children receive the highly skilled care they need...I doubt whether we are even close to having the systems, models and career structures to make a residential care revival viable, but this book may prompt us to think again.` -- Children and Young People Now, Jeffrey Coleman, southern England director, British Association for Adoption and FosteringThe concise learning outcomes for each chapter make this book an ideal resource for professional development in the caring field. It may be tempting for people to go straight to the final chapters on dealing with behaviours, and it invaluable as a practical handbook; but it is well worth reading from all the way through as it will deepen the reader's understanding and empathy for children and young people with attachment difficulties. -- Foster Care MagazineA Practical Guide to Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties is an important bridge between attachment theory and research and providing appropriate care for children who are most in need. Most importantly, it reminds us that in order for these children and young people to successfully recover from their relational traumas, those providing their care must keep in mind the key concepts of attachment security. The author successfully utilizes cognitive and behavioural interventions in the context of attachment, maximizing their effectiveness and demonstrating how best to care for these children and young people. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D., Psychologist and author of Building the Bonds of Attachment, 2nd ed., Attachment-Focused Family Therapy, and Attachment-Focused Parenting.This book provides a wealth of information and practical ideas for parenting young people who have experienced early trauma and disrupted attachments. Parents and carers are given a whole approach to parenting as well as specific ideas for specific problems, and special reference is made to the often neglected issue of how to parent children living within children’s homes. This book is a treasure trove of theory and practical ideas for foster carers, residential care workers and for the professionals who are supporting them. -- Kim S. Golding, MSc Clinical Psychology, DClinPsy, Clinical Psychologist with the Integrated Service for Looked After and Adopted Children (ISL), Worcester, UK.This volume is designed to provide carers with detailed guidance to help them to understand attachment theory... Taylor offers a practical and accessible approach, bringing a wealth of experience to the task of helping carers to enable children with attachment disorders to achieve more positive, healthy and secure relationshipswith others. Social workers, guardians, psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists will also benefit from Taylor's creativity and clarity... This book is well constructed and successfully achieves its aim of being a very useful and practical tool for carers. Each chapter sets out learning outcomes, enabling carers and professionals to employ this text both as a readily accessible reference and a source of further ideas for care planning. A Practical Guide for Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties fills a gap, offering guidance to carers and a more focal understanding of relevant issues for professionals involved in care and family work. We suspect that thisbook will acquire a well-worn look on the book shelf or desk of many individuals who are regularly asked to provide advice and support to carers working with vulnerable and traumatised children. -- Child Abuse ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction.1. Patterns of Attachment. 2. The Planned Environment – an organizational representation of a secure base. 3. Ways of Caregiving – working within the frame. 4. Working for Recovery – relational representation of the secure base. 5. Working with Conflict. 6. Working with Anger. 7. Managing Challenging Behaviour. 8. Changing Problem Behaviour. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisA Practical Guide to Fostering Law is an accessible, jargon-free guide to the key elements of the law that concern foster carers and the professionals who work with them.It aims to help foster carers understand where they fit into the complex web of regulations surrounding childcare and to demystify the jargon and terminology which is often used but rarely explained. The book covers the laws in England and Wales governing fostering agencies and foster carers themselves, including foster carers' rights, and the formalities of placement procedures. It also provides explanations of care proceedings, the foster carer as a witness, what happens if a young fostered person gets into trouble, and moving on from foster care. The last section provides a 'who's who' of the main professionals involved and a jargon-busting glossary of the key terms often used. It also includes illustrative case examples and each chapter concludes with suggestions for where to find more information.This guide will be an invaluable resource for current and prospective foster carers and the professionals who work with them, such as support workers, social workers and foster agency staff.Trade ReviewThe key role that foster carers play in shaping children’s lives and futures is now being recognised. However, the demands and expectations placed upon them have increased significantly over recent years, as they work in ever more complex situations. Carers’ need for a good understanding of the legal and policy context has never been greater, and so a book which provides such a clear and comprehensive guide to the law is very timely. I know that many foster carers will welcome this useful tool, and others will enjoy the case studies and the links with daily life in fostering households. -- Andrea Warman, Deputy Chief Executive /Programmes Director, The Who Cares? Trust.A very readable, practical and clear guide to the minefield of regulations relating to fostering which I recommend as reading for all involved in fostering. This book is particularly useful for foster carers who need to understand the complex nature of the law in a straightforward way using case examples. -- Jim Bond, Foster Carer and Chair, The Fostering NetworkAn extremely useful resource for foster parents and those who work with them. All of the foster parents I work with felt that this would be an invaluable resource for them in their work -- Steve Bromage, Team Leader, By the Bridge Independent Fostering AgencyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Preface. Introduction. Part 1. Agencies and Carers. 1. Foster Care and Fostering Agencies. 2. Becoming a Foster Carer. 3. Placements. 4. Foster Carers' Rights, Allegations and Ending Fostering. Part 2. Looked After Children. 5. Basics of Child Care Law. 6. Looked After Children. 7. Care Proceedings. 8. The Foster Carer as Witness. 9. Duties Towards Looked After Children. 10. Contact. Part 3. Young People in Trouble – Fostered Children and the Criminal Law. 11. The Criminal System - Some Legal Basics. 12. The Criminal Process. 13. Reprimands, Warnings and Court. 14. Sentencing. 15. Anti-social Behaviour. Part 4. Young Victims and Witnesses. 16. Evidence and Compensation. Part 5. Long-term Plans. 17. Long-term Placements. 18. Moving to Independence. Part 6. Jargon Buster. Where Can I Find Out More? Index.

