Adoption and fostering: advice, topics and issues Books

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 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 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 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 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 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 SynopsisPositive and practical, this guide is designed to offer a route to recovery from grief and loss after adoption or long-term foster care.Children growing up in adoptive families or foster care often have complicated feelings about the loss of their birth parents - feelings which become all the more complex as they gain independence and become young adults, and which can endure throughout their lives. Common life events such as entering new relationships, building a family or losing a loved one can give rise to difficult questions about their own childhood and identity. In this book, Renée Wolfs provides an accessible explanation of the feelings of loss and grief commonly experienced by adults who grew up in adoptive families or foster care, and how debilitating they can be. She provides grounded advice and strategies to aid recovery and provides the reader with a useful tool: The Circle of Connecting. The Circle provides strategies for healing from loss, spanning all seven elements of your life: your body, mind, heart, environment, past, present and future. This book is essential reading for older teens and adults who need help in addressing feelings of grief and loss, as well as those who support them including adoptive and foster parents, social workers, counsellors and therapists.Trade ReviewAlthough every adoptee and former foster child has his or her own story, I am convinced that each of them will recognise him- or herself in the many stories which have been recorded in this book with such respect and empathy, and that everyone can put this book to good use in his or her own way. Let yourself be inspired and moved by this lovely and intense book. It deals with the pain of loss but with restoring connections, too. It's about coming home, really. -- From the foreword by Marlene van Steensel, Founder of and trainer at Be4you2.nl and former foster childOften when I am working with children and young people who are fostered or adopted around their life stories and processing their multiple experiences of loss I find they are not yet able to complete the journey towards integration. I have often wondered where these children will access support in adulthood to complete this process, agreeing as I do with Wolfs that the memory of these children's losses will be remembered in their bodies into adulthood, imprinted on their senses. I love that Wolfs locates the body at the centre of her seven element 'Circle of Connecting' developed specifically for adoptees and foster children to support coping with loss. In her book I hope motivated adult adoptees and foster children will discover a flexible framework to apply to their core losses, in which 7 elements are central: the body, mind, heart, environment, past, present and future. The reader is in control of the elements he wants to connect with in that moment in order to connect with himself and the past and develop new perspectives, feelings and thoughts about events past, the present and future. This is supported by case examples, practical suggestions and tools and an easy to read theoretical perspective on loss. -- Katie Wrench, Team Manager at the Therapeutic Social Work Team, Art Psychotherapist, Foster Carer and Co-Author of Life Story Work with Children Who are Fostered or AdoptedRenée Wolfs has delivered a fundamentally important book for adopted adults and people who were in foster care. Those who were transracially or transnationally adopted, those who were adopted from, or remained in, the care system after a traumatic start in life, adopters, foster carers and birth relatives can all gain some insight into the emotional turbulence created by such losses and changes. Because of the many personal examples given by adopted adults and fostered people throughout the book, we can see that we are clearly not alone, even if we feel that we often are. Wolfs offers a neat and containing method to manage this myriad of emotions so that we can learn to accept and live with the losses and changes that visit us all during our lives. -- Jean Milsted, Registered Intermediary, Adoption Services for Adults, England...this book will be very therapeutic for many adults who were adopted and for those who grew up in long term foster care. I say this based on my professional experience of reviewing childhood records with adults who return, sometimes years later, to discover or rediscover their childhood. -- Children AustraliaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments, Introduction, 1. Coping with loss, 2. Mourning the core loss, 3. The circle of Connecting, 4. Contact with your birth family, Bibliography, Additional reading, Appendix

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Book SynopsisHow can adoptive parents and their teenagers navigate the challenges of the adolescent years?Full of valuable, grounded advice, this guide will help parents to understand the impact of early trauma on a child's development and the specific nature of the changes that occur during adolescence. With tips for coping with common problems, it combines first-hand accounts from professionals, parents and teenagers themselves. It also covers essential topics such as: family and peer relationships, developing healthy intimate relationships, emerging identity issues, and contacting birth family. Accessible and honest, Parenting Adopted Teenagers is an invaluable resource for adoptive parents as well as professionals working with them.Trade ReviewMy initial reaction to this book has been gratitude for putting together all of the issues that have been a concern to me for the past 5 or 6 years. My daughter has just completed her first year at university and I have to recognise the fact that this has been helped by the support that I have been able to give her. However, I do not doubt that this support would not have been possible unless I in turn had been supported. Rachel has brilliantly outlined what it is to be a therapeutic parent and what it means to be an adopted teenager. I would urge any interested parties to read this book. I will certainly keep this as my constant source of support and reflection. -- Marion, adoptive parentThis book helps explain so many of my children's difficult and challenging behaviour. It is so rare for a professional to acknowledge so clearly the role of parents and that supporting us is also supporting young people. I found this consistent theme through the book so helpful and encouraging. Rachel Staff gets this issue that parents taking care of themselves is vital because unless we are emotionally healthy and resilient we won't be able to support our children. I strongly recommend this book to everyone parenting or working with adopted young people. -- Sorrel, adoptive parentI wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with adopted teenagers or pre-teens - or indeed anyone wanting to think about and strengthen their relationships with their children - as it is full of very helpful insights and the latest research. I really like Rachel Staff's approach, always looking at the feelings, neuroscience and developmental issues that may lie behind behaviours, which is immensely valuable in helping parents and young people steer a course through challenging times. -- Jane, adoptive parentWhat those in challenging circumstances need is understanding, to feel they are not alone, and practical advice and support. Rachel's book delivers this and I trust that it will become a well thumbed reference for very many adopters. -- From the foreword by Hugh ThornberyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. About Adoptionplus. Note on the Text. Introduction. 1. Key Emotional Themes. 2. Behaviours and 'Ways of Being'. 3. Approaches and Strategies for Managing the Emotional Roller Coaster. 4. Mental Health Provision for Adopted Adolescents. 5. Changing Relationships. 6. Emerging Identity. 7. Peer Relationships and Early Intimate Relationships. 8. Contact and the Adolescent Years. 9. Parents Come First - the Importance of Parent Support. Conclusion.

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Book Synopsis"Who makes adoption a success? We do: the kids and parents in the new family as we change shape to accommodate each other."With more than 70 real life stories, revealing moments of vulnerability and moments of joy, this book provides an authentic insight into adoption. These stories take the reader on a journey through every stage of the adoption process, from making the initial decision to adopt to hearing from adoptees, and offer an informative and emotive account of the reality of families' experiences along the way. It includes chapters on adopting children of all ages as well as sibling groups; adopting as a single parent; adopting as a same sex couple; adopting emotionally and physically abused children; the nightmare of adoption breaking down; contact with birth parents; tracing and social media and more. Adopting: Real Life Stories will be an informative and refreshing read for adopters, potential adopters, professionals and all those whose lives have in some way been touched by adoption or want to know more about it.Trade ReviewThere is nothing that can replace the knowledge and experience of those who have trod the path ahead of others... I thoroughly recommend this book. -- from the Foreword by Hugh Thornbery CBE, Chief Executive, Adoption UKAdopting: Real Life Stories brings together many voices and experiences and represents adoption in all its wonderful and sometimes frightening complexity. The book is accessible and there is much to be learnt from the broad range of accounts, all of which are written with authenticity and compassion. Ann Morris sets out 'not to underestimate the joys of adoption, but to reveal the challenges honestly', the book achieves this and more. It bravely tackles the realities but at the same time encourages hope and understanding, and that's a difficult balance to achieve. -- Sally Donovan, author of 'No Matter What' and editor of Adoption TodayTable of ContentsIntroduction. 1. So you want to adopt? 2. First meetings, first months. 3. Adopting babies and toddlers. 4. Adopting older children.5. Adolescents.6. Adopting a child with a physical or learning disability.7. Adopting an emotionally, physically or sexually abused child.8. Going it alone.9. Same sex couples.10. Adopting sibling groups.11. One plus one - adding an adopted child to your birth family.12. Adoption, race and religion.13. Taking in the child, taking on the school.14. Contact in adoption.15. Attachment issues.16. Breakdown.17. Who am I? Telling, talking and needing to know more. 18. Tracing and social media. 19. The birth mother's story. Useful organisations.

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Book SynopsisFriendship is so complicated! The children of The Adoption Club think they are friends - they go to the same school and belong to The Adoption Club.But what does it mean? What is the difference between a casual and a close friend? How should you respond to teasing? It's time for The Adoption Club to explore friendship.Written for counsellors and therapists working with children aged 5-11, as well as adoptive parents, this workbook is designed to help explore friendship, staying safe and social skills. It is one of a set of five interactive therapeutic workbooks featuring The Adoption Club written to address the key emotional and psychological challenges adopted children often experience. Together, they provide an approachable, interactive and playful way to help children to learn about themselves and have fun at the same time.Trade ReviewThe Adoption Club series by Regina M. Kupecky is a novel concept for helping adopted children share their stories. This therapeutic tool will help adoptees find and use their voices. Thank you, Regina! -- Sherrie Eldridge, author and speaker in the field of adoptionTable of ContentsIntroduction. Story. Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisWho are my birthparents? Is it okay to think about them? Can I care about all of my parents at once?A Place in My Heart tells the simple story of Charlie, a chipmunk adopted by a family of squirrels, who starts to wonder about his birthparents. At first he is scared that this might upset his family but feels much better when he talks to his mother. The story reassures children that it is okay to ask questions about their birthparents without upsetting their “forever” (adoptive) parents. This fully illustrated picture book for adopted children aged 2-5 gives you an opportunity to discuss adoption, birthparents, and the fact that our hearts are big enough to hold everyone we care about.Trade ReviewThis charming and realistic book helps children learn to talk about their feelings rather than act out. Charlie has big feelings about adoption, identity and birth parents and acts out his feelings. He is helped by his adopted mother to express his feelings in a positive way including an art project. The children I have used this book with love him and love doing the project. -- Regina M. Kupecky, social worker at The Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, co-author of Adopting The Hurt Child, Parenting the Hurt child, A Foster-Adoption Story: Angela and Michael's Journey and The Case of the Multiple MothersI consider A Place In My Heart one of the very best books for young adopted children (and their parents) because it demonstrates how to make it 'OK' for children to hold their feelings and connections for both of their 'real' families: their birth parents and their adoptive parents. No surprise the book was written by an adult adoptee - she really 'gets it!' -- Beth Hall, Director, Pact An Adoption Alliance www.pactadopt.org , author of Inside Transracial AdoptionThis story... highlights that you may not have an answer to all your child's questions, but if you can hold their emotions and be by their side, they can live without these answers. -- Youth in MindA Place in My Heart is neither over nor understated in its dealings with adoption. The soft illustrations are well incorporated into the text and greatly enhance the narrative... It is evident that Mary Grossnickle is writing from experience. This is a comforting guide for parents and children alike who are dealing with adoption. -- Sasha Jawed * The School Librarian (SL) *

