E-Book Overview
Attaching in Adoption is a comprehensive guide for prospective and actual adoptive parents on how to understand and care for their adopted child and promote healthy attachment.This classic text provides practical parenting strategies designed to enhance children's happiness and emotional health. It explains what attachment is, how grief and trauma can affect children's emotional development, and how to improve attachment, respect, cooperation and trust. Parenting techniques are matched to children's emotional needs and stages, and checklists are included to help parents assess how their child is doing at each developmental stage. The book covers a wide range of issues including international adoption, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and learning disabilities, and combines sound theory and direct advice with case examples throughout.This book is a must read for anyone interested in adoption and for all adoptive families. It will also be a valuable resource for adoption professionals.
E-Book Content
Deborah D. Gray ATTACHING IN ADOPTION Practical Tools for Today’s Parents 1 Advance Comments on Deborah Gray’s Attaching in Adoption “This positive, but realistic book is an important resource for all adoptive families, at any stage of pre and post-adoption. The information on attachment challenges will allow prospective adoptive parents to understand the possible issues of their new children. Those that have adopted will be able to recognize some behaviors of their children and learn methods of parenting that will help all to achieve success. As an adoptive parent and adoption professional, I found the vignettes heart warming and at other times, heart wrenching, but realistic and achievable within a hectic family setting. The clear explanations of the phases allows parents to easily measure where they are, where their children are and how they can improve their parenting and health of the entire family. Attaching in Adoption is also a valuable resource for professionals who work with parents. It will assist them to help parents to maneuver the sometimes-challenging path of adoptive parenting. Deborah’s focus on the health of the family helps to normalize the specialized skills and techniques taught.” Yolanda Comparan, MSW, Program Manager, Adoption Resource Center Northwest Region (Seattle) Children’s Home Society of Washington “Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents is a brilliantly written and sensitive educational journey into the developmental world of attachment. The book is a comprehensive and clear depiction of the importance of attachment, the challenge faced by parents adopting high risk children, and the negative effects of trauma and grief on the development of a secure attachment. The book reflects Ms. Gray’s depth of perception, understanding of child development, empathy, and attunement with the children and families she has served in her therapeutic practice. Ms. Gray provides practical common sense tools for parents that can support them in developing skills that will enhance healthy relationships and connections with their children. Ms. Gray is realistic and honest as she speaks to parents. She empowers them to take charge in a nurturing way. She respects the importance of the balance of nurture and structure. The chapters on building emotional intelligence, forming a team of support, and suggestions of when and where to seek professional help provide a hopefulness that there is a way out of the darkness of emotional chaos into the light of safety and trust for children suffering from attachment problems. Although “Attaching in Adoption” is written primarily for parents, I would encourage my fellow professionals to include this book on their “must read” list. It 1 2 ATTACHING IN ADOPTION will ass