The Russian Adoption News Story

The adoption world is abuzz with talk about the child who was sent back to Russia. The details of what all went on in the home are still being investigated.  Here are my thoughts on it.  RAD is so hard. There have been times I have regretted adopting.(those times are fleeting!) There have been times I have searched for a residential placement. I believe that there are times when disruption of an adoption is appropriate.  It is never appropriate to abandon a child.  ATTACH has issued a statement

"Support for Adoptive Families


The Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children (ATTACh)

advocates for improved treatment services for children who have experienced significant

traumas early in life that affect their attachment to a parent. Nationally based, ATTACH

is a unique organization comprised of mental health therapists, parents, child welfare

professionals and other child advocates.

Sadly, many parents throughout the world lack the resources and ability to provide the

safe, nurturing environment needed by all children during infancy and childhood to

promote normal development. As a result, their foundation for healthy development is

damaged so that they have difficulty forming loving, lasting, close relationships. These

children can suffer from insecurity in their attachment relationships, and, in the most

severe cases, from disturbances and disorders of attachment. Parents, teachers, and others

in helping roles can find that children with this condition are less responsive to direction,

less eager to please and more aggressive. These children may be at increased risk for

serious psychological problems in adolescence and adulthood.

Families who adopt children through international adoption or the foster care system often

need a great deal of information, education, support and services to help maintain the

placement or help families make good choices for treatment or alternative care.

ATTACh is a source of publications, education and support as well as a referral service to

clinicians knowledgeable of attachment and trauma-focused therapy. Proper diagnosis,

treatment and support will help change the future for these children, their families - and our

society."

My interpretation of this is that we, as adoptive families, are here to support one another and encourage each other. If anything this sad story should spur us on to educate and reach out.  Yes. We as moms need support. We need to find it out but I think we also have a responsibility to reach out to other families as well.

Have a healing day!