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Book SynopsisAll children need love, but for troubled children, a loving home is not always enough. Children who have experienced trauma need to be parented in a special way that helps them feel safe and secure, builds attachments and allows them to heal.Playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE) are four valuable elements of parenting that, combined with love, can help children to feel confident and secure. This book shows why these elements are so important to a child's development, and demonstrates to parents and carers how they can incorporate them into their day-to-day parenting. Real life examples and typical dialogues between parents and children illustrate how this can be done in everyday life, and simple stories highlight the ideas behind each element of PACE.This positive book will help parents and carers understand how parenting with love and PACE is invaluable to a child's development, and will guide them through using this parenting attitude to help their child feel happy, confident and secure.Trade ReviewThe conversational tone between the authors, Kim and Dan, softens the book and makes it very readable... whether you're a parent trying to use this approach, or a therapist looking to increase their clinical skills, reading this book will lead to a better understanding of PACE. -- Youth in MindCreating Loving Attachments is a great guide for parents struggling to address attachment with their children and for families who may be raising foster or adopted children. Almost like looking in a mirror, readers may be able to find elements in their parenting that are on track and others that might need to be tweaked to encourage healthy attachment. This book may work well for families already in therapy with their children so they can get a great understanding of the relationship and attachment building that needs to take place. Easy-to-read, Creating Loving Attachments is a great book for families looking to enhance relationships with their children. -- Adoption TodayThis is a book that permeates with love and compassion for traumatised children. Many Cafcass staff will be familiar with Dan Hughes' work, and Golding has developed this following her experience of his training and integrated it into her own career, which includes developing services for looked after children in Worcestershire. -- CAFCASSCreative Loving Attachments" is a great guide for parents struggling to address attachment with their children and for families who may be raising foster or adopted children. Almost like looking in a mirror, readers may be able to find elements in their parenting that are on track and others that might need to be tweaked to encourage healthy attachment. This book may work well for families already in therapy with their children so they can get a great understanding of the relationship and attachment building that needs to take place. Easy-to-read, "Creating Loving Attachments" is a great book for families looking to enhance relationships with their children. -- Adoption TodayWritten in a deceptively simple and readable way, this book conveys some of the deep truths of close human relationships: above all, the importance of accepting and validating emotions as they are. The examples of parent-child dialogue bring the theory alive and will help many parents to practice parenting in a more effective and mindful way. -- Sue Gerhardt, psychoanalytic psychotherapist and author of Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's BrainKim Golding and Daniel Hughes have written a jewel of a book. One stellar quality of the writing is the way in which the authors give voice to parents throughout, and also highlight the significance not only of conversations but also attitudes, wording and body postures. In doing so, they carefully show progression into more sensitive, attuned parenting. The authors are compassionate as they address parent's shame and their fears for their children, and they build models that help parents and children achieve resonance, hope, and sharing of their inner worlds. The insight gained by parents and professionals will be invaluable as they read the book. I felt a renewal in my own professional and personal life as I read. Thank you, Dr. Golding and Dr. Hughes for this excellent offering. -- Deborah D. Gray, MSW, MPA, Founder, Nurturing Attachments, and author of Attaching in Adoption and Nurturing AdoptionsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Preface. Introduction. 1. Love: The Essential Ingredient. Story: A Mummy Finds Out How to Look After Her Baby. Section 1. Play. 2. The World of Play. 3. Playful Parenting. Story: The Naïve Buccaneer. Section 2. Acceptance. 4. Acceptance of the Inner World of the Other. 5. Parenting with Unconditional Acceptance. Story: Stripes and the Herd of Wild Horses. Section 3. Curiosity. 6. Curiosity: Finding a Different Perspective. 7. Staying Curious Within Parenting. Story: The Boy with All the Knowledge of the World in His Head. Section 4. Empathy. 8. Empathy: Connecting in the Emotional World. 9. Joining your Child with Empathy. Story: The Farmer and the Queen. 10. Brining it all Together and an Additional Ingredient. References. Glossary. Index.