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Book SynopsisAs an adoptee, do you have mixed feelings about your adoption? If you do, you are not alone - adoptees often experience complex feelings of grief, anger, and questions about their identity. Sherrie Eldridge is an adoptee and adoption expert, and in this book she draws on her personal experiences and feelings relating to adoption as well as interviews with over 70 adoptees. Sherrie reveals how you can discover your own unique life purpose and worth, and sets out 20 life-transforming choices which you have the power to make. The choices will help you discover answers about issues such as: Why do I feel guilty when I think about my birth parents? Why can't I talk about the painful aspects of adoption? Where can I gain an unshakable sense of self-esteem? Sherrie also addresses the problem of depression among adoptees and common dilemmas such as if, when and how to contact a birth mother or father. This fully updated second edition includes new material on finding support online, contacting family through social media, and features three new chapters, including Sherrie's story of reuniting with her birth brother, Jon, in adulthood.Trade ReviewTwenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make is indeed life-transforming for those who will take advantage of the wisdom contained therein. The practical help given in chapters six and seven alone are worth the price of the book! So often as adoptees we can struggle with a lack of understanding from those who are not adopted, and how to respond to triggering statements or actions. Sherrie's wisdom on these issues is spot on. Adoptees will find great solace in her words and real help for the plethora of issues we deal with post-adoption. I am so very grateful for this amazing resource! -- Deanna Doss Shrodes, Blogger, Adoptee Restoration, Author, Worthy to Be FoundAlthough geared toward adoptee concerns and beliefs, Sherrie Eldridge's latest book provides practical and spiritual information helpful to both adoptive and birth families. Social workers, therapists, and adoption professionals will find this book an important companion piece to Ms. Eldridge's first book, Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. -- Dirck Brown, Ed.D., author Clinical Practice in Adoption; founder, Post Adoption Center for Education and Research (PACER)As an adoptive mom and singer/songwriter and speaker at adoption conferences, I am once again VERY grateful for the honest and extremely helpful nature of Sherrie's latest book, Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make. Her previous books have been instrumental in preparing me and assisting us after the fact in our own family's adoption of two siblings who'd suffered greatly. As our children grow and comprehend more of their past, present, and future, Sherrie's insights and significant research continue to be an indispensable part of the healing, understanding, and hope-inspiring process for our entire family. -- Becky Wright, Singer/Songwriter/Speaker Founder of Tahlequah Orphan & Adoption Ministries Department of Artists in Christian Testimony, InternationalOnce again Sherrie Eldridge has written a very helpful book for the adoption community. This time her efforts have been directed toward adoptees and the twenty ways in which she encourages them to take control of their own healing. -- Nancy Verrier, M.F.T., author of The Primal Wound and Coming Home to SelfSherrie Eldridge speaks what so many of us wish we'd been able to explain to our adoptive parents. This has helped me tremendously as an adoptive mother myself now. -- Rebecca Kiessling, Founder and President of Save The 1, Co-Founder of Hope After Rape Conception, International Speaker and Attorney, Adoptee and Adoptive Mother.Sherrie Eldridge, the adoption expert who has so ably helped adoptive parents better understand their children's needs, is back again, helping other adoptees to learn from her own journey through search and reunion with her latest guide,Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make. It's a well-written guide for adoptees of all ages, empowering them to grow in positive new directions-- regardless of the outcome of their search. If adoption is your mountain, Sherrie Eldridge is your best possible sherpa, for few understand all of its peaks and passes the way Sherrie does, and her sage advice can help you reach your own summit. -- Elizabeth Jurenovich, Ms, LCPAA, LPC, LMFT Executive Director Abrazo Adoption AssociatesSherrie has written an honest book of courage, trust, and hope. Her practical ideas, deep insights, and all-embracing sensitivity will be of great assistance to adoptees as they construct their life stories. Her core message: Do not look away; discover who you are. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D., author of Building the Bonds of Attachment and Focused Family Therapy WorkbookThis is a powerfully written book. Sherrie's revealing documentation of her insights for adoptees combined with her own and others' intimate, personal experiences dramatically highlights her difficult but liberating journey. -- Dale E. Theobald, Ph.D., M.D., Senior Medical Director for Community Home Health Services and Palliative Care at Community North Health Network, Indianapolis, Indiana.It is impossible to articulate how life-changing Sherrie Eldridge's book has been for me! This book gave voice to my thoughts, emotions, and actions that were holding me back from fully living the life I was created to live. Eldridge uncovers the common threads adoptees hold on to throughout our lives, including grief, loss, rejection, fear, hope and love. Many clients say, "I wish I had known about this resource years ago". -- LeAnne Parsons CPC, ELI-MP, The Walk Your Talk Coach, Legacy Now Lived™Table of ContentsPART 1: Our lifelong search for truth. 1 Caught unaware, 2 Preparing to grow. PART 2: Twenty truths and twenty choices that can transform. 3 Thoughts about our birth parents are innate, 4 Painful feelings about our adoption are normal, 5 Learning about adoption dynamics will help us relax, 6 It may often seem like no one 'gets it', 7 Share deep feelings only with "safe" people, 8 We can control our anger -- really!, 9 We can get unstuck from our painful past, 10 Many of us experience echoes of loss, 11 An Hour with a Fellow Adoptee Is Better Than Therapy, 12 False guilt shouldn't stop us from considering a reunion 13: Search and reunion may become a top priority, 14 We don't need to fear seeming ungrateful or disloyal, 15 We must give up being pleasers, 16 Taking concrete steps toward obtaining our pre-adoption history requires courage... we can do it!, 17 When we feel overwhelmed we must be gentle with ourselves, 18 Birth relatives may reject us, but there's someone who never will, 19 The word "rejection" may not be in the vocabularies of other birth relatives!, 20 Letting go of our birth mother's original decision will set us free, 21 Our footsteps are unique across the sands, 22 We can help others by being transparent, Appendix, Notes

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Book SynopsisMany people say being a parent is the toughest job there is. John DeGarmo, foster and adoptive parent, tells us just how tough it can be, having parented over 40 children. At times he and his wife, Kelly, have cared for up to nine children at a time, many with severe trauma and learning difficulties. Love and Mayhem is an honest and open account of the struggles, sadness and joy that comes with the job of being a parent to a traumatized child. From the sleepless nights with babies withdrawing from drug-addiction, to the heartbreak when a child moves on to another home, and the loving chaos that comes with a large and blended family, John DeGarmo fights for the many children who have come through his home.Ideal for foster families, general readers, fostering agencies and social workers who are looking for a true to life memoir of what it really is to be a foster parent.Trade ReviewTruly inspiring- John and Kelly DeGarmo go to extraordinary lengths to love broken children into wholeness and to teach others how to do the same. -- Rhonda Sciortino, author of Succeed Because of What You've Been ThroughSo many emotions abound in this book: joy and sorrow, trust and fear, elation and anger, confidence and uncertainty, energy and exhaustion, confirmation and questioning.... all reflect an honest view of foster parenting. Foster parents will love this book as it confirms everything they experience that others do not understand. For others it provides a true picture of the life of a foster family. Kudos to John DeGarmo for this well-written, entertaining and honest book. -- Irene Clements, Foster Care Consultant and President, National Foster Parent Association, USAJohn DeGarmo has established himself as an expert on foster care and adoption, yet he calls foster parenting the hardest thing he's ever done. Any foster parent I've ever known or read about would whole-heartedly agree with DeGarmo's assessment. In Love and Mayhem: One Big Family's Uplifting Story of Fostering and Adoption, DeGarmo tells stories from the front lines, as his family has fostered dozens of children through the years. On one level, DeGarmo's experience might discourage potential foster parents from entering the fray. Foster parenting can be full of heartbreak. DeGarmo does not gloss over the pain and ugliness of fostering. Yet the love and healing that foster children can find in families like the DeGarmos' is crucial and undeniable. DeGarmo describes the rewards and satisfaction of fostering in spite of the pain. Would that more families followed the DeGarmos' example and took up the mantle of fostering in cities across the country. -- Paul Mastin, adoptive parentTable of ContentsContents, Acknowledgments, Preface, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen.

