Sing in the rain

So, I've been looking at this for a few years and have accumulated a bit of knowledge around it but most of you are unlikely to be familiar with it, so I thought it would be worth sharing. Initial conversations and (mandatory) information days with the adoption agency or agencies (I'll come back to agencies in another post) is called Pre-Stage one . This is where you have all the basic eligibility discussions with the social worker and commit to the agency that you will go through - that agency will also be the one to provide support for the first three years after the adoption. The process steps up a great deal, once you have completed the registration of interest form. This is the start of stage one . The target is to complete stage one within two months . This stage is where your suitability to be an adopter is addressed and confirmed. Referees, medical, why you want to be an adopter, who you would likely be appropriate for (number of children, ages, needs, backgrounds...) a...

I've just finished reading ' No Matter What ' by Sally Donovan. Sally's books have been recommended wherever the topic of adoption has come up, which says something in itself. This book is her story - what led her and her partner to look at adoption and the challenges that they experienced in the years that followed.  One of the topics covered at a later part of the book is schooling. Interestingly, her experiences seem quite aligned with what Adoption Adventures described - sadly in both cases a child ended up having to move school because the initial school did not have an understanding of the effects of early trauma and that they might have to think about their strategies to help their behaviour. They also noted that it's not unusual for the behaviours to lead to a misdiagnosis of ADHD. Both mentioned that when the children had experienced that lack of safety then changes in the room that they couldn't see could leave them really unsettled. One thing advised ...

Kids who are up for adoption have generally been through trauma - it may be varying levels, or from various causes. As a result, It is fairly usual for adoptive children to act younger than their actual age and i would need to respond to the age they show. This might vary through a day, but i need to allow for that regression so that they can feel that safe space.  It also means that i am unlikely to parent in the same way as others (and differently to how i might have been when looking after other kids). I'll share more about this later on this site. Going through the training means I'll get a lot of insight into the types of trauma. I am unlikely to share the full details of the trauma of the child/ren i adopt, but i may share some insights for behaviours that you'll see.  how family and friends - stepbystep (first4adoption.org.uk) It Takes a Village - 8 simple ways to support your friend's adoption | Austin Family Magazine

So as a new process has begun and I'm sharing some insights of what's to come. I've been listening to a podcast called 'Adoption adventures' which has some really good episodes for this purpose. Here are a few links Attachment: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sfQ5ziQvALH2RqzAbOR8W?si=J-IJIyTuRaC59AG2IXwcdQ&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Friends and family training: https://open.spotify.com/episode/039z2vvZz4td6mv5Nf7C7V?si=hfKIJRMVRm-WkyTJZ4QFKg&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Matching: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BpTEez8dJfdMLMrtupoYD?si=AvPUQnTMSKGxdEV8H0wTOg&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Social media: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4N0x6ezjuUSrP8vj3UBFhE?si=wgCqjRxhTCiiugiDql3nxA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 School: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7qUqGwyg76AB7Obvoe6sqc?si=7AhqBq8JRS-2ImC_t2dNQw&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 Adopting an older child/ Process of finding your child (ren): https://open.s...