The document describes the case of Annabel, a 14-year-old girl who was adopted at age 3 but presented with complex needs including autism and attachment disorder. Her behaviors escalated with puberty and secondary school, resulting in violent outbursts towards her adoptive mother. She was ultimately placed in a residential home for safety reasons. The placement allowed Annabel to maintain contact with her adoptive family, which helped her develop resilience and confidence in the family unit despite not living with them. The case demonstrates how adoptive families can assert their parental rights to support a child in an out-of-home placement.
A Shot in the Dark - Vaccines, Drugs, Toxins and Developmental Disordersdrzimmermann
A Shot in the Dark - Vaccines, Drugs, Toxins and Developmental Disorders is a presentation on this important topic from the clinical perspective of naturopathic physician Dr. Anke Zimmermann, ND
A Shot in the Dark - Vaccines, Drugs, Toxins and Developmental Disordersdrzimmermann
A Shot in the Dark - Vaccines, Drugs, Toxins and Developmental Disorders is a presentation on this important topic from the clinical perspective of naturopathic physician Dr. Anke Zimmermann, ND
The AssignmentRespond to at least two of your colleagues .docxtodd541
The Assignment:
Respond to at least two of your colleagues by providing feedback on each colleague’s therapeutic approach based on a narrative family therapeutic perspective. Support your feedback with evidence-based literature and/or your own experiences with clients.
Support your responses with evidence-based literature with at least two references in each colleagues response.
Colleagues #: 1
The family client is made up of a father, mother, and their son, a ten-year-old boy. The family is biracial and is made up of four people; father, mother, a ten-year-old son, and a seven-year-old daughter. Initially, they had visited the clinic on a referral basis from the family’s psychiatrist. They had concerns with the behavioral issues their ten-year-old son exhibited while at home as well as at school. The son is currently in fifth grade and attends a public school, the mother runs a local coffee shop in their neighborhood, and the father is a construction worker. The mother was talkative and soon started talking about stressors in life, including their son’s behavioral issues. She states that besides receiving services and extra help her son gets while at school, he is still lagging behind. The exact services had not been explained. The father did not talk much. In fact, he sat away from the family and always displayed a sarcastic grin on his face every time the mother complained. The son was friendly but did not talk much.
After assessments and evaluations, diagnostic evaluations established that the kid had ADHD. In addition to this, the family displayed tendencies of dysfunctional interactions. Once the family unit was mentioned, the mother was quick to state that she believes that there was an issue with the way the whole family functioned. She further suggested that they needed help as a family to understand their situation better as we as know why their son was having behavioral issues. Family therapy was suggested. Everyone but the father readily consented to the suggestion. He later on consented.
Over the past two sessions, the father seemed uncomfortable and hardly participated. He would once in a while tell his wife to shut up when confronted and criticized. The mother always brought up her dissatisfaction with the way her husband lacked warmth and concern for their son’s issues. She felt that the whole burden of raising their kids was on her. She further stated that without him interfering, the son would soon influence their younger daughter, which was already happening. The son spent much of the time stooped over the table due to attention being always on him. He was always silent and uncomfortable.
Interactions between the clients were more complicated than anticipated, and too much time was spent on the interaction between the mother and the therapist. A therapeutic relationship was easily formed between the mother and the therapist. The other members of the family hesitated, with a continual alli.
Assessing Mood DisordersMood problems often constitute a pri.docxfestockton
Assessing Mood Disorders
Mood problems often constitute a primary reason why parents seek professional help for their children or adolescents. Most often, mood problems include irritability, sadness, or anger. A certain amount of moodiness and impulsivity is normal during childhood and adolescence; therefore, it makes it exceptionally difficult to diagnose children and adolescents with conditions such as clinical depression or bipolar disorders. One of the most challenging elements in counseling is objectively assessing whether a child or adolescent has a mood disorder. Cultural and family factors are one reason this is challenging. At times, these factors are directly the cause of the mood disorder or contribute to the stress or distress of children and adolescents. Therefore, it is important to use a systematic, objective, and dispassionate procedure for gathering data about children and adolescents when conducting assessments.