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Book SynopsisPacked full of great ideas for fun games and activities, this book encourages positive attachments between a parent or carer and their child. When it comes to choosing the best games to play with children who have difficulties attaching, it is often hard to know how to play with a purpose. This book contains fun, age-appropriate games along with an explanation of why they matter. All the games included are designed for specific age ranges, from infants to older children, and help to address particular needs in children that are known to affect attachment, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It provides an easy-to-understand description of attachment and reveals the crucial role that play has in forming attachments. Written for parents and carers, as well as for use by professionals, it is full of strategies to help build healthy attachments in children who have experienced early trauma.Trade ReviewFinally a book to engage children in building attachments with their parents through playing games. This book is practical and offers fun activities to encourage closer relationships between parents and children. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, National Parenting Expert in Childhood Trauma, USAWhen children are exposed to poor care very early in life, they have to suppress two very important processes that normally help children to feel safe with and enjoy their relationships with caregivers: separation distress which engenders the need for comfort and playfulness which leads to joyful connection. In this book, the authors focus on the playfulness side of parent-child connections, offering a wealth of practical, hands-on ways for caregivers to engage children in playful interactions. Parents and therapists who work with children exposed to poor care early in life will find this book extremely helpful. -- Jonathan Baylin, PhD, psychologist and coauthor of Brain Based ParentingIn a culture which is heavily focused on how to teach our children, or how to discipline them, the importance of play and joy in connection can get lost. All children, and especially children who have difficult early parenting experience, need connection and to discover the joy in relationship. Within this book Deborah Gray and her colleagues have delightfully put play at the centre of family life. There are lots of ideas for games tailored to age and with specific difficulties in mind. More importantly perhaps these ideas can act as a springboard for families to invent their own unique way of bringing fun into their lives. -- Kim S. Golding, Clinical Psychologist...really interesting, to the point, succinct... includes games for bonding with your child; between an adult/parent, games for the whole family, games for siblings... would be really beneficial for... a support group, foster carers doing foster parent training or skills to foster, prospective adopters... or a social work team. 7 out of 10. -- Al Coates, Adoptive parent and blogger at Misadventures of an Adoptive DadGames and Activities for Attaching With Your Child is a critical tool for anyone who is looking to nurture attachment with an adopted, biological or foster child. Deborah D. Gray, an expert in the field of attachment and adoption, along with her co-workers, have written an easily understandable and accessible book about games that can help children attach even in the most difficult of circumstances. They clearly lay out the importance of play for children and how it supports brain development, good social skills and the ability to connect with loved ones in order to aid in healthy connections. Step-by-step, from infancy to teens, they lay out activities for families to play in a fun, engaging and meaningful manner. What I like best is that it tells you how to use these activities for children all across the spectrum, from "normal" children to those who are detached and afraid to connect and have been hurt by trauma. As a social worker I have used some of these games and activities with my own clients to excellent effect but best of all, have shown parents how to play with their children where it counts the most which is with each other at home. As a foster mom I can say that these games work and have enhanced my relationships with my children. -- Karen Oil, Licensed Independent Clinical Social WorkerTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. Chapter 1: Bonds, Attachment and Play. Chapter 2: The Value of Play. Chapter 3: Connecting the Two of You. Chapter 4: Connecting the Whole Family. Chapter 5: Connecting Siblings. Chapter 6: Activities to Help with Mood and Flexibility. Chapter 7: Building Attachment When Children Have Had Exposure to Toxins. Addendum. Resources.

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Book SynopsisHow Does Foster Care Work? is an international collection of empirical studies on the outcomes of children in foster care. Drawing on research and perspectives from leading international figures in children's services across the developed world, the book provides an evidence base for programme planning, policy and practice.This volume establishes a platform for comparison of international systems, trends and outcomes in foster care today. Each contributor provides a commentary on one other chapter to highlight the global significance of issues affecting children and young people in care. Each chapter offers new ideas about how foster care could be financed, delivered or studied in order to become more effective.This book is important reading for anyone involved in delivering child welfare services, such as administrators, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, children's advocates, academics and students.Trade ReviewThe authors conclude with the hope that the findings which are reflected in this volume have the potential to bring a greater understanding of the complex interplay of those factors that nurture or impede the well-being of children in care. They anticipate that it would impact positively on care planning, the provision of services, the development of policy and future research. We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. -- Aotearoa New Zealand Social WorkThis is a must-read for any social worker who desire greater understanding of the theoretical principles and empirical evidence that undergird foster care today in a number of developed countries... We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. -- Aotearoa New Zealand Social WorkEach study scrupulously teases out the different variables affecting outcomes. The volume ends with a synthesis of research findings giving direction for policy, practice and research... My personal preference is for those studies that powerfully convey the experience of children, such as chapters by Fernandez on Growing up in Care and by Ward and Munro on Very Young Children in Care in England. The latter highlights the instability that was a feature for many infants, with 45 per cent having four or more placements. The consequences of placement disruption and instability on relationships, emotional and behavioural health, and education are a theme in a number of chapters. This mirrors recent findings in Hannon et al. . 2010 and gives even greater weight to the authors' call for measures to improve placement stability. Pecora et al. in their chapter on Rates of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States make comprehensive recommendations for policy and practice to improve the mental and emotional health of young people in care, which I warmly commend. Various authors comment on both the positive and negative aspects of contact, with Farmer arguing persuasively In her chapter on Fostering Adolescents in England for differential approaches to contact decisions, to support grandparent contact and promote children's links with extended family members. The volume clearly demonstrates the value of studying fostering cross-nationally and will be of interest to policy makers, commissioners of care services, practitioners and researchers. -- Wiley Online Library, Child Abuse ReviewFoster care practice needs both an international perspective and an evidence base to allow us to learn and develop. This book supports both of these objectives. -- Children & Young People NowTable of ContentsPart 1. Introduction. Foreword. James K. Whittaker, University of Washington, USA. Introduction: Reviewing International Evidence to Inform Foster Care Policy and Practice. Elizabeth Fernandez, University of New South Wales, Australia and Richard P. Barth, University of Maryland, USA. 1. International Perspectives on Foster Care. June Thoburn, University of East Anglia, UK. Part 2. Placement Movements and Destinations. 2. Five Year Developmental Outcomes for Young Children Remaining in Foster Care, Returned Home or Adopted. Richard P. Barth and Christopher Lloyd, University of Arkansas, USA. 3. The Placement Stability in Foster Care. Fred Wulczyn and Lijun Chen, University of Chicago, USA. 4. Foster Care in the Netherlands: Correlates of Placement Breakdown and Successful Placement. Johan Piet Strijker, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. 5. Profile and Scope of Foster Care in Spain. Jorge Fernandez del Valle and Mónica López, University of Oviedo, Spain. 6. Reunification in Australia: Insights from South Australia and New South Wales. Elizabeth Fernandez and Paul Delfabbro, University of Adelaide, Australia Part 3. The Foster Care Experience: A Life Course Perspective. 7. Very Young Children in Care in England: Issues for Foster Care. Harriet Ward and Emily R. Munro, Loughborough University, UK 8. Fostering Adolescents in England: What Contributes to Success? Elaine Farmer, University of Bristol, UK. 9. Rates of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioural Disorders Among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States: The Casey National Alumni Study. Peter J. Pecora, Catherine Roller White, Lee Ann Murdock, Kirk O'Brien, Casey Family Programs, USA, Ronald C. Kessler, Nancy Sampson and Irving Hwang Harvard Medical School, USA. Part 4. Psychological Outcomes and Correlates of Outcomes. 10. What Makes for Effective Foster Care: Some Issues. Ian Sinclair, University of York, UK. 11. Long-term Outcomes of Foster Care: Lessons from Swedish National Cohort Studies. Bo Vinnerljung, University of Stockholm, Sweden, Eva Franzén, Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden, Anders Hjern, National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden and Frank Lindblad, Uppsala University, Sweden. 12. Foster Care in Denmark: Comparing Kinship and Non-Kinship Forms of Care. Lajla Knudsen, Tim Egelund and Anne-Dorthe Hestbæck, SFI, The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark. 13. Selected Educational Outcomes for Young People Aged 17–19 Years in Long Term Foster Care in Ireland. Fiona Daly, Irish Association of Young People in Care, Ireland and Robbie Gilligan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 14. Can Tutoring by Foster Parents Improve Foster Children's Basic Academic Skills? A Canadian Randomized Field Trial. Robert J. Flynn, Marie-Pierre Paquet and Robyn Marquis, University of Ottawa, Canada. 15. Wellbeing in Foster Care: An Australian Longitudinal Study of Outcomes. Elizabeth Fernandez. Commentary by Robert Flynn. Conclusion. Richard P. Barth and Elizabeth Fernandez. List of Contributors. Index.

