“Siblings - the definition that comprises love, strife, competition and forever friends.” – Byron Pulsifer
Our siblings help us make sense of who we are, and our place in the world, they hold keys to our identity that no one else can replicate. They are our links to our past and help us navigate the path to our future.
We need people to help siblings stay together - it's that simple.
Find out more about adopting siblings by visiting www.adoptionwest.co.uk
Ideas for play activities
The aim of these activities (based loosely on Theraplay techniques) is to build attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement.
In healthy relationships, there should be natural patterns of playful, healthy interaction between parent and child. One of the key aims is for the child to view themselves as worthy and lovable, and to experience positive and rewarding relationships and interactions.
Interactions focus on four essential qualities found in parent-child relationships:
1. Structure: Which helps the child become physically regulated. These activities have a predictable sequence and rhythm.
2. Engagement: The parent is attuned to the child’s state and responds in a way that helps the child to regulate and integrate physical and emotional states. The parent focuses on the child in an exclusive way providing sensitively timed soothing and delightful interactions.
3. Nurture: These activities are soothing, calming, quieting and
reassuring, such as rocking, feeding, cuddling and holding. This makes the world feel safe, warm, predictable and secure. The child develops the expectation that “people will take care of me” and “good things happen to me”.
4. Challenge: These are activities that help the child extend him or herself a little bit, appropriate to their level of functioning. It also allows the child to master tension arousing experiences (such as peek-a-boo).
The main thing is to have fun with your child, and not be too anxious about trying things out. If you try an activity that your child doesn’t like or gets upset, then comfort them, acknowledge their feelings and move on to a different activity. You may be able to return to this activity once your child is feeling more secure in the future.
Find more ideas here; http://ow.ly/pLoP50HHW2P
I have just returned from leave and I'm catching-up on the children we are actively family finding for (always children at the centre of everything we do), there are;
5 sibling groups of two
2 sibling groups of three
4 children under the age of three years
3 children over the age of four years
2 children with significant and complex needs
Obviously these are just numbers which tell you nothing about the little individuals the numbers represent, but it does give you an indication about the type of placements we are looking for.
We urge all adopters to really consider what it is they are looking for, but more importantly, to really examine what they can offer and then consider which child/ren this might meet the needs of.
We place children with the families best able to meet their needs. The child's needs come first - always.
We are here to support you through the process and beyond.
It's in BRISTOL!
Attend Adoption UK’s Annual Conference to learn, reflect and build connections!
Join @adoption.uk for its Power of Connections conference, 8 October 2022, 9am-5pm, Bristol Marriott City Centre, where a range of presentations, workshops and panel discussions will focus on the importance of connections in the world of adoption.
Insight will be shared from experts in adoption and people with inspirational, real-life stories, alongside panel discussions.
Keynote speaker Beverley Barnett-Jones MBE, Associate Director (System and Impact) @NuffieldFJO, will share insight on post-adoption contact from the perspective of adopted people, adoptive parents and birth relatives, with reference to a paper on Modernising post-adoption contact: findings from a recent consultation.
There will be workshops for adopters and adopted people to choose from, including Life Story Work, Adopted Young People, Sibling Contact, Parenting Teens, Mindfulness and more!
#adoptionuk #adoption #adopted #connections #events #conferences
For tickets and information:
www.adoptionuk.org/Event/adoption-uk-annual-conference-2022
Ideas for play activities
The aim of these activities (based loosely on Theraplay techniques) is to build attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement.
In healthy relationships, there should be natural patterns of playful, healthy interaction between parent and child. One of the key aims is for the child to view themselves as worthy and lovable, and to experience positive and rewarding relationships and interactions.
Interactions focus on four essential qualities found in parent-child relationships:
1. Structure: Which helps the child become physically regulated. These activities have a predictable sequence and rhythm.
2. Engagement: The parent is attuned to the child’s state and responds in a way that helps the child to regulate and integrate physical and emotional states. The parent focuses on the child in an exclusive way providing sensitively timed soothing and delightful interactions.
3. Nurture: These activities are soothing, calming, quieting and
reassuring, such as rocking, feeding, cuddling and holding. This makes the world feel safe, warm, predictable and secure. The child develops the expectation that “people will take care of me” and “good things happen to me”.
4. Challenge: These are activities that help the child extend him or herself a little bit, appropriate to their level of functioning. It also allows the child to master tension arousing experiences (such as peek-a-boo).
The main thing is to have fun with your child, and not be too anxious about trying things out. If you try an activity that your child doesn’t like or gets upset, then comfort them, acknowledge their feelings and move on to a different activity. You may be able to return to this activity once your child is feeling more secure in the future.
Find more ideas here; http://ow.ly/pLoP50HHW2P
Additional Needs, be they educational, medical, developmental or a combination, mean that some children wait longer to be adopted. Around 6% of those children waiting the longest to be adopted have a recognised disability.
Although it does without doubt have it's challenges, adopting a child with additional needs has fantastic highs that far outweigh the challenges! And we are here to offer the best support we can.
@Youcanadopt
#YouCanAdopt #ALifeLessOrdinary
Direct Contact can be difficult to navigate, both logistically and because of all the emotions involved, from all parties involved. This is an inspiring story of what happens when the right mechanisms and support systems are in place to make it work well, for everyone.
We know how important contact, between birth families and adopted children can be and more and more we are seeking this for the children we place. Therefore if you are considering adoption, it is really important to do your own research on contact.
Adoption UK is a good place to start for articles and up to date research: https://www.adoptionuk.org/pages/search.aspx?q=contact
It is also useful to read from as many different perspectives as you can, PAC-UK offers some really useful insights from a birth mother's perspective: https://www.pac-uk.org/?s=birth+mother&apbct__email_id__search_form_13713=
And of course you can read our latest blog piece
https://adoptionwest.co.uk/direct-contact-with-birth-father/
How many children do you see in your future family?
More than one?
May it's time to consider, and explore, what adopting siblings could look like . . . ?
We have some really great content on our website with stories from people that have already adopted siblings; https://adoptionwest.co.uk/our-adoption-stories/
Agency Adviser Vacancy - Closing tomorrow
The Agency Adviser plays a key role in overseeing the progress and quality of work prepared for panel and the Agency Decision Maker and is a significant link between the planning for children within local authorities and the services within Adoption West -
challenging local authorities to be ambitious in their plans to achieve permanence for children.
Check out our website to find out more; http://ow.ly/Wx5E50JY4Ur
