Nothing ever seems to go just right or easy for my 15-year-old son with ADHD. He is smart, in fact he is very smart, at 15 he is a sophomore at the local community college. His younger brother is jealous of him, as many of the kids who know him are, because he is so smart. However, most do not realize how difficult life is for him. Everything seems to go wrong and for no reason. He has a good heart; he would do just about anything for anyone. Yet many people don’t like him. Adults think he is a know it all, rude, or disruptive. Other children think he is mean, too smart,... more

Do your adopted children seem to go a little nuts whenever you are not around? Maybe you are just running to the grocery store, or out to dinner with Super Dad. The children know you will be back soon, you always are. Yet, each time you leave the house, they hover at the door and behave badly for the sitter. While your children are at school all day, you get phone calls from teachers and principals. Your child has hit or spit on another student or a teacher. Another day your child has stolen property, runaway, been caught skipping class, committed forgery or has pooped... more

Many older children who enter the U.S. foster care system have sleep issues. Sleeping issues include trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, night terrors, and bedwetting to name a few. It shouldn’t be surprising that they have sleep issues considering the trauma they have experienced. Many children who have suffered sexual abuse were awakened in their beds from sleep to be raped by a trusted adult. Who knows how long sleep anxiety may last after that type of experience. For those who did not suffer that type of abuse you can still understand their unease.

They... more

Ok, Super Dad has tried to tell me over the years. But, I did not want to listen. Why didn’t I want to listen or believe him? I suppose that would be admitting that our daughter is not going to get better. During her first year of living with us therapist, teachers, and foster care workers all praised her progress. Then she turned five and continued to make progress that surprised many. By the time she was six, I believed that her original delays were from lack of early stimulation. Yes, we could fix her and that year we adopted her.

She had always taken... more

Have you adopted an older child either from foster care or internationally? If you have, does your child smother friendships? Many of these children suffer from low self-esteem. Therefore, they feel the need to buy friendships. One of my adopted daughters took gifts to a friend every week. They were not expensive gifts. She took things she had made like beaded jewelry, key chains, or bookmarks. She took personal belongings such as lip-gloss or lotion. After several weeks, her friend began to think her behavior was strange. That is when I found out about... more

When I awoke this morning, I didn’t think I would be able to write today. I awoke during the night when the power went out because of a storm and then went back to sleep. The power goes out frequently during our storms here in the Midwest, so, I didn’t think anything of it. We have a generator that will run most of our house and water our cattle at the flip of a switch. Super Dad awoke early and I told him the power was out, so he headed outside to turn on the generator. Then he came back and brought me to the window to look outside. He couldn’t turn the generator on... more

We have a teenage daughter who has FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) whom we adopted at the age of six. Conversations with her can be difficult. Sometimes she misinterprets our words and sometimes she acts before we finish talking. There are even times when we tell her very clearly what she should do, but she does something else. She seems to have preconceived ideas about what she is going to do and doesn't really listen to our instructions. The older she gets the worse these habits seem to be getting. Life with her at home can be quite challenging. I find myself being frustrated... more

Have you adopted a child with passive aggressive behaviors? It can be difficult not to get angry when the child breaks your things several times a week. Perhaps your child is one who seems to enjoy making special messes that you find in the morning. Have you ever noticed that your child’s passive aggressiveness seems to get worse, or episodes more frequent, after one of your angry outburst? Unfortunately, your righteous anger seems to feed their behaviors. Therefore, the secret to reducing or eliminating your adopted child’s passive aggressiveness is to minimize your reactions.... more

I’ve been missing-in-action for a few weeks. And today I’m blogging just to say my farewells. After 27 months of being an Adoptionblogs blogger, I’m hanging up my keyboard. It’s been a marvelous experience. After more than two years of daily blogging about parenting children with special needs, I’ve covered many of the topics we all face daily. We’ve talked about a lot of things, from specific disabilities and interventions to the commonality in the struggles all children with disabilities face to the need for strong advocacy for our children in schools, the medical... more

These were LuLu’s first words Sunday morning as she bound out of bed on the long-awaited day. LuLu had set and reached a personal goal: to sing with the children’s choir on Palm Sunday. LuLu, who for years has not participated in children’s choir because the children make “unexpected noise” that overwhelms her senses and her behaviors have always alienated her from interacting with the other children, watched with great envy as the choir sang at Christmas.

“I wish I could do that,” she sighed. I told her I thought she was able, if she wanted. But that she... more