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Book SynopsisAdopted children whose early development has been altered by abuse or neglect may form negative beliefs about themselves and parents, and may resist connecting with others. This book outlines how therapeutic stories can help children to heal and develop healthy attachments.With a thorough theoretical grounding, the book demonstrates how to create therapeutic stories that improve relationships, heal past trauma, and change problem behaviour. The story of a fictional family that develops its own narratives to help their adopted child heal illustrates the techniques. This second edition includes updated research on attachment, trauma and the developmental process; a new chapter on parental attunement and regulation; and a new chapter with full length samples of a variety of narrative types.The gentle and non-intrusive techniques in this book will be highly beneficial for children with attachment difficulties. This guide will be an invaluable resource for parents of adopted children and the professionals working with them.Trade ReviewOverall, I found this book to be an interesting and stimulating read. The early chapters refreshed my knowledge and understanding of attachment difficulties, particularly as they relate to adopted children. I found the Family Attachment Narrative Therapy approach and the case examples given fascinating and was pleased that parents were of key importance in developing their own narratives... I would recommend this book both to professionals working with adoptive families, to parents of adopted children and to those with an interest in this area or in therapeutic story telling. -- DebateThis book is a welcome addition to the resources available to not only adoptive parents but also social workers in practice with children and young people with attachment issues. -- RostrumThis book is a discussion and guide on the use of narrative to help children and parents work through difficult behaviour and attachment issues. But it is also much more... This book's emphasis on helping parents do the therapeutic work of building the family as a safe healing space is spot on. -- Children & Young People NowThis book provides a very valuable, innovative resource for adoptive families supporting children with complex, traumatic early life histories. The focus is on empowering adoptive families to support their children with complex, traumatic early life stories. The focus is on empowering adoptive families to support their children, by giving them a thorough understanding of how early life history will affect each child's internal working model... I found this a very exciting, meaningful book. It provides clarity and recognition of the challenges and issues for adopted children with complex, traumatic early life histories. -- Lapidus JournalStories are the currency of life. "Connecting with Kids Through Stories: Using Narratives to Facilitate Attachement in Adopted Children" discusses the importance of stories in forming bonds with adopted children, to children who may not have had the easiest life coming into a caring parent's care.... A strong pick for parenting collections, especially those with a focus on adoption. -- The Midwest Book ReviewThis is a clear, practical, relevant and optimistic book that gives adoptive parents a deeper insight into the lives of their children, and an effective intervention made all the more attractive because it is based on the universally familiar and compelling business of telling stories about life’s most significant emotional experiences. -- David Howe, Professor Emeritus, School of Social Work and Psychology, University of East Anglia, UKThis is a wonderful book that goes to the heart of the matter in healing traumatized adoptees. If adopted kids are to grow and thrive in their adoptive family, the how and why of the arrival into the forever home must be told. Using the context of storytelling to tell the often painful tale is brilliant - even challenging and older children will accept a story. I particularly like the abundant examples of stories, the words of encouragement to parents to get started, the use of narratives to cover all aspects of the aftermath of trauma, the overview of how trauma leaves a child afflicted and the overriding message that underneath all the chaotic behavior is a child desperately trying to tell us the meaning of his or her experiences. Once attune to this meaning, each member of the family can connect. Thus, the meaning of being a part of a healthy family emerges for the adoptee, brothers, sisters and parents. -- Arleta James, therapist, Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, USATable of ContentsForeword. Acknowledgements Legacy of an Adopted Child. Introduction. 1. The Internal Working Model. 2. Putting the Pieces Together: Discovering the Child's Model. 3. Narratives that Bond, Heal and Teach. 4. Parental Attunement and Regulation. 5. Claiming Narratives. 6. Trauma Narratives. 7. Developmental Narratives. 8. Successful Child Narratives. 9. Stories, Stories and More Stories. 10. Conclusion. Appendix A. EMDR. Appendix B. Story Construction Guide. References. Resources and Recommended Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisAttaching in Adoption is a comprehensive guide for prospective and actual adoptive parents on how to understand and care for their adopted child and promote healthy attachment.This classic text provides practical parenting strategies designed to enhance children's happiness and emotional health. It explains what attachment is, how grief and trauma can affect children's emotional development, and how to improve attachment, respect, cooperation and trust. Parenting techniques are matched to children's emotional needs and stages, and checklists are included to help parents assess how their child is doing at each developmental stage. The book covers a wide range of issues including international adoption, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and learning disabilities, and combines sound theory and direct advice with case examples throughout.This book is a must read for anyone interested in adoption and for all adoptive families. It will also be a valuable resource for adoption professionals.Trade ReviewAttaching in Adoption' is a valuable resource for parents not only as they contemplate building their family through adoption, but also as they travel child's emotionally challenged path towards mental health and happiness. Deborah Gray has described attachment and all of the skills and responses that relate to an individual's attachment style and degree of attachment, and she has done do in a manner easily understood by non-professionals. The chapter on developmental stages is an invaluable tool for parents to assess their child's emotional age and determine what tasks have yet to be mastered. Parents who understand and implement what tasks have yet to be mastered. Parents who understand and implement the wisdom and methods described in this book will certainly strengthen their families! -- Nancy Spoolstra, D.V.M., adoptive and foster parent and Executive Director of the Attachment Disorder NetworkAttaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents' is a brilliantly written sensitive educational journey into the development world of attachment. The book is a comprehensive and clear depiction of the importance of attachment, the challenge faced by parents adopting high risk children, and the negative effects of trauma and grief on the development of a secure attachment. The book reflects Ms. Gray's depth of perception, understanding of child development, empathy, and attunement with the children and families she has served in her therapeutic practice. Ms. Gray provides practical common sense tools for parents that can support them in developing skills that will enhance healthy relationships and connections with their children. Ms. Gray is realistic and honest as she speaks to parents. She empowers them to take charge in a nurturing way. She respects the importance of the balance of nurture and structure. The chapters building emotional intelligence, forming a team of support, and suggestions of when and where to seek professional help prove a hopefulness that there is a way out of the darkness of emotional chaos into the light of safety and trust for children suffering from attachment problems. Although "Attachment in Adoption" is written primarily for parents. I would encourage my fellow professionals to include this book on their "must read" list. It will assist them in their overall understanding of attachment and in their therapeutic work with adoptive parents and children -- Beverly Cuevas, LCSW, ACSW, Co-founder of Attachment Center Northwest, Founding member and Board member of ATTACH, Founding Board member of ADI (Attachment Disorder Institute)Deborah Gray had written an excellent book on parenting adopted children who resist being parented. It is not a cookbook, but rather a comprehensive book on parenting adopted children with attachment problems. That is why it is excellent. Deborah does not take the easy road of simply giving recommendations for various behavior problems. Instead she takes the more arduous route of first trying to help parents understand the meaning of their adopted child's behaviors. After helping parents to understand the reasons for their child's behaviors, she then gives them the tools for developing interventions that are most likely to fit their unique child. Deborah asks us to go beyond concluding that an adopted child has Reactive Attachment Disorder because they manifest a list of symptoms. She asks us first to also understand the impact of grieving and trauma on a child's functioning. She also asks us to know more about the effects of anxiety, cultural changes, and various other diagnoses, such as ADHD, FAE/FAS, and Learning Disorders. Most importantly, Deborah teaches us about the seven stages of attachment, beginning at birth and extending through adolescence, and she helps us to be aware of various interventions that can facilitate development at each stage. Finally, she tells us about emotional intelligence, its failure to develop following early abuse and neglect, and the importance of understanding ways to facilitate it. Deborah's contribution to parenting adopted children with attachment problems is substantial. It is based on understanding and having empathy of the meaning behind a child's symptoms, along with effective, sensitive, and well-matched parental interventions. At the same time, she addresses the necessity of parental self-care, is parents are to persistently provide the quality of care that their adopted child requires.After reading her book, many parents will feel certain that Deborah understands their child and their family. These same parents will also be likely to understand their child more deeply themselves, and at the same time be able to develop the unique practical skills that parenting their child requires. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D. author of 'Facilitating Developmental Attachment and Building the Bonds of AttachmentDeborah Gray's work captures theory, practicality, and sensitivity toward traumatized children - all in one book. Too many books have only one of these components, and her integration of may important facets of all three, comfortably leads the reader to a clear understanding of how children are hurt and how families help them heal. I will be extremely comfortable recommending 'Attaching in Adoption' to parents and professionals. I also think it is suitable for adolescents to read. It would help them understand so many of their issues - particularly around the entire birth family "web' and issues of shame and self-blame. I like this book! -- Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder, Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio and co-author of 'Adopting the Hurt Child' and 'Parenting the 'Hurt Child'Gray, a clinical social worker specializing in attachment, grief and trauma, has penned a comprehensive guidebook for adoptive parents, taking an in-depth look at how children and families adjust. The author notes that many of today's adoptions involve older children, who may have been abused or neglected, or who may have spent years in institutions or various foster situations; due to their past experiences these children may have difficulty attaching to their adoptive parents. Explaining that attachment forms the template for future adult relationships, Gray stresses how important it is for adoptive parents to be patient in forging this new bond. She advises creating a high structure/high nurture environment for the child, and instructs parents to find out about their child's background. The book covers many issues, including cross-cultural and interracial adoption, religious concerns and other complications for attaching, such as ADHD and learning disabilities. Gray also includes a detailed exploration of development delays common in kids who have been adopted later in life. While the book is densely written, it will nevertheless be invaluable for adoptive parents. Gray compassionately helps readers form realistic expectations, while offering a myriad of suggestions for families and children striving to form lasting, loving relationships. -- Publishers WeeklyI have no idea what percentage of a personality is determined by genes. I don't know what a percentage of personality is. But if there's anything I can do to load the dice of fate in my child's favor, I will do it. Most adoptive parents feel the same. 'Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents' is for us. I wish this book had been around a decade ago, when my husband and I first started thinking about adoption. I wish it had been around when we brought our daughter home two years later. And I wish it had been around when our daughter was 21 months old and the babysitter quit and a new one started and our forlorn, frantic child screamed all day, every day, for a week.How we searched Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Richard Ferber, and all the other illustrious names in childrearing literature! Their advice, while sometimes helpful, didn't quite fit. What we needed was a Deborah D. Gray to set out - in straightforward, unthreatening language - practical tips for responding to the challenges all adopted children face when they leave one home (their birth parents', their foster family's, or their orphanage) and enter another. Our child's adjustment was relatively easy. But if we'd known more, it could have been easier. 'Attaching in Adoption' covers the full range of attachment challenges - from the transitory to the traumatic and from infancy to adulthood. Gray's approach is positive, practical and realistic, providing age-specific advice with clear explanations of developmental stages for adopted children and checking age-specific advice with clear explanations of developmental stages for adopted children and checklists to help parents assess how their child is doing at each stage. The best part, for those of us who adopted before this book was published, is that it's never too late to learn. For those struggling with serious attachment disorders, this book could be a lifesaver. I agree with Nancy Thomas [the author of 'When Love Is Not Enough: A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD] who wrote: 'This is the most comprehensive work on the subject I have ever enjoyed reading...My wish would be that every adoptive parent could read this book before beginning the journey to adopt.' -- Adoptive FamiliesIn 'Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents', Deborah Gray is able to translate into the written word the same caring, compassion, and respect that she shows toward both child and parent in her person-to-person contacts. In this book she returns again and again to the importance of both nurturing and structure in working to form close family relationships; the striking part is how well she is able to provide both for parents in the writing of this book. She emotionally nurtures parents while providing clear structure for them in creating a family environment that will promote attachments. In identifying ways to promote attachment, she follows a clear developmental approach, recognizing the needs of children of varying ages and helping parents identify how and where their child might be stuck in earlier stages of development. This is very important aspect of this work; what is necessary at one stage may be inappropriate at another. My favourite chapters of the book, however, are two of the shorter ones. Both fill gaps in the adoption literature for parents. The chapter on 'Trauma and Traumatic Loss' translates the more recent information on the physiologic and psychological effects of trauma, as reported in the professional literature, into material that parents can understand and use in their day to day parenting.The second chapter that I particularly like is the one on 'Building Emotional Intelligence'. In this section, Deborah again takes the material from non-adoption sources and translates it into very practical ideas for adoptive parents to use in helping their child build and maintain healthy friendships. She identifies the gaps that children may have in their skills and provides ideas for remediation. As Deborah points out, "Skill in building and retaining healthy friendships is highly correlated with future happiness in life - much more so than are academic skills."Although this book is primarily written for parents, most professionals in the area of adoption will find a wealth of practical ideas for helping parents be successful in building attachments with their adopted children. -- Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D., author of A Child's Journey through Placement"This is the most comprehensive work on the subject I have ever enjoyed reading. Deborah's incredible insight from her years of experience with difficult kids shines through in this enlightening book. No stone is left unturned in her effort to give a clear understanding of attachment. This book will be a powerful tool to help families with their children wounded by attachment breaks. My wish would be that every adoptive parent could read this book before beginning their journey."Nancy Thomas, founder of Families by Design, parent trainer, presenter, and author of 'When Love is Not Enough -- A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD.'"This positive, but realistic book is an important resource for all adoptive families, at any stage of pre and post-adoption. The information on attachment challenges will allow prospective adoptive parents to understand the possible issues of their new children. Those that have adopted will be able to recognize some behaviors of their children and learn methods of parenting that will help all to achieve success.As an adoptive parent and adoption professional, I found the vignettes heart warming and at other times, heart wrenching, but realistic and achievable within a hectic family setting. The clear explanations of the phases allows parents to easily measure where they are, where their children are and how they can improve their parenting and health of entire family. 'Attaching in Adoption' is also a valuable resource for professionals who work with parents. It will assist them to help parents to manoeuvre the sometimes-challenging path of adoptive parenting. Deborah's focus on the health of the family helps to normalize the specialized skills and techniques taught. -- Yolanda Comparan, MSW, Program Manager, Adoption Resource Center Northwest Region (Seattle) Children's Home Society of WashingtonTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction: Equipping Parents of Children at Risk for Attachment Problems. 1. What is Attachment and Why is it Important? 2. Challenges for Children and Parents. 3. What Children Have Already Learned About Attachment. 4. Grief and Its Effects. 5. Trauma and Traumatic Loss. 6. The Impact of Cultural Change. 7. Other Complications for Attaching. 8. Emotional Development: Promoting Attachment at Every Phase. 9. The Shape of Progress. 10. Relaxing the Grip of Anxiety and Control. 11. The Fairness Factor. 12. Building Emotional Intelligence. 13. Forming a Team of Support. 14. Getting Professional Help. Epilogue. Appendix. Resources. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe perfect starting point for parents of transracially adopted children and those who are considering adopting transracially.The Interracial Adoption Option is a personal guide to interracial adoption which draws on the lives and experiences of the authors, a white US couple, who adopt two African-American children. Starting from their decision to adopt their first child interracially, it describes the situations and decisions that followed as a result of their child's racial background. The authors' combine their personal experiences with practical advice. They address common issues like where to live, how to choose a doctor and how to take care of your child's hair and skin. They also tackle difficult questions such as, 'Does race matter?' 'Why is a healthy racial identity important?' and 'What do I do if I suspect my child is being treated unfairly because of his/her race?' An accessible introduction to the complex world of interracial adoption, this book is the first book you need to read if you are thinking of adopting transracially or have done so already.Trade ReviewRarely does a book address the particular challenges of parenting children adopted into a family of a different race. This work eloquently weaves together cutting edge scholarship on racial identity development in children with pragmatic approaches to parenting transracially. Fine and Johnson offer the reader, both parent and adoption professional, a highly accessible map to traverse this previously unexplored terrain of transracial adoption. They provide rich vignettes that boldly and poignantly illustrate the preparation and skills necessary for all involved in the field of transracial adoption. This is a highly valuable contribution to our understanding of adoption across races. -- Kathleen Reardon, Ph.D., MSW, Founder and Co-director, Crossroads Counseling Associates, Harvard, Massachusetts, USAMuch more than an excellent guide to transracial adoption, The Interracial Adoption Option: Creating a Family Across Race is an invitation to the opportunity, joy, and richness of becoming a multiracial family. It underscores how critical it is for white parents of children of color to acknowledge their own privilege and to make a lifelong commitment to guiding their children in developing a healthy racial identity -- and provides a wealth of concrete ideas, examples, and resources for doing so. Fern Johnson and Marlene Fine seamlessly combine the wisdom of scholars with the warmth of loving, adoptive mothers in a beautifully written and accessible book that blends exhaustive research with the fullness of lived experience. -- Kara Mikulich, Adoptive MotherBased on my experience as the adoptive parent of an African-American son, this book succinctly captures the unique rewards and challenges of adopting a child of a different race. Many dilemmas and decisions explored by the authors mirrored my own journey, and made me wish that this book had been written twenty years ago. Their informative and straightforward discussion offers insights for those considering forming a multiracial family through adoption, and for those seeking to understand and support such families. It fills an important gap in the adoption literature and offers insights for all involved with transracial adoptive families. -- Linda Pursley, Adoptive ParentTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Making the Decision to Adopt a Child of Another Race: When Birds of a Feather Might Not Flock Together. 2. Talking about Race and Adoption with Others: You're Doing What?!! 3. Helping Your Child Develop a Healthy Racial Identity: 'Daddy, Why Am I Brown and You're Pink?'. 4. Talking about Race and Adoption with Your Child: 'Mommy, Who's My Real Daddy?'. 5. Navigating School: Homework for Parents. 6. Creating a Support System for You and Your Child: It Takes a Village. Index.

