Are you meeting the mental health and developmental needs of your adopted child?

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute just came out with this recent study on adoption and I was wondering if anyone has read it and what they thought about it?

Heres a recap and then I'll provide the link for those of you who haven't read it to read ( if you want ) and then give your feedback...

ADOPTIVE PARENT PREPARATION PROJECT PHASE I: MEETING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN

This policy and practice paper outlines best practices for preparing adoptive parents to meet the mental health and developmental needs of their children.

The second phase of this project involves the development of a comprehensive set of curriculum modules for training parents on the mental health, developmental, and child-rearing issues related to adoption.

So go check it out and pay attention to: OBSTACLES TO ADOPTIVE PARENT PREPARATION & EDUCATION and tell me what you think.

http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/research/2008_02_parent_prep.php

sunny

I wish more PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) would read this report, and do more research in general, so they wound understand that raising adopted children is more complicated than raising their own biological children.

Lots of great points were hit on, and I'm sure would prove illuminating to most who think they might want to adopt, but have little information other than what is provided by adoption agencies.

I do disagree with this quote;

"The nature of adoption has become increasingly complex over the past few decades."

I think adoption has ALWAYS been very complex, it's only now that we're openly acknowledging it.

Possum

wow - finally some real and honest dialogue about issues that adoptees 'can' face.
Thanks for the heads-up Gersh.

I wish my a-mum had known about this stuff. She would have been better prepared to handle me - and in turn would perhaps have validated my grief - instead of ignoring it - or worse - dismissing my sadness and angst completely.

And - this stuff IS needed - because isn't it better to at least be aware of possible issues - instead of burying heads in sand - saying that it will never happen to anyone - because it didn't happen to them???
Should we just dismiss it as unnecessary because not all adoptees have troubles adjusting to an adoptee life???
PFFFFTTTT
How very small minded!

I believe it's better to be fully prepared for any scenario.
It's a great report - and I do hope that it's recommendations are implemented.
As it's about 'the best interests of the child' - finally!

punxy_girl

Thanks Gershom, I hadn't seen this yet. I agree with everything within. Thanks for sharing.

Torrejon

I wish someone had told my aparents about this. Adoption was generally a topic we all pretended was not important. I did eventually figure out my own answers to my own questions, but I think it would have been easier if there had been some discussion.

Cam

My answer to your first question is yes. Educating myself on meeting the mental health and developmental needs of my child was a priority. Learning early-on about identity issues for the adopted child was key to my decision to maintain an open adoption.

In addition to my own research I was fortunate to also have the guidance of a few well educated adoption counselors. Our adoption took place over 10 years ago and although this document is very recent the content is very familiar to me. The whole process for me was about the child and the bio mom. Never did I feel entitled.

Perhaps I was just lucky to have been in the company of some well educated and qualified professionals. I know they exist because that was my experience.

Freckle Face

Thanks Gershom! I agree with everything the study had to say. It would be wonderful to have access to all of this information instead of having to track it all down myself. Not to mention having an organized group class would provide a wider depth of info than i could accomplish on my own. I have it bookmarked. Thanks for another great site.

Gaia Raain

Thank you for that! It's on the top of my list of "things to do" for the weekend (I've got a busy two days ahead, so just rushing around reading what I can for now - it has been bookmarked).

Kym M

I haven't read it. But I guess most parents will do the best they can for their child adopted or not. Mine although did a bad job as they were abusive.

Can anyone really say that they are meeting ALL of the needs of their child, adopted or biological? The fact that adopted children probably have more needs (especially mental health/emotional) means that adopted parents REALLY need some sort of a support network. I only wish that I could find a good one.

Momof2!

There should be a study on 'meeting the needs of children period'.
With so many crap parents out there, I would think an adoption research study is the last area that would need to be focused on.

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