Search Results for: blog language and learning in adopted children

Book Review: Weaving a Family Untangling Race and Adoption

Barbara Katz Rothman is a sociologist. Much of her work has focused on the meaning of motherhood—ranging from studies of the modern midwifery movement, to the consumer pressure to buy for one’s offspring, to the Human Genome Project and the impact of genetics on identity and culture. These two interests– what it means to be a mother and what genes have to do with identity–merged when Rothman and her husband adopted an African-American infant. Rothman’s book Weaving a Family: Untangling Race and Adoption shares her insights, both professional and personal, on transracial adoption. Rothman’s title is inspired by the experience … Continue reading →

Children’s Book Reviews: The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale and Every Year on Your Birthday

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale is author-illustrator Grace Lin’s tale of a king and queen who feel a strange pain in their hearts. I consider it a strong contender for my Adoption Books with Great Art series. Lin, an American of Chinese descent, wrote the book after experiencing “many warm and wonderful interactions with families with children from China”. Based on an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects those who are destined to be together, Lin creates a wise peddler who gives a king and queen with a “pain in their hearts” a pair … Continue reading →

Book Review: Adoption is a Family Affair–What Family and Friends Must Know

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Prolific adoption writer Patricia Irwin Johnston is herself an adoptive parent of three. Her husband and sister-in-law were also adopted. Pat has been a writer, speaker, educator and advocate on adoption topics for nearly 20 years. While moderating an internet support group for waiting parents, she found many prospective adoptive parents reporting insensitive comments and myths about adoption that they were hearing from family members. Many waiting parents also noted that people didn’t seem to know what to say when they announced that they were adopting, and that before and after the baby arrived they didn’t have the traditional supportive … Continue reading →

Book Review: Let’s Talk About Fostering and Adoption

Let’s Talk About Fostering and Adoption by Sarah Levete is part of the “Let’s Talk About” series from Stargazer books. Other titles include “Let’s Talk About….Racism, Learning Difficulties, Bullying, Drugs, Stepfamilies, Keeping Safe, Being an Immigrant” and more. The book begins with “What’s My Family Like?”, “Why is Someone Fostered?” and “What Will My Foster Family be Like?” It mentions reasons why children are referred for foster care and explains that foster families are chosen and trained to provide a safe place. The book talks about the feelings kids may experience about being placed in foster care and about moving … Continue reading →

Resources for Responding to Racism: Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice

In my last blog I mentioned recent incidents of racism against adopted children. One resource parents can use for talking to their children, and recommending to their children’s teachers (perhaps Scout leaders and religious leaders too) are the book Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice, written by Caryn Stern-LaRosa and Ellen Hofheimer Bettmann and published by the Anti-Defamation League (a portion of the proceeds from the book go to supporting the League’s work). One weakness is the book’s statistics on U.S. population by race, which were taken from the 1990 census, making them old even when the book … Continue reading →

Adoption Blog Month in Review: August 2007

A major theme for this month in the adoption blog was discussions—especially discussions with your child, but also discussions with others. I began the month sharing my four-year-old daughter Regina’s questions about her droopy eyelid in Talking With Kids About Special Needs, and in Principles for Talking with Kids About Special Needs I discuss how I tried to use the same tenets for talking about her eye that I use when talking about adoption issues. Regina also figures prominently in the next blogs. She told me, “I Don’t Like My Skin”. I stumbled through a response, shared in I Don’t … Continue reading →

Language and Learning in Adopted Children

Some parents who thought their children were doing very well with speech and language may find themselves unpleasantly surprised as their children begin second grade, when a higher level of language is required. Teachers have often noted poor academic performance among immigrant children graduating from English as a Second Language programs, even though the children appear to converse in English perfectly well. Educators and speech-language clinicians are learning that there are two kinds of language. Many refer to the first type as Communicative Language Fluency. This is the type of language we think of when we say a child can … Continue reading →

Handwriting Without Tears

My school has recently adopted a handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears. This program focuses strictly on penmanship. The goal of Handwriting Without Tears is to provide all students the ability to write clearly and correctly. The program uses a variety of sensory techniques. It is designed to meet the needs of all types of learners. Teachers and parents are given ideas and activities to improve a child’s posture, handgrip, self-confidence, body awareness, and more. The program has its own workbook, paper, pencil, and supplement materials. The instruction is easy to follow and requires little preparation. The program uses three levels … Continue reading →

How Common Are Attachment Disorders with Adopted Children?

There is no real statistical information about how common attachment disorders are in the general population. Research does indicate that attachment disorders do happen with biological children. In many cases, attachment disorders may happen as a result of prolonged hospital stays for the child, parent, or primary caregiver. There is also strong indication that children who grow up in neglectful or abusive homes fail to develop the needed skills to properly attach or relate to other people. Attachment disorders happen most frequently with adopted toddlers and children. Especially with children in foster care and state adoptions who have come from … Continue reading →

Early Intervention Services for Babies and Toddlers

Early intervention services are offered as part of the public school programs in many states. Any family who suspects a child, biological or adopted, is in need of any pre-education services will be screened and evaluated upon a parents request. The goal of these services are to identify learning disorders or other issues as early as possible and help young children be ready to start school on time and on target. The best way to find out about the services offered to you is to contact your local grade school and ask for the Early Intervention Services contact information. In … Continue reading →