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Book SynopsisWhen you decide to foster, you are faced with many difficult decisions, dilemmas and questions: How do you navigate the daily struggles of foster parenting? How can you nurture bonds with your foster child who is angry, sad, and defiant? How can you prepare to step back when it's time to let go?Foster Parenting Step-by-Step is a concise how-to guide to fostering that summarizes what to expect as a foster parent, and gives immediate practical solutions. It outlines the different stages of a fostering relationship, raising common issues encountered at each age and how to tackle them. It also explains the impact of trauma on your child: how this can show itself through challenging behavior and how to respond to it. This book will provide fostering parents with the skills and knowledge to support the needs of the children in foster care. It will be invaluable not just to foster parents but also to those professionals supporting foster placements.Trade ReviewDr. Gopal has been a lifeline for many children in foster care and their parents and foster parents for many years. [She] is also a well-known speaker and has blessed the National Foster Parent Association with numerous workshop presentations at our annual education conferences. In Foster Parenting Step-by-Step: How to Nurture the Traumatized Child and Overcome Conflict, Dr. Gopal… writes as if she were sitting across the table from you and explaining the incredibly many aspects of foster care and foster parenting. My recommendation is to read the book from cover to cover, taking time to mark those areas that you know you will want to refer to time and time again as you welcome additional children into your home. This new book provides insights and recommendations that will be beneficial to all who chose to provide foster care and/or kinship care. -- From the foreword by Irene Clements, Foster Care Consultant and President of the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA), Minneapolis, USAThis useful book is valuable for foster carers (and prospective foster carers) in helping to consider the issues around looking after other people's children who have suffered early difficulties in their lives. It will help any foster carer to work reflectively and consider the options and issues that the child they are looking after is facing, together with ideas about strategies that might usefully be used in understanding and managing situations. As with all good foster care sharing ideas and thoughts gained in studying this book is made more effective by discussion in supervision. -- Jim Bond MBE, Foster Carer and CounselorTable of ContentsQuotes from Foster Children. Preface. Introduction. 1. The Motivational Stage – First Things First! Know What to Expect. 2. The Planning Stage – About Your Family. Are You Prepared? 3. The Welcoming Stage – Getting to Know Your Foster Child. 4. Displacement Trauma. 5. The Adapting Stage – Attachment and Protecting Your Foster Child. 6. The Educational Stage – Parenting Issues and Much More. 7. The Empowering Stage – Successful Evidence-Based Strategies. 8. The Letting Go/Adopting Stage. Resources and Useful Addresses. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisCapturing the warmth and fun of forming close relationships with children, this book offers simple advice to parents of children who find it difficult to attach and bond - whether following adoption, divorce or other difficult experiences.Attachment therapist Deborah D. Gray describes how to use the latest thinking on attachment in your daily parenting. She reveals sensory techniques which have proven to help children bond - straightforward activities like keeping close eye contact or stroking a child's feet or cheeks - and explains why routines like mealtimes and play time are so important in helping children to attach. The book offers positive ideas for responding to immediate crises like difficult behaviour and meltdowns, but importantly also offers longer-term strategies to help children to develop the skills they need to cope as they grow up - the ability to plan, concentrate and be in control of their emotions. Offering fascinating insights into how children who struggle to attach can be helped, this book is full of easy-to-use ideas which will help you to enjoy the many pleasures of bonding and attaching with your child.Trade ReviewDeborah has provided us with a highly practical book aimed at helping parents to parent in a way that promotes attachment security. This book is full of wisdom and clear suggestions for parenting children with a range of insecurities across a range of ages from toddlers to teens. Whilst there are some UK/USA differences, there really is something for everyone here. I especially liked the focus on parents taking care of themselves and the way that all behavioural management suggestions are provided within the context of providing warm, nurturing care that promotes connection, security, and self esteem. When these qualities are central within parenting our children will grow to successful maturity able to fulfil their potential. -- Kim Golding, Clinical Psychologist with Worcestershire Health and Care NHS TrustA must read for parents! Informative and practical knowledge for parents about two critical aspects of childhood development; emotional intelligence and attachment. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Temple University, Philadelphia, USAThis is a lovely, practical, wise book that parents will find helpful on many levels. The author seamlessly integrates attachment concepts, brain science, and concrete examples of parent-child interactions to provide a well-spring of hands-on guidance for raising resilient, secure, emotionally intelligent kids. I highly recommend it. -- Jonathan Baylin, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Broudy and Associates, Wilmington, DelawareAttaching Through Love, Hugs, and Play is an invaluable resource for parents wanting to deepen their relationship with their children. For struggling parents, Attaching Through Love, Hugs and Play provides an accessible resource for understanding what is driving their children's challenging behaviours. More importantly, in this volume, Deborah Gray provides a practical playbook for bringing joy and laughter into the parenting relationship! -- Dr. Karyn Purvis, Director of the Institute of Child Development, TCU, Fort Worth, TexasIn Attaching Through Love, Hugs, and Play, Deborah Gray focus on parenting skills that develop strong secure attachments needed for children to be willing to turn to a special adult or adults for protection, calming and reassurance of their worth. Gray provides a wealth of concrete examples of how touch, play, language, structure and limit setting can be employed to strengthen the nurturing parent-child connection that is the foundation of pre-social child development. Any parent, foster parent or adoptive parent who is helping an abused or neglected child recover from early trauma and/ or neglect will find a wealth of invaluable practical guidance in Attaching Through Love, Hugs and Play. Public child welfare agencies should consider making Deborah's Gray's books widely available to foster parents and adoptive parents who are desperate for guidance in parenting children whose early histories have left a legacy of fear, anger and distrust of caregivers. -- Dee Wilson, Director, Child Welfare Services, Casey Family Programs, Author of the Sounding Board commentariesThis easy-to-read book has much to offer to adopters or step-parents about how to develop attachments... Parents will find many examples of everyday behaviour that they face alongside practical strategies to illustrate how to respond helpfully, especially for children whose early experience include trauma, abuse or loss... As the title suggests, t values sensory approaches to forming emotional connection, using touch and play to help provide nurture and regulate emotional states... Overall this is a very rich and positive book, which presents a well-informed, humane, evidence-based view of parenting strategies that will enhance attachment. it is likely to be valuable resource, especially for parents of children who have had adverse early experiences. -- Alison Paddle, Independent social worker * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsDedication. Introduction. 1. Close Connections: Attaching and Bonding. 2. Put Your Oxygen Mask on First 3. Teaching Children to Calm, Care, and Think: Behavior and Daily Routines. 4. Helping Children with Thinking and Caring. 5. "Carrots and Sticks", Rewards and Limits. 6. Life Stories. 7. Promoting Attachment in Tweens and Teens. Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisHow do you create an adoption portfolio that will show prospective birth families why you are the perfect adoptive parent for their child? Do you know which pictures to include and which to leave out? Do you really understand what prospective birth parents care about? This is a step-by-step guide to creating a portfolio which will reflect your personality, make a strong positive impact and encourage the right birth family to choose you. Madeleine Melcher shares the secrets she has discovered over years of creating successful portfolios, profiles and prospective birth parent letters. She combines simple and effective design ideas and tips for writing and layout with a deep understanding of how portfolios work. Importantly, this book also draws extensively on the experiences of birth mothers and the professionals who support them to examine what they are really looking for, featuring questions which prospective birth mothers will want to see answered in your portfolio. From text to design, this guide will give you the confidence to create a portfolio that sets you apart. It is essential reading for prospective adoptive parents, as well as adoption attorneys and adoption agencies advising those hoping to adopt.Trade ReviewMadeleine Melcher's expertise and guidance in creating an adoption portfolio made parents and satisfied customers out of me and my partner. This book will make the process of adopting less intimidating and the end result, parenthood, more accessible to those who want to adopt - a win-win situation for both prospective parents and children who need homes. It's a beautiful thing, a true gem. -- Beth Vollmer, adoptive parent, USAWorking with Madeleine was wonderful. She designed our adoption portfolio and we were chosen just two days after its completion. We are grateful for her knowledge and understanding of what prospective birth parents want to know about you. Her book will give you the tools needed to create a portfolio that will stand out among the rest. -- Allison and Kendall Sidorsky, adoptive parents, USAAs a birthmother and the co-founder of BirthMom Buds, I was honored to be a part of Madeleine's book. Madeleine does a great job of giving a voice to expectant mothers considering adoption and through her book educates adoptive parents on how expectant mothers considering adoption think and feel, which will in turn build healthier relationships amongst birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. -- Nicole 'Coley' Strickland, Co-Founder of www.birthmombuds.com, USAYou're told over and over that the profile is the single most important piece in an adoption - the only way to truly represent yourself to potential birthmothers - and this can be really daunting. When faced with the challenge of making an adoption portfolio or profile, the only tool you needs is Madeleine's new book! It's like having her right there alongside you for this incredible journey, as we in fact did. Madeleine created two of our adoption portfolios, which both ended in successful adoptions. Our fourth adoption happened very quickly - and our son's birthmother still tells us over a year later, that it was all because of our portfolio. Thank you Madeleine for putting this into a book. -- Rawley and Gus Tziavias, adoptive parents, USAMs. Melcher's book assisting families with writing their Dear Prospective Birthparent letter and Adoption Profile gives not only the "how to", but an educational experience as well. She discusses what pregnant couples are looking for in an adoptive family to raise their child, the importance of keeping contact agreements between the two families that must be honored (even though many states now have legally binding contracts), and different designs and text to create their profile. Dear Birthmother letters have been used for quite some time but the additional need now for a booklet makes this a timely book for everyone considering an adoption placement. The workbook at the end further assists prospective adoptive families. How To Create a Successful Adoption Portfolio is very insightful, well thought out and helpful. -- Maxine Chalker, MSW/LSW, Founder, President & CEO, Adoptions From The Heart, USAHow-to" tells you something."Why-to" tells you more. Way more.This book will tell you both.At a time when there is so much confusing advice about adoption, Ms. Melcher "gets it. -- Birney Bull, adoption attorney, Savannah, GA, USA, www.AdoptNeed.comFor families who are feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of writing an adoption or family profile this book is a great place to start... Very easy to read and follow it touches on all the bases, knowing your audience, remembering the guidelines set forth by your agency or attorney, the importance of photos etc. This book is a great place to start and makes the task of writing an adoption profile much more manageable. -- Wordpress.comAs an adoptive dad of two-and starting the process to adopt #3-my wife and I have created several adoption profiles (aka portfolios). We had guidelines to follow from our agency and we got better at creating them but after getting Madeleine's book, we found a great process for creating the best profile. She does an amazing job teaching about how to start, what you need to know, writing your letter to a prospective birthmother, how to layout the pages and (in my opinion) the most important part-how to make your profile unique.I highly recommend getting the book. A HUGE bonus in the book is that it contains a wonderful workbook in the back that takes you step by step through creating your portfolio. Good stuff! This WILL help you. -- Tim Elder of InfantAdoptionGuide.comTable of Contents1. Introduction - "I understand...". 2. What is an Adoption Portfolio? 3. Before You do Anything Else... 4. What Prospective Birthmothers are Looking for. 5. Get Your Camera Out Now! - Pictures ARE Important! 6. Writing Your Text and Preparing for Layout: Insight and Samples by Page. 7. Speciality Text Issues. 8. What Will Your Design Say about You? 9. Ways to Create Your Portfolio. 10. Your Final Review - Getting a Fresh Set of Eyes. 11. Printing Choices Make a Difference. 12. Marketing Yourself Making Use of Your Portfolio. 13. Letting Go. 14. Your Dream CAN Come True. 15. Workbook Questions for Core Pages.

