Family & Relationships : Adoption

A top adoption attorney reveals the insider secrets of successful adoptions. Renowned adoption attorney Randall Hicks demystifies the legal system with this essential resource for adopting a child-domestically and internationally-within one year or less. With practical information and insightful wisdom, Adoption offers advice from a leading industry insider who knows exactly what people can expect as expecting adoptive parents. more...

Price: $15.95

'…all those involved in the adoption of children, old hands and new, will be stimulated and encouraged by this infectious read.'. - from the Foreword by David Howe, Dean of the School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, University of East Anglia. 'This work is a treasure for foster and adoptive parents and for the professionals who work to assist them.'. - from the Foreword by Daniel A. Hughes, clinical psychologist, consultant, trainer and author. This book is full of the techniques that we have used successfully over the years. Many we have adapted to suit their needs and many we have made up ourselves. What we have become particularly good at is not giving up!. A mother of two adopted children, Celia Foster has written Big Steps for Little People as a personal 'insider's guide' to parenting adopted children. Drawing on the hard-won wisdom gained in her own family life, Celia offers a thoughtful account of life with adopted children and examines the issues that many adoptive families encounter, including the development of children with attachment problems and how to tackle behavioural difficulties. She combines real-life anecdotes with suggestions and strategies that other parents can put to use. This book will be a great comfort and help to all adoptive families and offers insights for the professionals who work with them. more...

Price: $19.95

Adoptive, foster and stepmothers, like biological mothers, find their lives completely changed by motherhood although they are not always granted the rights and privileges accorded to those who give birth. Barbara Waterman explores the common experiences that are shared by all those who enter the motherhood portal. She highlights the importance of wider family and professional support for non-biological parents and primary care-givers of both genders, and their children. A stepmother herself and a practicing psychologist, Waterman's writing is illustrated throughout with vignettes of children and parents from a range of backgrounds. She shows the important ways in which a non-biological attachment is both more similar to and more different from biological attachment than is currently understood. In doing this, Waterman broadens the notion of the 'traditional' family, and offers a positive alternative to the myth of the perfect mother. All kinds of step-, adoptive and foster families and those coming into contact with them will find this thoroughly researched and personal book an indispensable guide. more...

Price: $25.95

"...an extremely useful parenting handbook...truly outstanding ... strongly recommended.". --Library Journal (starred review). "A tremendous resource for parents and professionals alike.". --Thomas Atwood, president and CEO, National Council for Adoption. The adoption of a child is always a joyous moment in the life of a family. Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family--and addressing their special needs--requires care, consideration, and compassion. Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, The Connected Child will help you: Build bonds of affection and trust with your adopted child; Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorders; Discipline your child with love without making him or her feel threatened. ". . . a must-read not only for adoptive parents, but for all families striving to correct and connect with their children.". --Carol S. Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child  . "Drs. Purvis and Cross have thrown a life preserver not only to those just entering uncharted waters, but also to those struggling to stay afloat.". --Kathleen E. Morris, editor of S. I. Focus magazine  . "Truly an exceptional, innovative work . . . compassionate, accessible, and founded on a breadth of scientific knowledge and clinical expertise.". --Susan Livingston Smith, program director,Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. " The Connected Child is the literary equivalent of an airline oxygen mask and instructions:  place the mask over your own face first, then over the nose of your child. This book first assists the parent, saying, in effect,  'Calm down, you're not the first mom or dad in the world to face this hurdle, breathe deeply, then follow these simple steps.'  The sense of not facing these issues alone--the relief that your child's behavior is not off the charts--is hugely more...

Price: $16.95

'A well-argued, substantial, intelligent text, which will take thoughtful readers on in their appreciation of the complexity of adoption support. It deserves to be widely read.'. - John Simmonds, BAAF. 'A welcome breath of fresh air and common sense to the often complex issues surrounding the permanent placement of children in substitute families.'. - Caroline Archer, Family Futures. Adoption is currently taking centre stage in family policy in the UK and USA, with new legislation that places emphasis on providing and maintaining permanent family homes for children separated from their families of origin. This book explores the challenges of adoption and how best to support families coping with these demands. Angie Hart and Barry Luckock draw together adoptive parents' experiences, professional practice and empirical research to provide an integrative account of adoption support services. Using three fictional families, they illustrate issues such as the adoption of older children, single, lesbian and gay adoptive parenting and the importance of openness in adoptive relationships. The authors bring sociological and anthropological perspectives to bear on current developmental psychology models of trauma and attachment and examine the effectiveness of various therapeutic interventions. Developing Adoption Support and Therapy will make current research and legislation on adoption support accessible to therapists, parents, social work practitioners and managers alike. more...

Price: $32.95