For this Discussion and subsequent Discussions, consider these questions: a) Where does the child’s or adolescent’s problem originate from, and b) Does the problem stem from the child or adolescent, or is it the family or other factors? By asking these questions, you can more accurately assess a child’s or adolescent’s problems and create evidence-based interventions to address the right problem effectively. Select a case study from the Child and Adolescent Counseling Cases: Mood Disorders and Self-harm document from this week’s resources and consider the child’s or adolescent’s presenting problem and where the presenting problem may originate. Conduct an Internet search or a Walden Library search and select one peer-reviewed article related to the interventions that might be used to address the child or adolescent in your case.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post a brief description of the presenting symptoms of the child or adolescent in the case study you selected. Then, explain one possible reason the child’s or adolescent’s problem exists and why. Finally, explain one evidence-based intervention you might use to address the child/adolescent in this case study and how it will be used. Be specific and support your response using the week’s resources and your research.
These are the Cases below choose one
Child and Adolescent Counseling Cases:
Mood Disorders and Self-Harm
Case 1
Salena is a 16-year-old Native American girl who is a sophomore at a local high school. Her mother, who accompanied her to the initial session, referred her for counseling. During the first session, you spent about 25 minutes with Salena and her mother and then about 25 minutes with Salena alone. While you are interviewing Salena along with her mother, you observe that they appear to have a reasonably good relationship. Her mother is worried about her and primarily attributes Salena’s symptoms to the fact they recently moved from the Indian reservation to a more urban area. She believes Salena is having trouble adjusting to the new sch ...
The AssignmentRespond to at least two of your colleagues .docxtodd541
The Assignment:
Respond to at least two of your colleagues by providing feedback on each colleague’s therapeutic approach based on a narrative family therapeutic perspective. Support your feedback with evidence-based literature and/or your own experiences with clients.
Support your responses with evidence-based literature with at least two references in each colleagues response.
Colleagues #: 1
The family client is made up of a father, mother, and their son, a ten-year-old boy. The family is biracial and is made up of four people; father, mother, a ten-year-old son, and a seven-year-old daughter. Initially, they had visited the clinic on a referral basis from the family’s psychiatrist. They had concerns with the behavioral issues their ten-year-old son exhibited while at home as well as at school. The son is currently in fifth grade and attends a public school, the mother runs a local coffee shop in their neighborhood, and the father is a construction worker. The mother was talkative and soon started talking about stressors in life, including their son’s behavioral issues. She states that besides receiving services and extra help her son gets while at school, he is still lagging behind. The exact services had not been explained. The father did not talk much. In fact, he sat away from the family and always displayed a sarcastic grin on his face every time the mother complained. The son was friendly but did not talk much.
After assessments and evaluations, diagnostic evaluations established that the kid had ADHD. In addition to this, the family displayed tendencies of dysfunctional interactions. Once the family unit was mentioned, the mother was quick to state that she believes that there was an issue with the way the whole family functioned. She further suggested that they needed help as a family to understand their situation better as we as know why their son was having behavioral issues. Family therapy was suggested. Everyone but the father readily consented to the suggestion. He later on consented.
Over the past two sessions, the father seemed uncomfortable and hardly participated. He would once in a while tell his wife to shut up when confronted and criticized. The mother always brought up her dissatisfaction with the way her husband lacked warmth and concern for their son’s issues. She felt that the whole burden of raising their kids was on her. She further stated that without him interfering, the son would soon influence their younger daughter, which was already happening. The son spent much of the time stooped over the table due to attention being always on him. He was always silent and uncomfortable.
Interactions between the clients were more complicated than anticipated, and too much time was spent on the interaction between the mother and the therapist. A therapeutic relationship was easily formed between the mother and the therapist. The other members of the family hesitated, with a continual alli.