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Book SynopsisThe Foster Parenting Manual is a comprehensive guide offering proven, friendly advice for novice and experienced parents alike. Distilling many years' experience into one book, John DeGarmo combines his own wisdom with that of fellow foster parents. He describes what to expect from the process, how to access help and how to ensure the best care for your child. He tackles thorny issues such as children's use of the Internet and social media, managing contact with birth parents and how to support your child at school. Most importantly, he provides advice designed to help your child feel safe, secure and loved.The Foster Parenting Manual offers seasoned, sympathetic advice that will be valued by foster parents and the professionals who support them.Trade ReviewDeGarmo, an experienced foster parent of more than 30 children, fills the gap in current, quality literature on foster parenting with this concise yet comprehensive guide for potential foster parents or those affected. Beginning with a short history of the practice, he helps readers understand who foster children are, how best to understand their challenges and struggles, and how to establish rules and expectations in a home, as well as considerations for working with caseworkers and birth families... VERDICT For anyone considering becoming a foster parent, this title is esstential reading, full of rich advice. Unequivocally recommended. -- Library Journal, starred reviewJohn DeGarmo's new book, The Foster Parenting Manual exceeds expectations! Realistic and honest, it effectively describes the foster care system with discernment, describes being a foster parent and a foster family clearly and compassionately and it describes the children in the foster care system with empathy, sensitivity and truthfulness. It is an honor to endorse this book. -- Irene Clements, Foster Care Consultant and President of the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA), Minneapolis, USAThis is a unique book for people doing a unique job of fostering children which explains the subject simply and pragmatically. The gift of this book is the way it dispels the myths surrounding fostering and should help to lessen the anxiety around caring for someone else's child and also children who can struggle to accept care. It also provides carers with practical and reassuring guidance - encouraging positive outcomes in what can be a difficult yet rewarding partnership. The real-life examples support research in the field, and provide non-fostering adults a glimpse into the world of foster families and families themselves with insights and guidance from peers. This book is a fostering manual for the modern age and supports good learning for us all. -- Gradle Gardner Martin, Foster Care and Social Work Trainer, Elevate Training and Development Ltd, London, UKJohn DeGarmo is one of foster care's most promising experts. His new book The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe, and Stable Home is an essential resource for any foster parent or foster care professional. DeGarmo's detailed knowledge of foster care coupled with a smooth delivery ensures the reader of an informative and entertaining reading experience. -- Chris Chmielewski, Owner and Editor, Foster Focus magazine, Pennsylvania, USAJohn DeGarmo's latest book, The Foster Parenting Manual is a valuable reference for both prospective and new foster carers, written from the carer's perspective. Whilst some material in the manual may be specific to the foster care system in the United States, the book contains many practical suggestions on how to manage the day to day interactions with a foster child in a way that assists the child. The book is easy to read and could be used as a basis for a series of training sessions for new carers. Caseworkers would benefit from the book's perspective on many of the issues that carers face. The book points to the universality of the issues societies face in raising children who are separated from their families and the critical importance of providing them with supportive care. -- Scott Bray, Life Without Barriers, AustraliaThe Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe and Stable Home lays the foundation of understanding for potential and current foster parents. It answers all the questions up front, so people can easily determine if fostering will be the right path for them. DeGarmo covers all of the important topics, including allegations, grief and loss and so much more… The manual is a must-read for anyone considering foster parenting. -- Kim Phagan-Hansel, Editor of Adoption Today & Fostering Families Today, Colorado, USAThe author as an experienced foster carer himself acknowledges how difficult placements can be and the many challenges it may have on the foster carer's family life... This is an excellent aid for both foster carers and prospective foster carers as well as professionals who are responsible for placing children. -- Aileen Dunne, children's guardian and independent social worker * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements. Foreword by Mary Perdue, Former First Lady of Georgia. Introduction. 1. Foster Care: Children, Parents, and Caseworkers. 2. The History of Foster Care. 3. Training. 4. Placement: What to do Beforehand/How to Prepare. 5. Problems Foster Children Face. 6. Creating Rules and Expectations. 7. Your Foster Child and His Development. 8. Foster Children and School. 9. Working with Caseworkers. 10. Birth Parents and You. 11. Protecting Yourself and Family. 12. Finding Help as a Foster Parent. 13. When a Foster Child Leaves. 14. Adoption. 15. Resources. Index.

