National Adoption Week, lifestory work and Morrisons

 

Read all the Adoption/Fostering Round-ups

This month we had National Adoption Week (NAW) 5th-11th November. It’s a week devoted to raising adoption awareness and addressing misconceptions, spreading ideas and support. A lot of bloggers were very active and BAAF (British Association for Adoption and Fostering) who hosted the week, called for Adoption Champions – people who would sign up to raise awareness locally, nationally and via social media. I have signed up as have many of the bloggers in the community. For more information about being an Adoption Champion or any part of National Adoption Week, go to www.nationaladoptionweek.org.uk  The week may be over but there’s still plenty of information and support available.

At Life With Katie, Gem had the great idea that for each day of NAW, she would invite guest bloggers to tell their adoption stories. Go over to her blog to have a look at some really interesting, inspiring and enlightening words from a range of Adoptive Parents (mine is on there too!)

The lovely Sally Donovan blogged about her own experiences of adopting children from Care on Gem’s blog.  Sally’s post was featured on Guardian Society Daily too! As she says, its not all hearts and flowers but totally worth it. Sometimes some people think that once a child is adopted and no longer Looked After , that somehow there is a magical happy ending and life becomes normal and perfect. Sadly this is often not the case as Sally, myself and others can tell you. Problems and experiences don’t disappear once a court stamps the Final Order but with love, stability and time a lot of good can be done towards healing wounds.

Kat at Kat On the Edge has written a bit of an update. She has adopted a second time and her lovely daughter is now joined by equally gorgeous baby brother!! Congratulations to the family. But as I can say, its tough especially in the beginning. Not least because social workers and other professionals are (rightly) visiting and monitoring all the time. With another child involved, especially a young one who is trying to make sense of their own life history, this can be pretty stressful. And somehow you also manage to end up manically cleaning and hovering before each visit no matter how much you try to tell yourself the house doesn’t have to be spotless! Words of advice for anyone else experiencing this – make sure you have plenty of tea and biscuits in, for the social workers and for yourself when you finally get to sit down after! (if indeed, you do….its more of a ‘collapse’ sometimes).

I’ve found a new blogger this month who has taken the plunge into the blogosphere. Honey at 3 Bees and Honey has started a blog as part of NAW, please go over and check it out to give her some support and welcome to her to the world of blogging.

Another new discovery for me this month was Huggle Books. Not strictly a blog but a fantastic resource of personalised lifestory books for adopted and LAC children. Lifestory books are meant to be just that  – a book which the child can come to at any time and that will tell the story of their life so far, helping them to make sense of their beginnings and journey. Normally these are provided by the caring Local Authority but as many of us know, they often don’t materialise for a variety of reasons. As someone who needs this resource for my own children, I was delighted to discover this clever idea.

Another post that caught my eye this month was from ParentDish. Again not technically a blog but definitely worth a read.’10 things Adoptive Parents wish their friends and family understood’ is spot on. I can relate to so many of these, the piece was clearly written by an Adoptive Parent. Go read it and pass it on.

Some other posts this month include: Sally Donovan who has been at it again with another post about how it gets all too much in Morrisons (I’m sure we can all relate to that!) and Adopt and Keep Calm who has written a thought-provoking piece on thoughts about family now she’s nearing the new 21. Vicki at The Boy’s Behaviour has also blogged about De Nile (or Denial!) and Mini’s thoughts, again all worth a read.

And finally, Community Care, The Children’s Services Blog has contributed a post this month about how leaving Foster Care is a trauma for Adopted (or LAC) children and that this needs more recognition. I whole heartedly agree with this. My eldest spent quite some time thinking we had kidnapped him (not joking) and maybe even still does.  Leaving Foster Care is often a much bigger issue then it gets credit for and I know plenty of Foster Carers would agree. Again this is one part of why good lifestory work is so important to helping children feel secure and understand their identity so they can flourish and reach their potential as they grow up.

If you would like to be included in the next Adoption/Fostering round-up please let me know by either linking up below or drop me a line @MaryamLane on Twitter. I’m also interested to see new posts and blogs, particularly those from the Fostering perspective and any area relating to this or adoption is welcome. Until the next time, happy reading…..