Adopting and doing foster care can be lonely in the world-at-large. Very few people know what it’s like to adopt, they don’t know about bonding or attachment issues, they don’t know about specific behaviors adopted children can have and why, they don’t understand your concerns as an adoptive parent. Even fewer people know what it’s…
Read Morewhich foster/adoption agency should you use?
One of the first questions foster and adoptive parents have is: Which agency do I use? (If you are interested in a child who is available for adoption through the foster system, please don’t miss the end of this post.) When doing foster care or adopting from foster care, you can use your local DHS (Department…
Read Morethis IS what I signed up for (autism, adoption, and all of the above)
Last week I shared what fun has been going on here. After sharing this with a friend, she said, “It’s not what you signed up for is it?” (A little background if you haven’t been around for long: Justin and I adopted two children from foster care, Payton is seven, and Jeremiah has non-verbal autism…
Read Moreorphanages in America & 5 things you can do to help
American’s don’t think orphanages exist in the USA, I mean in 2015 how could they? Sadly there are orphanages in America, they’re simply called “group homes.” Children in Arizona are being placed in group homes because there aren’t enough foster homes or kinship placement options. Maricopa County is only one county in the U.S. that’s…
Read More5 tips for parents of special needs children
Thinking positive is what gets me through. Crazy thing is I’m not a positive person. Now you say, Yeah right, sure you aren’t. But I’m not, I’m quite pessimistic, really the kind of “glass half empty” kinda gal. I’m fairly positive when it comes to autism though. I’m learning from some of the best, and I’ve…
Read Morewhy you THINK I adopted or fostered, but you may be wrong
Everyone has their opinions of why people adopt or foster. Some wrong, some right. Family and friends have assumed why we adopted. Why we wanted to adopt from China, why we adopted from foster care, and maybe part of me wants to set the record straight, but a larger part of me knows adoptive parents…
Read Moretransitioning the special needs student to another class or school
Yesterday was Jeremiah’s last day of preschool. I’m crying. I’m scared. I’m worried. I know so many of you can relate. The awesome thing is that Jeremiah’s preschool teacher can relate because she has an autistic son who’s sixteen. She has said over and over through our three years together that Jeremiah reminds her so…
Read Moreadoption and foster care in the classroom
Parents know what it’s like, the questions and requests from teachers for baby photos, information for family trees, and questions about moms. A teachers job is hard, really hard. It’s even more difficult as class sizes grow. To remember the backgrounds of every child is difficult, but I think there should be a general understanding…
Read Moreadoptive parents of autistic children needed for dissertation study
Catherine Godone-Maresca, M.A. is in need of adoptive autism parents. Catherine’s goal is to provide others with understanding about what it’s like to parent an autistic child. She says that this population of mother’s of autistic children has “remained largely unstudied.” Catherine has enough biological parents participating in the study, but needs these adoptive parents…
Read Morebelieve in your child (autism)
I’ve got to get out more. When we get out of our comfort zone and I talk to others, it gives me platforms to jump off. Ideas come pouring in from what I see and experience and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. However, with autism it’s difficult to leave this haven…
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lovin' adoptin' & autism 