Assessing Mood DisordersMood problems often constitute a pri.docxfestockton
Assessing Mood Disorders
Mood problems often constitute a primary reason why parents seek professional help for their children or adolescents. Most often, mood problems include irritability, sadness, or anger. A certain amount of moodiness and impulsivity is normal during childhood and adolescence; therefore, it makes it exceptionally difficult to diagnose children and adolescents with conditions such as clinical depression or bipolar disorders. One of the most challenging elements in counseling is objectively assessing whether a child or adolescent has a mood disorder. Cultural and family factors are one reason this is challenging. At times, these factors are directly the cause of the mood disorder or contribute to the stress or distress of children and adolescents. Therefore, it is important to use a systematic, objective, and dispassionate procedure for gathering data about children and adolescents when conducting assessments.
For this Discussion and subsequent Discussions, consider these questions: a) Where does the child’s or adolescent’s problem originate from, and b) Does the problem stem from the child or adolescent, or is it the family or other factors? By asking these questions, you can more accurately assess a child’s or adolescent’s problems and create evidence-based interventions to address the right problem effectively. Select a case study from the Child and Adolescent Counseling Cases: Mood Disorders and Self-harm document from this week’s resources and consider the child’s or adolescent’s presenting problem and where the presenting problem may originate. Conduct an Internet search or a Walden Library search and select one peer-reviewed article related to the interventions that might be used to address the child or adolescent in your case.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post a brief description of the presenting symptoms of the child or adolescent in the case study you selected. Then, explain one possible reason the child’s or adolescent’s problem exists and why. Finally, explain one evidence-based intervention you might use to address the child/adolescent in this case study and how it will be used. Be specific and support your response using the week’s resources and your research.
These are the Cases below choose one
Child and Adolescent Counseling Cases:
Mood Disorders and Self-Harm
Case 1
Salena is a 16-year-old Native American girl who is a sophomore at a local high school. Her mother, who accompanied her to the initial session, referred her for counseling. During the first session, you spent about 25 minutes with Salena and her mother and then about 25 minutes with Salena alone. While you are interviewing Salena along with her mother, you observe that they appear to have a reasonably good relationship. Her mother is worried about her and primarily attributes Salena’s symptoms to the fact they recently moved from the Indian reservation to a more urban area. She believes Salena is having trouble adjusting to the new sch ...
Every Child is Important , and Baal Saathee is working on academic performance and skill based health education of every child by identifying their intelligence, learning style, personality pattern, behaviors along with tracing of their performances in examinations and building resilience and coping skills in every child to help them make informed choices in future and adapt better.
Handout 1.13 Understanding Temperament in Infants and ToddlerJeanmarieColbert3
Handout 1.13: Understanding Temperament in Infants and ToddlersModule 1
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Vanderbilt University vanderbilt.edu/csefel H 1.13
to what!s going on around her, how quickly she adapts
to changes, and how distractible and persistent she might
be when engaging in an activity . Based on these traits,
researchers generally categorize children into three
temperament types:
• Easy or flexible children tend to be happy, regular in
sleeping and eating habits, adaptable, calm, and not
easily upset.
• Active or feisty children may be fussy, irregular in
feeding and sleeping habits, fearful of new people and
situations, easily upset by noise and stimulation, and
intense in their reactions.
• Slow to warm or cautious children may be less active
or tend to be fussy, and may withdraw or react
negatively to new situations; but over time they may
become more positive with repeated exposure to a new
person, object, or situation.
Clarifications about Temperament
Not all children!s temperaments fall neatly into one
of the three types described. Roughly 65% of children
can be categorized into one of the three temperamental
types: 40% are easy or flexible, 10% are active or
feisty, and 15% can be categorized as slow to warm
or cautious. Second, all temperamental traits, like
personality traits, range in intensity. Children who have
the same temperament type might react quite differently
in similar situations, or throughout different stages in
their development. For example, consider the reactions
of two infants when a stranger comes into the room. A
cautious infant might look for her caregiver and relax
when she makes eye contact, while another baby with
an easy temperament may smile or show little reaction
to the stranger. In thinking about Laura!s reactions and
behaviors in Ms. Neil!s care, might you categorize her
temperamental type as feisty?
Finally, it is important to understand that although a
child!s basic temperament does not change over time,
the intensity of temperamental traits can be affected
by a family!s cultural values and parenting styles. For
example, a family that values persistence (the ability
to stick to a task and keep trying) may be more likely
to praise and reward a child for “sticking with” a
challenging task (such as a puzzle). Parental recognition
of the child!s persistent efforts can strengthen the trait,
and she may become more persistent and more able to
focus over the course of his childhood.
