We Want to Adopt, but My Father-in-Law Has Terminal Cancer - Weekend Wisdom
Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
02/01/25
•3m
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Question: My father-in-law was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a maximum of 6 months left to live. We learned this right before our home study for older child/foster care adoption was finalized. Do you have any advice for what we should do with our adoption process moving forward? I am worried if we match before my husband is done grieving, we could add additional trauma to the child, but there is no set timeline for grieving. How do we deal with our loss while helping a child get through their loss?
Resources:
- Creating a Family Online Support Group (Facebook)
- Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource Page)
- Helping a Child Heal from Trauma (Resource Page)
Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
- Weekly podcasts
- Weekly articles/blog posts
- Resource pages on all aspects of family building
Previous Episode
Adopting or Fostering a Child with Down Syndrome
January 29, 2025
•46m
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Are you considering adopting or fostering a child with Down Syndrome? Join our conversation with Dr. Sara Williams, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She provides developmental evaluations and follow-up care for children with a variety of neurodevelopmental disabilities, including in the Thomas Center for Down Syndrome.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What is Down syndrome?
- How common is it?
- What are the different types of Down syndrome? Is genetic testing routinely done when Down syndrome is suspected?
- What are some of the common physical traits of a person with Down syndrome?
- What are the common developmental disabilities caused by this disorder?
- What are the common intellectual disabilities caused by this disorder?
- Is there a way to know in advance how intellectually impacted a child may be?
- Do the symptoms differ depending on the type of Down syndrome the child has?
- What are the common mental health issues that people with this disorder may exhibit?
- What are some ways to determine the degree of impact if you adopt a child past infancy?
- Interventions that can help.
- How do these kids fit within the school system? What is the school system required to do?
- What are the common medical conditions that may accompany trisomy 21?
- What is the life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome?
- Is there a medical specialty that those considering adopting or fostering a child with Down syndrome should seek out?
- What are some common mental health issues and behavioral issues that may be more common in people with Down syndrome?
- How to find mental health and behavioral treatment for children and adults with Down syndrome?
- How does trauma interact with Down syndrome?
- Is attachment difficult for kids with Down syndrome who have experienced trauma?
- Are people with Down syndrome able to live independently in adulthood?
- What makes a difference in the prognosis for children with Down syndrome?
- Why should people consider adopting or fostering a child with Down syndrome?
Resources:
- National Down Syndrome Society (list of specialized centers)
- Global Down Syndrome
- Reece’s Rainbow
- Understanding Down Syndrome
- American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report: Health Supervision for Children With Down Syndrome
Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
- Weekly podcasts
- Weekly articles/blog posts
- Resource pages on all aspects of family building
Next Episode
Adopting Older Children
February 5, 2025
•53m
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Are you considering adopting a child over the age of 5? Join our discussion with Dr. Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero. She has a PhD in Social Work from Fordham University and is co-author of the book Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Children Over Age Four.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The greatest need in both foster care adoption and international adoption is to adopt kids 5 and older.
- Adolescents have a bad reputation in general in our society and those in foster care or international child welfare institutions have an even worse reputation.
- These kids and youth may have challenging behaviors that will be hard to parent. (They also may not have challenging behaviors.)
- Why have they developed these behaviors? (grief and loss, trauma, mental health)
- What are some typical behaviors that are more difficult for parents?
- Tips for creating trust and attachment with older children.
- How to prevent these behaviors from influencing other kids in the family?
- Special issues specific to older kids adopted internationally.
- Lack of ability to communicate.
- Cultural differences.
- Safety concerns, especially if there are younger children in the family.
- Sexually acting out.
- Physical abuse.
- Sibling relationships when adopting an older child.
- Contact with bio family members and former foster parents
- Trying to establish rules with teens/tweens who have had too much freedom.
- Helping kids academically.
- Neuropsychological evaluations, IEPs,
- Support for adoptive families
Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
- Weekly podcasts
- Weekly articles/blog posts
- Resource pages on all aspects of family building
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