Attaching 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.
Acknowledgements. 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.
""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.
