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Originally Posted by rykyki
As an adoption professional, I am seeing a greater number of disrupted international adoptions than ever before. Does anyone have any advice as to whether or not there are specific issues that are not being addressed during the home study that should be? What can we do to prepare these families better? Thank you.
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Honestly I don't think enough paps are getting enough training about the problems you can experience in an international adoption situation. I know that being over 3hours away from my placing agency and being over an hour away from my homestudy agency (who knew very little about the process--so little it is scary) made any kind of training impossible. I was encouraged (but not required) to do an online course by the placing agency that cost over $100 and taught me NOTHING! I am a college professor. Research is my gig and I researched like crazy and even still research can never totally prepare you for the individual concerns your child will bring.
I think SW need more training. My social worker asked me yesterday at our final post placement visit if I knew why babies were usually 6 months at the youngest from China so she could tell paps as they kept asking and she didn't know why!!--All I have to say about that is WOW!
I think parents need more training--even seasoned parents. I am personally aquainted with some people right now who are opting out of the recommended training because they are older parents who have 2 grown children. I told them not to do that as adoptive parenting (as much as adoptive parents would LOVE to say this isn't true) is different that biological parenting. The love, the devotion is not different, but the whole process is and we need to be aware of that and accept and embrace those differences.
So long answer to short question...but I have tons of sympathy for all involved. I know I have it easy with Lydia. She adapted well and attached quickly. She has issues...speech, and attachment (barnacle baby we call her) being our most pressing concerns, but others don't have it so simple. Others deal with rages, hysteria, oral aversions, failure to thrive, etc. but so few parents are really aware and even fewer are advised where to turn should those problems arise.