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Book SynopsisFinally, a parenting book which demystifies the latest thinking on neurobiology, physiology and trauma and explains what the research means for the everyday life of parents of children who hurt.As experts on adoption and fostering who are adoptive parents themselves, Caroline Archer and Christine Gordon explain how this knowledge can help parents to better understand and care for their child. They explain why conventional parenting techniques are often not helpful for the child who has experienced early trauma and explore why therapeutic reparenting is the only way to help repair the unhealthy neurobiological and behavioural patterns which affect the child's development. They do not shy away from how difficult reparenting is, acknowledging how hard it can be to recognise our own fallibility as parents and to change our own parenting patterns. The authors also offer hard-won advice on a range of common parenting flashpoints - from defusing arguments and aggression to negotiating bedtimes and breaks in routine, and making sure that special occasions are remembered for all the right reasons.Reparenting the Child Who Hurts is a humane, no-nonsense survival guide for any parent caring for a child with developmental trauma or attachment difficulties, and will also provide information and insights for social workers, teachers, counsellors and other professionals involved in supporting adoptive and foster families.Trade ReviewThis book provides a useful resource full of relevant information for current adoptive parents and those who may be considering offering a home to a troubled child. -- Young Minds MagazineThis book is full of enthusiasm, written by people passionate and knowledgeable about their subject. The content is excellent, and it is a thoughtful book full of wise and useful advice. -- Youth in MindCaroline Archer and Christine Gordon have clearly researched the most recent literature in neuroscience, trauma, human development, and developmental parenting. [The book features] theoretically sound and well researched information presented in a manner that will be palatable to frustrated and challenged parents.It also provides explicit details of how parents may respond to difficult situations--complete with examples of verbal responses that may be helpful in ameliorating extremely intense situations. -- Extracted from a foreword by Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder/Director of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio; co-author of Adopting the Hurt Child, Parenting the Hurt Child, and author of Parenting Adopted Adolescents.This exciting new book by the authors of "New Families, Old Scripts" starts from the latest findings on brain development from the field of neuroscience and how this information is central to understanding the principles of "developmentally reparenting" children who have experienced a traumatic start in their early life.The book is both informative, presenting scientific information in an accessible format and instructive, giving countless practical examples and scenarios which can be used by parents and professionals alike.The principles of "developmental reparenting" are spelt out throughout each chapter of the book. Adoptive parents and foster carers are encouraged to look at their own attachment history to make sense of their relationship with their children.Readers are encouraged to "practice" changing their mindset to PARCEL (being playful, accepting, responsive, curious, empathetic and loving) when parenting traumatised children.This book is a great resource for both parents who are parenting vulnerable traumatised children and those professionals who are supporting them. -- Fiona Lettice, adoptive parentThe authors, Caroline Archer and Christine Gordon, are both adoptive parents. The also have years of experience working professionally in adoption services and therapeutic teams... The book is primarily aimed at adoptive parents but would equally be of use to anyone who works with children who have experiences difficult and disrupted early stats to life, such as social workers, teachers and psychologists... The insights provided, which are linked to research, are offered in a way that are positive and reassuring for adoptive families... The appendices and resource section are a veritable gold mine of information... including contact details for organisations that can offer support, practical strategies, hand-outs and a glossary... The text give a comprehensive and insightful view into many of the unique aspect of parenting a child that has experienced trauma and is then place for permanence with an initially unfamiliar family. -- Laura Dunstan, EP * Debate - British Psychological Society *Table of ContentsPart 1. Stepping Forward: Understanding the Foundations. 1. Knitting Your Kid! Patterns of Knitting and Nurturing. 2. Fitting the Pieces Together. Part 2. What Can We Do? 3. Key Concepts. 4. Information: The Need to Know. 5. Laying the Foundations: Co-regulation for Self-regulation. 6. Rocking and Rolling. 7. Seeing Eye to Eye. 8. Object Permanence and Constancy. 9. Talking, Telling, Timing. 10. Loose Connections. 11. The Child Within the Child. 12. Taking, Borrowing and Difficulties with the Truth. 13. Making Changes, Managing Changes. 14. Special Occasions. 15. Holidays. 16. Siblings. 17. Taking Care of Ourselves. 18. Getting Help. Appendices. Glossary. Index.

