Pact, An Adoption Alliance - Program Descriptions

Pact, An Adoption Alliance Program Descriptions

Spring Training
INside OUTside: Experiencing adoption with
relatives, schools, strangers and the world!
For adoptive parents and their communities

March 1, 2008
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
College Preparatory School
Oakland, CA
Directions
Registration is $100 for members and $125 for non-members.
Registration includes lunch (vegetarian options available) and materials.
A limited number of scholarships are available. Click here to apply for a scholarship. Please tell us about your circumstances and why you need a scholarship.
Register Online Now
Keynote Speaker
Patricia Irwin Johnston, M.S. author of several books, including Adoption is a Family Affair and her newest title, Adopting: Sound Choices, Strong Families, adoption publisher (Perspectives Press), advocate and adoptive parent.
Join us for a day of presentations and facilitated discussions that focus on handling questions and issues that arise for adoptive parents and children as they interact with outsiders, both from within the extended family and without.
Questions Adopted Children and Families Face
"Is that your real mother?"
"Aren't you glad you are adopted? "
"You shouldn't tell her she's adopted, then she won't feel so abandoned."
"Don't you wish your first family had wanted you?"
"Did his mother have a drug problem or something?"
"Do you worry about the problems adopted children have?"
"OK class, now we are all going to do our family tree project!"
"Your kids don't look very much alike, do they have the same father?"

As successful and amazing as our families may be, the experience of being an adoptive family presents new issues and questions that must be handled on a daily basis. These questions can present challenges for adoptive parents as they consider how to respond to inquiries and consider who to tell what information. As children try to form their own identities, invasive questions or assumptions about their feelings can trigger emotional reactions to what is already a more complex form of family. Extended family and professionals want to know how to be sensitive to children's issues while not feeling like they have to walk on eggshells. We all want children to have positive self-esteem and feel proud about their families, as well as to feel connected to their individual heritage.
This day-long conference will feature a keynote presentations by Patricia Irwin Johnston, adoptive parent and nationally known adoption educator. It will also include group discussion of common struggles and issues that arise for adoptive families and those around them as they handle questions about their child's adoption and the nature of their family. Pat is known for her sharp thinking as well as her practical nature and ability to give concrete suggestions useful to families living the experience. Expect a day that will be both provocative and practical.
Part of the day will be spent in general session and part will also be spent in break out groups for specific topics including:
"Who should know what" when we look like we could have given birth to our children.
Handling ideas about adoption that may be different from our own.
Responding to questions when children don't look anything like their adoptive parents or siblings.
What to tell teachers and others about how the family was formed.
Distinguishing between secrecy and privacy
Helping children handle questions they don't want to answer.
Handling awkward comments at family gatherings, school or in public.

All members of the triad are invited to attend. Professionals will find the curriculum useful in their work with adoptive and/or foster parents and adopted and foster children. We particularly encourage extended family members, teachers and therapists to join us for this information-packed day.