A child!s temperament is also influenced to some extent
by her interactions with the environment. For example, if
a child is cared for in an environment that places a high
Twenty-month-old Laura just began care in Ms.Neil!s family child care home. Ms. Neil is havingdifficulty integrating Laura into her program. Laura!s
schedule is unpredictable—she becomes tired or hungry
at different times each day—and she always seems to
want to run, climb, and jump on everything. Laura ...
STUDIESThe cases you are about to view all depict children aged .docxflorriezhamphrey3065
STUDIES
The cases you are about to view all depict children aged 6. This is a transitional time in which learners can explore early childhood development and how it impacts middle childhood development. View all the case studies and select one as the focus of your assignment in unit 6.
ROSA - DEVELOPMENT ACROSS CULTURES (IMMIGRANT)
Rosa at age 6 is at the transition stage between early and middle childhood. Her family came to work in the U.S. as migrant workers when Rosa was a toddler. Her father had worked in the U.S. for an extended time previous to marrying Rosa's mother. As a family they continue to struggle economically. She lives with her extended family including her mother, father, maternal grandmother and two siblings. She did not participate in formal early childhood preschool experiences but was in the care of her maternal grandmother while her parents worked. Rosa has completed a year of all-day kindergarten in a southwestern state. Her family had previously made many moves, but has been in the same local area for more than a year. The primary language spoken at home is Spanish. Several issues have emerged as Rosa is making the transition to first grade.
The kindergarten teacher completed a checklist/profile of Rosa's development in the areas of Cognitive, Language, Physical and Social Development.
The results indicated that compared to expected development at age 6:
· Rosa is not demonstrating cognitive development skills expected for her age. She struggles with early literacy concepts linked to reading and writing.
· Rosa has the ability to "code-switch" in speaking Spanish or English based on the context of those in her environment. She converses with her grandmother and mother and father primarily in Spanish and with her teacher and classmates in English, although her father does speak with Rosa and her siblings in English as well as Spanish.
· Rosa is small in stature. Her health history, including her prenatal records, does not indicate any significant issues. She is average in her gross and fine motor abilities. She is reluctant to engage in group physical activities.
· Rosa is often observed playing near other children, immersed in her own activities. She does not appear to reach out to other children to become involved in their play. Her teacher describes her as slow to warm up in social situations.
EMMA - DEVELOPMENT ACROSS FAMILY CONTEXTS (FOSTER CARE)
Emma at age 6 is at the transition stage between early and middle childhood. She is bi-racial child whose mother is Caucasian and father, whom she has never met, is Filipino. Emma lived with her single mother until she was a toddler, when her maternal grandparents became her primary caregivers. This was a voluntary placement. There were no official reports of abuse or neglect on file; however the grandparents raised concerns that Emma was being neglected while in their adult daughter's care. They expressed a concern that Emma may have been left strapped into her high ch.
Case Study of a Child with Autism John an only child was b.pdfagmbro1
Case Study of a Child with Autism
John, an only child, was born after normal pregnancy and delivery. As an infant, he was easy to
breast-feed, the transition to solid foods posed no difficulties, and he slept well. At first, his mother
and father were delighted at how easy he was: he seemed happy and content to lie in his cot for
hours. He sat unsupported at six months (this is within the normal range), and soon after he
crawled energetically. His parents considered him independent and willful. However, his
grandmother was puzzled by his independence. To her mind, he showed an undue preference for
his own company: it was as if he lacked interest in people. John walked on his first birthday, much
to the delight of his parents; yet during his second year, he did not progress as well as expected.