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Book SynopsisParenting a child who doesn't know how to be parented is the most difficult job in the world.'Why Can't My Child Behave? provides friendly expert advice on how to respond to difficult behaviours and emotions for parents of children with developmental trauma. Each chapter focusses on the common difficulties faced by carers or parents and features quick, applicable ideas with exercises and illustrations. How do you react to a child's difficult behaviour? How do you deal with your own negative emotions? How do you know when to be empathic? The book looks beyond the traditional punishment/reward strategies and aims to provide an explanation for such questions whilst helping the child in the process.This book will prove to be an invaluable resource for parents, foster carers, social workers and professionals working with children who are adopted or fostered.Trade ReviewAmber Elliott has ... provided us with an approach to parenting children which is likely to benefit all children whether secure or insecure. It is time our ideas about parenting our children were based as much on connecting emotionally with them as managing the behaviours that are so often an expression of this emotional experience. This book will move us in this direction. -- From the Foreword by Kim S. Golding, Clinical Psychologist, UKWhy Can't My Child Behave? by Dr Amber Elliot is an insightful resource designed to empower foster and adoptive families to help children become successful. Behavioral issues are omnipresent among foster children who enter care. Dr Elliot presents effective strategies on how to develop empathy for children struggling to fit into a world that can appear very confusing. The book will help reduce stress and is a must buy! -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, Psychologist, National Expert in Foster Care/Adoption and Trauma, USAIn her book, Dr Amber Elliott... challenges the usual behavioural approach to parenting strategies that uses reward and punishment techniques. Instead... she has taken the typical types of behaviour often experience by carers and has pulled together a simple series of tools, actions and statements that can help a carer start to respond more effectively to the child.... This book is well set out, simply written and focuses on the carer as the primary agent of change... Dr Elliott has created an accessible resource that supports adoptive and foster parents to develop empathic parenting strategies that work for their child and for their whole family. -- Sally Melbourne, executive director, Core Assets, the children's services group * Children & Young People Now *This book would be very useful for parents who care for a child who has experienced traumatic experiences. -- Youth in MindTable of ContentsForeword by Kim S. Golding. 1. I've Tried Everything! Why Isn't It Working? 2. The Importance Of Carers' Emotions. 3. Attention-Seeking Vs. Attachment-Seeking . 4. The Red Mist. 5. The Girl in a Bubble. 6. The High Energy Child. 7. Wrestling For Control. 8. Lying. 9. Sexualised Behaviour. 10. Difficult Sibling Relationships. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisLife story work is one of the key therapeutic approaches to working with adopted or fostered children. While it sounds simple, there is much more to this work than producing photo albums or memory boxes for children.This accessible book is full of tried and tested activities and creative ideas for professionals, parents and carers who may have little time and few resources, but who need to carry out life story work that works for children. The authors describe the optimum conditions in which to carry out life story work and feature activities to accompany each of the necessary stages: creating a sense of safety, emotional literacy, building resilience, exploring identity, sharing information and looking to the future. This book will be a vital tool for social workers, foster carers, adopters, students and any frontline practitioners involved in working with traumatised children.Trade ReviewThis book is an excellent, practical, way of getting started on the complex but vital task of providing life story work for looked after children...They provide activities that can be used withchildren to help them come to an understanding of why they are in care... Perhaps most valuable is that the authors set life story work in a context, with chapters devoted to helping the child build a sense of safety, emotional literacy, resilience and identity as an integral part of sharing the information about their life with them... This is an excellent book and the exercises described have uses in working with and caring for children beyond the life story work field. -- Foster Care MagazineThe authors have thoughtfully sifted and collated the numerous different activities and methodology that have worked well in practice as a way of encouraging practitioners, foster carers and adoptive parents to begin doing life story work with children. In so doing, they allow those three groups in a child's life - practitioners, foster carers and adoptive parents - to do direct work with children and give them an opportunity to explore their own creative and communication skills. -- Young Minds MagazineThe book is easily readable, written in a heartfelt way by people who a) clearly care deeply about the subject matter and b) have real and robust experience in carrying out Life Story Work themselves... This book is split into bite-size chunks that give real and concrete activities split into what the facilitator will need, how to complete the activity and 'handy hints' about how to develop or shape the work to fit with the developmental stage of the child... It was really useful to have read this book and would recommend it as a useful addition to material for those working in this vital area. -- Clinical Nurse