Older Child Adoption: Journey Into The Unknown Webinar
Older Child Adoption: Parent Centered/Child Focused Adoption with Elaine Ash, MSW, RSW, mental health therapist, and her adult daughter, Ashley, who was placed with Elaine six years prior.
Recommended Audience:
- Prospective and adoptive families and the professionals who work with them
Elaine and Ashley provide candid yet heartwarming insights into the unique challenges, feelings, beliefs and corresponding needs of older children who join their families by adoption. The focus of this webcast is on the initial stages of placement. Not only do they discuss “gentle tools”, strategies and resources that can be used to facilitate a child’s adjustment and successful integration into a new family unit, but they highlight what parents can do for themselves and other family members (i.e., previously adopted children) when embarking on the lifelong journey to becoming a permanent family.
Goal: To raise awareness about the common adjustments and corresponding needs of the older child and adoptive family members in the aftermath of an adoption placement/post-placement. Original date: March 2019.
Objectives: By the end of this webcast, participants will be able to do the following:
- Define “older child”
- Enumerate qualities needed to assume a parent-centred/child-focused approach to adoption
- Identify the common feelings, challenges, beliefs and needs of older children who join their families through adoption and permanency planning
- Provide examples of common challenges, feelings and needs of adoptive parents and previously adopted children post-placement
- Outline the primary role and responsibilities of adoptive and permanency planning parents post-placement
- List gentle tools, strategies and resources that can be used to enhance the adjustment of the child to be adopted and other family members post-placement
- Discuss the importance of being well-informed about the topic, parent-centered/child-focused approach to parenting a child by adoption, pre- and/or post-placement