At 3 years old. Although he made sounds, he did not use words indeed; his ability to communicate
was so limited that even when he was three years old his mother still found herself trying to guess
what he wanted. Often, she tried giving him a drink or some food in the hope that she had
guessed his needs correctly. Occasionally he would grab hold of her wrist and drag her to the sink,
yet he never said anything like drink, or he would just point to the tap. This was obviously a source
of concern in itself: but at about this time his parents became concerned about the extreme of his
independence. For example, even if he fell down, he would not come to his parents to show them
he had hurt himself. At times, they even felt he was uninterested in them, because he never
became upset when his mother had to go out and leave him with a friend or relative. In fact, he
seemed to be more interested in playing with his bricks than spending time with people. He made
long straight lines of bricks repeatedly. He spends an extraordinary number of hours lining them
up in exactly the same way and in precisely the same sequence of colors. From time to time, his
parents also worried about his hearing and wondered if he were deaf, particularly as he often
showed no response when they called his name. At other times, however, his hearing seemed to
be very acute, he would turn his head to the slightest sound of a plane or a fire engine in the
distance. In the weeks following his birthday, they became increasingly concerned, despite
reassurances from health professionals. He was not using any words to express himself, and he
showed no interest in playing with other children. For example, he did not wave bye bye or show
any real joy when they tried to play peek-a-boo. His mother agonized about her relationship with
john, because he always wriggled away from her cuddles, and only seemed to like rough and
tumble play with his father. She worried that she had done something wrong as a mother, and felt
depressed, rejected and guilty.
When he was three and a half years old, the family General Practitioner referred John to a
specialist. The specialist, a child psychiatrist, told the p.
1. Jane Mitchell February 2015
When Families Break Down - Taking the Last Stand
As harsh as it seems, not all children are able to live within a family unit.
Although it is well known from research that the majority of children will
achieve best outcomes from a family environment, for a very small
minority, that emotional intensity is unendurable, and leads to extremes of
behaviour as the child acts out their overwhelm and fear. However, there
is a way forward in these cases whereby the child can maintain the
advantages of inclusion in a family, as long as Local Authorities and other
professionals are prepared to work alongside adoptive parents to find a
solution. Let me tell you about an example of such a case.
This case study involves a 14 year old girl whom we shall call Annabel.
Annabel was born in 2000. Her birth Mum suffered chronic depression,
anxiety and OCD. Her birth Father separated from the birth Mum before
Annabel was born. Birth Mum had previously had 4 children by separate
fathers and had been unable to care for any of them. She was, however,
determined to try and be a mother to her new baby. Unfortunately, she
found the intensity of caring for a new-born too much to manage, and
Annabel went into foster case at three weeks. She then returned to her
birth Mum, only to be returned again to foster care from a few months
old, until 18 months old. At this time she returned to her Birth Mum with a
package of care to support her including 4 days with a specialist
childminder per week. When Annabel was just over two years old, she
was placed in foster care, and then adopted into a family at age 3.
Annabel presented early on as a challenging child with complex needs.
Her foster mum – who was very attached to her - nonetheless found her
exhausting and difficult to care for. She showed extremes of temper and
would often resort to physical attacks such as hitting, pinching or kicking
as a vent for her frustrations, not helped by the fact that even at age
three she had an extremely limited vocabulary.
Annabel was placed with a family where there were already three birth
children, and parents who had both been childminders and were well
versed in childcare from personal experience and in the case of the
adoptive mum with additional knowledge due to study. The new Mum
took on the task of learning more about the challenges her new daughter
was facing and over time absorbed new knowledge as it emerged about
attachment disorders, neurological development, and nurturing a
traumatised child. (As this was 2003 onwards, this was a rapidly
expanding field with new understanding continually developing over the
subsequent period). The new Mum studied, attended courses, reflected,
2. Jane Mitchell February 2015
and worked on behalf of her daughter to get support in place, including
two sessions of play therapy, resources, and inclusion on useful seminars.
Over the next few years the family as a whole experienced extreme
challenges in meeting Annabel’s complex needs, maintaining
boundaries, developing strategies, and thinking and rethinking ways to
help her to manage her overwhelm. The family began to feel the strain,
and other family members and friends became less tolerant and
withdrew, reducing the available support system around the family
considerably. Annabel was referred to CAMHS, who diagnosed her with
autism which gave an additional perspective to consider as a likely cause
of some behaviours and anxieties.