SpecialistIt is an ideal resource for those who undertake direct work with children and provides very imaginative and useful practical exercises to carry out with children in the course of doing life story work with them. The book has a very clear structure...is well referenced and evidence-based and shows comprehensively why life story work is so important to children in care... the exercises... equally applicable to other forms of direct work with children, such as for children's guardians, children's social workers and residential social workers... This book brings together a variety of very stimulating and creative ideas... for those who like to work imaginatively therapeutically and creatively with children. -- Julia Isikwe Hughes, independent social worker and integrative psychotherapist * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Building the Foundations for Life Story Work. 2. Building a Sense of Safety for the Child. 3. Emotional Literacy. 4. Building Resilience and Self-esteem. 5. Identity. 6. Information Sharing and Integration. 7. Looking to the Future. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisA Guide to Therapeutic Child Care provides an easy to read explanation of the secrets that lie behind good quality therapeutic child care.It describes relevant theories, the 'invisible' psychological challenges that children will often struggle with and how to develop a nurturing relationship and build trust. Combining advice with practical strategies, the book also provides specific guidance on how to create safe spaces (both physical and relational) and how to aid the development of key social or emotional skills for children which may be lacking as a result of early trauma. Written with input from foster carers, the book is an ideal guide for residential child care workers, foster carers, kinship carers, social workers and new adoptive parents.Trade ReviewThis is a little gem. Honest and engaging, optimistic and realistic, respectful and challenging this accessible and invaluable book thoughtfully explores the everyday experiences and practices that arise in caring for children with traumatic and distressing histories. Adopters, foster carers and practitioners will find the experience of reading it simultaneously intellectually informative and emotionally nurturing. -- Gillian Ruch, Professor of Social Work, University of SussexThis is a really good guide, easy to read and great for dipping in and out of. I particularly liked the 'Pause for Reflection' ideas that help the reader think of examples that they have. Some really good examples of how all children behave at times but particularly children in foster care. I think foster carers will find it a useful tool. -- Kevin Williams, CEO The Fostering NetworkThis book is filled with a wisdom, compassion and warmth that will inspire carers in their relationships with troubled children. It is a treasure trove of insights about how to understand and respond positively to what lies behind challenging behaviour. The authors draw from a deep well of know-how and experience. They write accessibly - and in a way that rings true on every page. Here is a book that genuinely will help carers to change children's lives. -- Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College DublinThis book provides an excellent resource for introducing foster and residential carers to therapeutic child care. It is thorough and covers all of the central subjects involved in looking after children in 'out of home' care. It would make a very useful tool for supervision and training, where the material could be used as a focus for reflective discussions. Encouraging a reflective approach is the strength of the book. Pause and reflect is a theme throughout, with sections in each chapter focusing on feelings that might arise in the work and practical suggestions on what might be helpful. The authors argue that home and everyday care are the most important things in the child's healing. They have provided carers and those who support them with a great resource in achieving that worthy goal. -- Patrick Tomlinson, Professional and Organization Development SpecialistThe greatest compliment I could give to a book is "Damn, I wish I had written this book myself" and with regard to this book, I would like to say "Damn, I wish I had written this book myself". This book is brilliant, in both the UK and North American sense. It makes the complex clear - it makes theory practical and accessible. It speaks directly to those who work with traumatized young people while, at the same time, it speaks to the world of the practitioner. It focuses not only on the world of the traumatized child but also on the experience of everyone who is a part of the context of the encounter between child and carer. This book is an exceptional resource for students, teams and individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of young people living with trauma experiences. It is full of helpful examples, the 'practice examples' bring the knowledge home to the everyday experiences of carers. It emphasizes the importance of both parties to the healing relationship. It is a wonderful resource for those who work with, teach about, or study the effect of trauma on youth. It is written in clear and accessible language. It is, simply, brilliant and I wish I had written this book. -- Dr. Thom Garfat, Instructor, School of Child and Youth Care, Ryerson UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. The Developing Person. 3. Tuning In and Attunement. 4. Healing and Containing: Relationships as a Source of Recovery. 5. Rhythms, Routines and Rituals. 6. Memory Keepers: The Role of Carers in Keeping Hold of the Child's Story. 7. Food and Its Everyday Use. 8. Touch. 9. Communicating. 10. Working With Pain-Based Behaviour. 11. Bridge to the World. 12. Conclusion. References.

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