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Book SynopsisFoster children are more likely than other children to be involved in risky activities online due to backgrounds of neglect and abuse, an absence of supportive adults, lower self-esteem, and greater exposure to drugs and alcohol. Covering all the dangers of online technology that your foster child might encounter, from cyberbullying and "sexting", to child grooming and online hoaxes, this book pays particular attention to dangers unique to foster families, such as the difficulties internet access poses for maintaining formal arrangements for contact with birth families. DeGarmo equips foster parents and professionals with strategies to keep foster children safe online, giving tips on establishing expectations for internet usage, advice on how to prevent inappropriate contact and protect personal information, and explaining the importance of "netiquette". An indispensable guide to negotiating online dangers, this is required reading for all foster families as well as residential child care workers, social workers and other professionals working with children in care.Trade ReviewI'm grateful to Dr. John DeGarmo for tackling this overwhelming and frustrating topic. He has made it easy to understand both the pitfalls and the positive learning experiences associated with technology and social media. The information in this book is vital to everyone who works in the foster care system or who develops training programs for the children and youth in care. -- Irene Clements, President, National Foster Parent Association, USA“Keeping Foster Children Safe Online should not only be on the nightstand of every foster parent - it should be in the hands of every parent whose children are online." -- From the Foreword by Kim Hansel, Editor, Adoption Today and Fostering Families TodayThis book provides a wealth of information, good and ghastly, about the dangers and risks that foster carers, adoptive and biological parents, teachers, youth workers, social workers and others who work with, teach or live with preteens and adolescents really ought to know!... This book should be read and re-read and information shared... Having been a foster carer myself, I cannot highly enough recommend this book to anyone who lives or work with young people - not just foster children. -- Nurturing Potential, Potential UnleashedDeGarmo looks at the positives of internet use but also explores in detail the "nastiness" of the cyber-world we all know about... the addition of case studies brings the realities of this to life... this is an invaluable resource and should be required reading for all parents and everyone in the children's workforce. -- REES Centre NewsletterTable of ContentsForeword. Preface. Introduction - It's a Digital World. 1. Sex, Violence and Scams. 2. Establishing Ground Rules. 3. Social Networking. 4. Texting and Sexting. 5. Cyberbullying: Beyond the Playground. 6. Contact with Birth Parents. 7. Sexual Predators. 8. Access to Drugs, Alcohol and Cigarettes. 9. Apps and Video Games. Conclusion. About the Author. Resources. References. Glossary of Terms.

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Book SynopsisChild Adoption is a straightforward, concise and comprehensive guide which adoptive parents and the professionals who advise them will find invaluable. R.A.C. Hoksbergen covers the practical and emotional issues and possible problems which affect child and parents in adoption, such as:* preparation of the family and the child* adopting from different races or cultures, and dealing with discrimination* helping the child adjust to school* discussing the adoptive status with the child.This handbook provides much-needed information so that everyone involved in the adoption process can make educated and fully thought-out decisions. It is invaluable reading for any professional involved in the process of adoption including adoption workers and lawyers, social workers and couples who are considering adoption.Trade ReviewHere is a truly international perspective, perceptive, gentle, humorous and ironic. The views and utterances of adoptive children and adults who were adopted in childhood, are particularly enlightening....a welcome addition to the learning material of adoption educators and trainers. -- Issues in Social Work EducationCovers a whole range of issues related to adoption. The book is indeed very useful for couples preparing for international adoption, especially when they are preparing for a home-study or when a home-study is already in progress. The book is well worth reading. The book contains a welath of information, is very concise and the list of references makes it easy to find more information on the subjects touched upon in the book. -- Adoption UKThis book will be of interest to all professionals dealing with adoption, as it outlines possible problems realistically and backs up its case with plenty of research. I would recommend it to all trans-racial adopters unreservedly. -- Child Care in PracticeThe book is informative, non-judgemental, and sensitive to the initial problems for both adopters and adoptees. Its contents are supported by research and from the writer's own experiences of over 20 years of work in this area... The advice given can be of help to those adopting in many situations. My experience, having read the book, is that it achieves what it set out to do. For anyone who feels they need information or guidelines to adoption this is a book that is worth reading, especially if you work in this field. -- Psychotherapy and CounsellingAn informative, comprehensive guide to the possible challenges of adoption. -- ParentwiseTable of ContentsPreface 1. What do adoptive parents have to take into consideration? 2. Why do people adopt a child? 3. Adoptive parents need intensive preparation 4. The arrival of the child changes the family 5. The adoptive child at school 6. Some years later 7. Psychic homelessness and adoption 8. Transracial adoption and discrimination 9. The adoptive status should be discussable for the parents as well as for the children Conclusion. Appendix: Adoption Centre Brochure