Fast forward to age 9, and Annabel enters puberty, and a whole new
challenge emerges as she struggled to deal with her body, which was
defiantly maturing at a rate of knots. Not an eventuality that Annabel
was emotionally prepared for, she found the process scary and
uncomfortable – as her developmental age was around 7, she could not
comprehend what is happening to her and her mood swings started to
escalate in line with her menstrual cycle. She started to menstruate at
age 10.
The combination of transition to secondary school and onset of puberty
proved a very difficult and heady mixture. Although there were no really
challenging behaviours at school in the first year, her home behaviour
became worse, plus of course she grew much bigger and stronger. Her
adoptive parents were concerned about their ability to manage her
strength. After September at the start of her second year at secondary
school, there was a massive escalation. Annabel had been getting more
and more violent towards her adoptive mum, frequently attacking her
verbally and physically, with regular bouts of destruction in and around
the house and garden. She was threatening to kill her adoptive mum,
and threatening suicide. She started scratching her wrists. The adoptive
Mum got a referral to CAMHS and an assessment procedure started in
October. Annabel and her Mum went every week to explore her feelings
a bit, with the intention of helping her to talk through and gain insight into
her overwhelm. Many strategies were suggested and adopted, and
many more were thought up and put into place by the family. In the
meantime her ability to manage school also deteriorated, with a huge
escalation of unpredictable outbursts and incidents until the school felt
unable to manage her needs, and am assessment of special educational
needs was instigated.
3. Jane Mitchell February 2015
Finally following two episodes where Annabel needed to be restrained by
professionals to keep her from attacking her Mum at the CAMHS offices
Annabel was admitted to an Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Here they
instituted a routine for Annabel which really concentrated on her autism,
as well as an additional diagnosis of being emotionally dysfunctional and
of course attachment disorder and she settled into the environment and
regular visits from her family, and was sent home, with a support package
provided by a local charity. She was unable to return to her school, and
temporary arrangements were made pending the Local Authority’s
decision regarding a suitable placement for her.
Annabel responded well to the new strategies which were put in place on
her return home, but was still attacking her Mum, and also attacked
several other carers from the charity, after which multiple carers were
provided to lessen this eventuality. A specialist school was identified for
her, but unfortunately she suffered another severe escalation, again
needing to be restrained by a member of the CAMHS team after severely
attacking her Mum, and was again admitted to a psychiatric unit. By this
time, most people who knew the family were scared of her
unpredictability and outbursts, and felt completely unable to visit. Friends
and family were very scared on behalf of the adoptive mum, who was
the usual target.
It was suggested now that Annabel should not return to the family home
because of the danger to her Mum, however it proved difficult to find a
suitable placement, and in the meantime, Annabel really settled down
and the family felt that they could try again, because a lovely school had
been identified that she really engaged with, and it was hoped that an
appropriate school environment would make the difference for her in
reducing her overwhelm. Unfortunately this proved not to be the case at
home. Annabel’s violence escalated and her adoptive Mum had to take
a decision that she could no longer keep herself or Annabel safe – at this
point, her older children had left home, her husband had left, and she
was on her own. There had been attacks with cutlery knives and other
weapons, and escalating physical and verbal abuse. Police were called
to the house on several occasions – 5 times over the course of one single
weekend. In the opinion of the consultant psychiatrist, this was because
Annabel found the emotional intensity of the relationship (especially with
her Mum) too difficult to manage. At a multi professional meeting, the
adoptive mum asked for her daughter to be accommodated under a
voluntary placement order, making it clear that this was for safety reasons
and in no way impacted on her love for her daughter or her wish to
continue to have parental responsibility.
4. Jane Mitchell February 2015
Annabel was moved to a specialist residential home, where there were
very few other resident children (one other girl at first), a nice homely
atmosphere, multiple carers and 1:1 care. She gradually settled and
calmed. Her family were able to assert their right to remain her parents,
and to maintain this as a voluntary arrangement. The placement was
some distance away, and visits were shared – each parent taking an
alternate week. There was also phone contact.
Over time, this reassurance that her family were still her family, and still
loving and caring for her helped Annabel to manage and settle in her
new environment. She calmed down and found new confidence and
self esteem, and lost her fear of rejection and abandonment as her family
remained a constant presence, and her sisters and other family members
were enabled to visit and have phone contact as well.
