Andrew

21/09/2021 Like many people, I found the adoption process challenging, but once we were approved and on the road to adopting our little girl, I felt all it had been necessary. The Government has over time made its intention to speed up the adoption process clear. Former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson stated that the only… Read More »The adoption process is invasive and challenging, but for good reason

17/08/2021 Like many children who have experienced early trauma, our little one thrives on routine. In the early days of her placement with us, she’d need micro-detail about what was going to happen. For her it had to a be a minute-by-minute breakdown such as “we’ll put our shoes on by the front door, go… Read More »Routine, transitions and the summer holidays

05/08/2021 No matter how prepared you are or how ready you feel, the realities of adoption will always be a shock. They certainly were for us. We’re still relatively new to being an adoptive family in the grand scheme of things, but I feel we’ve come through quite a few challenges while learning on the… Read More »Adoption: Expectation vs reality

19/07/2021 Adoption can be really isolating. Really isolating. From the challenges of having to be separate and not introduce family early in placement, to the isolating impact of challenging behaviour caused by early trauma, a sense of separation and loneliness can easily creep in with adoption. Parenting in general can have this effect, but adopting… Read More »The isolation and loneliness of adoption

25/05/2021 Adoption has rightly changed enormously over the years. Where once it would have been seen as the right thing to ‘protect’ a child against issues arising from contact with birth family, we now know the importance understanding life story, knowing who family members are and being in touch where safe and appropriate.   In… Read More »The importance of contact

21/03/2021 There is a gulf between perceptions of adoption within wider society and the experience and understanding of adopters and adoptees. This is obviously no great revelation to anyone involved with adoption. What is interesting to me is the dynamic that exists between societal expectations and understandings of adoption, the way adoption is marketed to… Read More »Framing contemporary adoption

02/03/2021 Like all prospective adopters, we had to think long and hard about our matching criteria during the approval process. When we started out, we wouldn’t have imagined adopting a child with underlying health conditions, but that’s where our journey would take us. As we navigated a far from simple route through stage two, our… Read More »Adopting a child with additional needs

13/02/2021 Adoption recruitment is essential, but so is post-adoption support and helping adopted young people understand their life stories. It’s clear that big moves are afoot in the worlds of children’s social care, adoption and permanence. The long-anticipated care review is has kicked off with a ‘call for advice’ and a process to establish an… Read More »A drive for more adopters must be mirrored by a better package of support

04/02/2021 I find myself thinking about the sensory processing issues that adopted children face more and more. Our daughter, like many has had significant sensory challenges, which relate to her early experience and in her case intersect with underlying medical conditions. I’m by no means an expert in this area, but I’ve reflected on what… Read More »Sensory overload and early trauma