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Book SynopsisThis is a book of real life stories of adopters which takes the reader through every stage of the adoption process starting with the moment when they decide that adoption is the right option for them to the stories of adoptees brought up by adoptive parents.In between, the book looks at all the different types of adoption that are carried out by all sorts of families from all sorts of children of every race and age and with every kind of problem. They range from babies who are only days old when they are taken into an adoptive family to teenagers with a multitude of psychological and physical problems. The book looks at both the success and failure of these adoptions.Its aim is to inform and enlighten professionals, adopters, potential adopters and all those whose lives have in some way been touched by adoption or want to know more about it.In 15 chapters it includes more than 70 real life stories which are all told from the heart sometimes in a moment of crisis and sometimes at a time of joy. They are not analysed, they are true stories about how it feels to be at the centre of adoption. All the stories, which have been recounted over the past 10 years, are reflective of adoption today in Britain.The book also includes a chapter on the legal aspects of adoption and a further chapter of useful information and addresses.Trade ReviewWould that there had been such a book when our sons were little, especially when we added a seven year old with emotional and behavioral difficulties to the family. I hope that everyone involved in adoption will be aware of the existence of this book, since it covers the actual experience of adoption form every aspect... Those who have contributed to this rich collection of personal experiences have been generous in sharing their hopes and fears: the good moments and the moments of utter despair and even failure... Like any book that is a compendium of writings, it would be easy to imagine that people, for whom adoption was a painful experience, would not have a voice here. This might be true to some extent but there are accounts of adoptions that failed, and times when tracing a birth-parent did not bring complete happiness. There are stories that might have been painful to write but can shed light on what it means to be an aopder or an adoptee, such as the story of the family whose badly damaged son suddenly seemed to thrive, and went on to become a successful business and family man, only to committ suicide at 27. This book should be required reading for all social workers, teachers, would be adopters, adopters and their doctors. For years adoption was a family secret for the birth-mother and the adopters. Now we are passed that stage it is important that the stories be heard. -- Mental Health Care and Learning Disabilities.The most appealing aspect of this book is that it consists of actual stories from actual adopters, incorporating every part of the adoption process from the 'short moment of pure joy and excitement for most potential adopters when they first decide that they want to adopt' to their feelings about their children seeking a reunion with their natural families or simply leaving home. The accounts, taken from this very journal over the past 10 years, have a rare honesty about them, resulting in an unadulterated insight into both the joys and the nightmares that adoption can bring. It is for this reason that I would describe it as a must for anyone considering adoption - including professionals - whose life has already been touched by adoption. Read from start to finish, it is as compelling as any novel, but the way the accounts are separated into themes such as "You want to adopt" and "Telling, tracing and the need to know more" - each with an introduction by the editor - also makes it a volume that can be accessed as a reference book. -- Adoption UKThis collection of first hand experiences of adoption has been compiled by Adoption UK. It is aimed primarily at adopters and prospective adopters and has the express aim of encouraging those who are thinking about adoption to consider it more seriously. However, it will be of general interest and offers an engaging and informative read for anyone interested in the adoption process and the issues it raises. Adoption UK believe that all children have a right to a family life, and lament the number of children who still wait for suitable adopters- particularly black children, older white children and children with disabilities. Through adopters own experiences the book covers the decision to adopt and the process of adoption, the adoption of school children and adolescents, children with a physical or learning disability, children who have been abused, adoption by single parents and gay couples and race and adoptions. -- ChildrightTable of Contents1. You want to adopt. 2. First meetings, first months, falling in love - good times, bad times, bonding. 3. Adopting babies and toddlers. 4. Adopting schoolchildren. 5. Taking on an adolescent. 6. Adopting children with a physical or mental disability. 7. Adopting a physically or sexually abused child. 8. Unusual adopters - single parents, unmarried couples, homosexuals, adoption over birth choice. 9. Adoption and race. 10. Openness in adoption. 11. Attached or unattached, the ongoing problem. 12. The nightmare - when an adoption breaks down. 13. Telling and talking. 14. Tracing. 15. The birth mother's story. 16. What adoptees say. Appendix 1. Legal issues. 2. Index of organisations.

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Book SynopsisWritten by an experienced adoptive parent, this clear, sensitive and practical handbook is designed to encourage and support adoptive and long-term foster parents, their children and adolescents. An adopted child may well have suffered abuse, neglect or inconsistent parenting in the past; he or she will certainly have experienced painful separations and losses. These early traumatic experiences, often expressed in emotional and behavioural problems within the family, can conceal a broad range of subtle alterations to the brain and nervous system of the developing child. They may become increasingly problematic as the youngster approaches the developmental challenges of adolescence.Drawing on both firsthand experience and some of the latest medical research, Caroline Archer presents strategies to help parents deal with their youngsters' troubling behaviour and to make them feel more comfortable, in what seems to them a hostile world.Archer sets out to provide adoptive and foster parents with an understanding of the complex range of difficulties with which their children may struggle as a result of their early experience of adversity. By exploring, in very simple ways, the effects of adverse experiences on the child's built-in biological response systems, she assists parents to make sense of the frequently perplexing behaviours of the hurt child within their family. Common situations which she specifically addresses include: sleep problems; anger, aggression and violence; lying and stealing; staying out late and running away; addictive behaviours and self harm; impulsiveness and risk-taking; sex; suicide and compulsive eating disorders.Following on from First Steps in Parenting the Child Who Hurts: Tiddlers and Toddlers (2nd edition), Next Steps will be an invaluable resource for adoptive and foster parents seeking to support their child through the later stages of childhood and adolescence. This book will also be an essential practical guide for professionals working with families and eager to gain a thorough understanding of the on-going developmental and relationship difficulties of adopted children.Trade ReviewIf you don't buy another book buy this one. For adoptive parents and foster carers, and for professionals working in either field, this is a must. Here the perplexing behaviours that drive us to despair and seriously threaten relationships, are explored with great sensitivity and a depth of understanding that has long been awaited. Caroline Archer draws upon new medical research to illustrate the changes to the brain and development of young people who have endured early trauma, and uses first hand experiences to provide a practical guide to the egg-shell-strewn daily journey with pre-teens and adolescents, All the problems we thought were ours alone – and surely due to our personal mismanagement – are explained here in this clear and well-constructed publication. Easy to read, it tackles with honesty all circumstances from bed-wetting to suicide attempts, lying to exploitation, sexuality to addictions and self-injury to protection of siblings. It also offers reassurance, encouragement and strategies allowing you to recognise and reach out to the child who hurts. -- Foster Care[Reviewed with First Steps] 'The holistic approach makes it particularly relevant to occupational therapists. They will be pleased to see references to neurological development and a mention of the value of sensory integration for some children whose trauma has caused tactile defensiveness or some other sensory problem. However, the majority of the chapters rightly deal with the psychological aspects. The focus on parents and carers does not prevent realistic advice on when to seek help from professionals. A sympathetic understanding of the children's feelings is balanced by a real concern for the needs of carers and the rest of the family. There is a clear recognition that firm boundaries are essential and there is frequent emphasis on positive approaches… I have found “Tykes and Teens” so supportive in my work with children who hurt and their foster or adoptive families that I am recommending it to parents and colleagues alike. I also recommend it to all NAPOT members who are involved in this field.' -- NAPOT Journal…this is a clear, sensitive and extremely practical handbook which looks at the reasons behind difficult behaviour, especially the effects of early trauma in a child's life, as well as suggesting strategies for dealing with it… This is a must-have book for adopters and foster carers and is also highly recommended for ordinary parents and step-parents whose children hurt for other reasons. If you are only in the early stages of considering adopting or fostering, it may open your eyes to issues you have not considered but try not to let its realism put you off unnecessarily. Not all children who have been through the care system have extreme problems, especially if they are given the sensitive support suggested here. -- Adoption and FosteringThis book follows on logically from the First Steps book and continues the challenging journey through childhood and into adolescence… In essence this is a book about love, and the ability to express it towards the adopted child, despite persistent and often extreme tests of that love. The author uses innovative imagery to explain the effects of emotional trauma early in the adopted child's life which may result in the “scared kid”, the “stuffed kid” and finally the “superkid”. The “looking glass” model is particularly effective at describing the marked perceptual differences that may arise between the child and the parent… A large section of the book is devoted to a review of specific sensitive situations that commonly arise… These range from bedwetting to stealing to self-injury and suicide. No attempt is made to offer all the answers and indeed the author emphasises that only the parent will know what is right for their own particular family and set of circumstances. This is another excellent book which draws on the real experiences of many adoptive parents and their families… For some the solutions suggested will not prove appropriate and for others very different problems will arise. However the basic tenets of the book deserve the widest possible readership amongst all those involved with adoptive children. -- Ed Abrahamson, Consultant Paediatrician, for Adoption UK JournalThe author's basic premise is that all children who have been adopted or placed in long-term care have undergone some form of psychological hurt. She argues that while some children will be more resilient to this hurt than others, many children will need their hurt to be acknowledged by their parents/carers, and be allowed to grieve for their losses in order to move forward to a life of greater well-being and fulfillment. [The book begins] by exploring such issues as bringing a child home, child development and what to do when things “don't seem quite right”. Other issues covered are the effects of trauma on a child, and how to handle specific difficulties that may arise with an adopted child. -- Family MattersNext Steps deals with “tykes and teens”. It looks at... potential hazards, such as addictive behaviour, sexual acting out and drug and alcohol use, all now, arguably, the birth-right of any parent. Of particular use here is a section called “Principles into Practice” where a range of scenarios is proposed with possible outcomes. These could also serve as training material…grounded in hard won experience. -- Community CareTable of ContentsForeword by Professor David Howe. What is Adoption UK? Introduction. 1. Coming Home. 2. More Beginnings: Continuing Child Development. 3. When Things Don't Seem Quite Right. 4. Through the Looking Glass. 5. Fundamental Principles. 6. Principles into Practice. 7. Sensitive Situations. Glossary. References. Hope Against Hope.

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Book SynopsisRecently there has been a renewed interest in family placement, its effectiveness and its value for money. What Works in Adoption and Foster Care? reviews changes in policy and practice and will assist managers and practitioners in family and childcare social work to make decisions based on sound evidence about where to place children and what sort of practice is likely to bring about the desired outcomes for children, birth relatives, foster carers and the adoptive family. The authors explore the factors that research indicates are likely to be associated with positive outcomes, how practice can be evaluated and what outcome measures can be used, and also look at the shortcoming of this research.

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Book SynopsisAn unusually humorous and candid memoir of Mulholland's experiences of growing up adopted, searching for and finding his birth mother and dealing with the psychological trauma he associates with the adoption.

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Book SynopsisThe true and moving story of a family's adoption of a little boy with cerebral palsy.

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Book Synopsis

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