Annabel relied heavily on this contact with her family for support and
reassurance, which they were able to provide and she was able to
accept because the intensity of the relationship when living in the same
house all the time was no longer present. In this way she was able to
develop resilience and confidence in the family unit. Previously this had
not been possible as her inability to manage her overwhelming emotional
state and subsequent attacks on her Mum eroded her ability to believe in
the unconditional love which was offered.
There were some factors which enabled this outcome, which are useful
for other adoptive parents in similarly difficult situations to bear in mind:
1. The adoptive parents were able to continue to support Annabel
despite their own relationship issues.
2. The adoptive parents were very clear about the reasons why
Annabel could no longer be accommodated in the home.
3. Correct procedure was followed regarding safeguarding and
restraint according to Local Authority guidelines.
4. The adoptive parents were consistent and clear in asserting their
right to be indentified as Annabel’s parents, and her right to retain
her family.
5. There was an effective team of professionals that were able to work
together to find solutions. Parents had access to professional’s
meetings with few exceptions.
6. Disagreements and concerns were openly canvassed and
discussed, with a degree of compromise being achieved by all
parties at different times.
5. Jane Mitchell February 2015
7. There was clear paper evidence in terms of reports, emails, letters
and minutes to meetings. All important discussions and decisions
were requested as a written record.
8. Where there were concerns about Local Authority decisions, written
requests were submitted to have those concerns responded to, and
to ensure that there is absolute clarity where decisions have gone
ahead that the adoptive parents have not agreed with.
In dealing with Social Services, keep clear records, always ask for written
confirmation of verbal discussions, minute meetings yourself or take
someone who will do so for you, if you can afford to, then take legal
advice. Identify the managers and ask to deal with them directly. Above
all, be aware of your rights and those of your child.
The case outlined above is not of course unique. Adoptions placed under
this level of stress can break down. What some adopters are not aware of
is that they can assert their own rights as parents and their child’s rights to
continue to be a part of the adoptive family so that further rejection,
separation and loss is minimised, and after a period of time the
relationship may be strengthened and be an extremely positive influence
for the child, even if it is not possible to live together as a family. These
situations are also not unique to adoptive families – birth families whose
children have suffered developmental trauma or have a severe leaning
difficulty may also be sufficiently violent to be accommodated away from
home, without any suggestion that this may be due to poor parenting. In
the model above, the effects of further traumatisation due to loss,
rejection and abandonment were minimised for the child and also
significantly minimised for the family.
If you are struggling with violence within your own home, do ask for help.
Be clear about the extent of the problem. Involve professionals such as
your GP or CAMHS or the Police that may be able to help you. By raising
awareness of the issues that are sometimes faced, we can help to bring
about a necessary change of attitude.
Our children need us to be the best parents we can be – and all families
are different. Maybe we need to think of ways to enable families to be
intact through separation. Families need to be listened to, but in order to
be heard you have to speak out. It is part of parental rights that their
views are heard and taken into account, and as longs as views are
6. Jane Mitchell February 2015
expressed appropriately and coherently, there should not be issues as a
result of parents asserting those rights.
Adoptive families are committed, motivated, loving and change lives – I
wish all of you success in your individual journeys.
About the Author:
Jane has been a trainer for AUK for 8 years. She has worked in Early Years
Education and as an FE tutor teaching Childcare and Health and Social
Care, and has managed a local Children’s Service. Jane has recently
decided to concentrate on delivering training and supporting adoptive
families, and is awaiting OFSTED registration.
7. Jane Mitchell February 2015
expressed appropriately and coherently, there should not be issues as a
result of parents asserting those rights.
Adoptive families are committed, motivated, loving and change lives – I
wish all of you success in your individual journeys.
About the Author:
Jane has been a trainer for AUK for 8 years. She has worked in Early Years
Education and as an FE tutor teaching Childcare and Health and Social
Care, and has managed a local Children’s Service. Jane has recently
decided to concentrate on delivering training and supporting adoptive
families, and is awaiting OFSTED registration.