Adoption STAR’s Director of Adoption Kathy Crissey shares a piece of beautiful poetry that would never have been written without an adult daughter and a birth mother finding each other. This was written by the daughter of a former client of mine who recently passed away. When I worked with the client, she was searching
Continue reading »A Unique Relationship
by Kathy Crissey, MS, LMHC Adoption STAR’s Director of Adoption Kathy Crissey suggests some important considerations for relationship development between prospective adoptive parents and birth parents prior to a potential placement. There may be an opportunity for a relationship to develop between a birth parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) prior to the birth of a child.
Continue reading »Letter from a Birth Parent to an Adoptive Parent
by Kathy Crissey Adoption STAR’s Director of Adoption Kathy Crissey relies on her years of adoption experience to write a letter from the perspective of a Birth Parent. I am going through a time in my life that is the probably the most difficult time I have ever gone through. I feel alone and I
Continue reading »What to Expect #3: Attachment and Bonding
To even begin to understand the reality of attachment and bonding we need to know what these terms mean. Attachment: Attachment is a tie between two people. Healthy attachment is a two-way street, this occurs when a caregiver (parent), provides stable and consistent responses to the child’s distress. Distress occurs when a baby or child
Continue reading »What is Transracial Adoption?
By Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall Transracial adoption means the joining of racially different parents and children together in adoptive families. Most transracial adoptive parents are white. Most transracially- adopted kids are of color. Transracial adoption includes children adopted from other countries as well as those born in the United States. This means that kids
Continue reading »The Cycle of Bonding
by Gregory C. Keck and Regina M. Kupecky There is a common children’s verse that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” For the abused child, nothing could be further from the truth. While the effects of physical abuse usually heal over time, the psychological insults experienced by
Continue reading »The Conundrum of Age Assignment for Children Adopted from Abroad
by Dr. Jane Aronson Introduction The establishment of age for children adopted from abroad can be challenging for parents and adoption professionals. When children have been left in a public place without a note, adults are forced to guess the age. For infants, this age assignment is pretty easy especially if there is a remnant
Continue reading »Talking with Children About Adoption – This Author’s View
by Christine Mitchell, author and illustrator Recently my daughter asked me, with a sad expression, “How come babies have to come out of their mom’s tummies?” I wondered if it was bothering her that she did not ‘come from my tummy’. I considered asking her if this was troubling her, but I didn’t want to
Continue reading »Stepping Inside of Transracial Adoption
by Beth Hall Children deserve to experience belonging, no matter how many families they have, whether they join their family, by birth or by adoption, no matter their age, no matter their race or how weird or boring or amazing they are, they deserve to come to believe in an absolute way that they have
Continue reading »Sherrie Eldridge on Adoption: 4 Short Notes
Emotional Vulnerabilities of an Adoptee: I need help in recognizing my adoption loss and help with grieving it. I need to be assured that my birth parent’s decision not to parent me had nothing to do with anything defective in me. I need help in learning how to deal with my fears of rejection—to learn
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