3A
NEWS/Q^e Cimlotte
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Help is avalalile 10 navlgain adopnons
Continued from page 1A
6, were adopted from Latvia
and Russia.
“Our family went through
a very challenging time,”
Gittleman said, recounted
her older son’s bout with
reactive attachment disor
der, which often affects chil
dren who spent time in
orphanages or the foster care
system while they were very
yoimg. Children with the
disorder often have difficulty
bonding with their new
adoptive family and some
times feel rage toward their
adoptive mother, but also at
siblings, teachers and
schoolmates.
“During that time I had a
lot of support through this
group, by praying for us, by
understanding and also tak
ing the time to bring in edu
cated counselors who are
familiar with” reactive
attachment disorder,
Gittleman said.
‘T can stand by and sympa
thize with and support a
family that’s waiting for
their child coming from
Romania that isn’t quite
here yet. And yet, my ears
are also listening when
someone’s talking about
their 18 year old who’s strug
gling with issues with then-
identity.”
Grafted Families was
founded by Dody Lucarini,
herself an adoptive mother,
for the purpose of bringing
families together to share
fellowship and information.
“The whole adoption indus
try can be overwhelming,”
Lucarini said. “There’s a
variety of families at Grafted
Families - domestic adop
tions, private adoptions,
biracial adoptions, sibling
group adoptions,
Department of Social
Services adoptions and
international adoptions. It’s
a good place to talk to other
people.”
RADical Healing, another
Charlotte adoption support
group, focuses specifically on
helping families of children
with reactive attachment
disorder heal, said a spokes
woman for the group.
Guest speakers at RADical
Healing’s monthly meetings
have included physicians,
social workers, parenting
speciaUsts, and advocates for
children’s educational rights
from the Exceptional
Children’s Assistance Center
in Davidson.
The emphasis is on teach
ing parents therapeutic par
enting skills - specific ways
they can overcome their
child’s misbehavior and help
the child learn to form a
healthy bond, said the
group’s spokeswoman.
Nancy Thomas, a leading
national expert in reactive
attachment disorder, will
present three days of semi
nars to the public during
March 18-20, 2004, at
Covenant Presbyterian
Church in Charlotte.
Advance registration is
required by e-mailing radi-
calhealing@adelphia.net.
Another adoption support
group. Adoptive Parents
Together, meets monthly at
the Family Center on
Elizabeth Avenue in
Charlotte.
Adoptive Parents Together
has a two-fold mission,
according to clinical thera
pist Ann Dodd, who teaches
adoptive parenting sessions
at the family center.
“It affords adoptive fami
lies opportunities to meet
each other and socialize with
each other, and to help them
normalize their experiences -
they’re not alone in the chal
lenges they face.”
On the third Saturday of
each month, adoptive fami
lies are invited to come to the
Family Center for parenting
classes on a range of topics
specific to adoptive families
and separate sessions for
children, pre-teens and
teenagers, Dodd said.
The parenting sessions
help parents address chal
lenges of rearing adopted
children.
“More and more of the chil
dren who are entering adop
Adoption help
• Adoptive Parents
Together Family Center
(704) 376-7180
• Carolina Adoptive
Families
(704) 846-7348
• Grafted Families
(704) 892-8005
• Hannah’s Heart
(704) 643-5241
www.hannahsheartnet
work.org
• RADical Healing
radicalhealing@adelphia.
net
• Southern Piedmont
Adoptive Families of
America
• (877) 772-3292
tion are older and come from
a backgrounds of loss,
neglect, abuse or institution
al care,” Dodd said. “Because
of that, the adoptive families
sometimes have more chal
lenging beha-viors to deal
with. Adolescence is an espe
cially challenging time.”
Like Grafted Families,
Adoptive Parents Tbgether
serves a diverse range of
families.
There are married couples
and single adoptive parents
and many African American
families.
Many of the families at
Adoptive Parents 'Ibgether
have older children who
spent time in the foster care
system, Dodd said.
Another local support
group. Southern Piedmont
Adoptive Families of
America, also offers help to
parents struggling with
adoptive childrearing issues.
But SPAFA also wants to
lend a hand to folks trying to
navigate the complicated
legal and financial issues of
a first-time adoption.
Guest speakers at SPAFA
meetings have included tax
lawyers, social workers, and
adoption agency representa
tives. New families tell their
adoption stories to the group
at the monthly meetings,
and parents share ideas and
4-j
“I have a dream , that my four little
children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin but
by the content'of their character.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
T
% i
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resources about navigating
the adoption process and
parenting, said 2004
President-elect Ed Cazel.
“The other thing that’s
important that we do is a
mentoring program,” Cazel
said. “We match up (new and
prospective parents) with
somebody who’s been
through the process.
A lot of people find that the
paperwork issues are almost
overwhelming.”
Informational sessions
help prospective parents
determine whether they
should opt for a domestic or
international adoption,
whether they should main
tain contact with the birth
parents (open adoption), and
how to acclimate a child
adopted internationally to
life in the United States.
SPAFA also has a spin-off
support group specifically for
single adoptive parents,
Cazel said.
Cazel, 64, is an adoptive
father of two young children
from Bulgaria and Russia.
SPAFA’s 150 members
serve as a great resource to
parents considering adop
tion or struggling with chil
drearing issues, and meet
ings are open to anyone.
“People have to just come
and check us out,” Cazel
said. “We offer a great
resource to people getting
started.”
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