Adoptee and the Question of “Why

My best friend and I differ on our reviews on that adopted children deserves to know about their entire past the good, bad and ugly. My adopted children come from difficult pasts. One of my adopted children has a horrible past, that as I sit reading her file I cried for her and sick to stomach with the details of her beginning and the pain that she will one day learn. My friend believes I should burn the files and never tell my child the truth.

As an adoptee, I would have felt betrayed deceived if my parents would have keep the truth from me. That is my past... more

In the world of politics, some things are often lost in translation. You may have heard about this. Because Boston (and, presumably, other cities around the country) has some precincts with a sizable population of Chinese-speakers (and Chinese-readers), federal officials want the election folks to create a ballot with the candidates' names translated into Chinese.

But since Chinese writing isn't phonetic - the "alphabet" is based on words that mean things, rather than letters that make sounds - some of the translations of names... more

Continuing with my “assignment” to describe my vision for ATN … I started by talking about educating the uneducated. I stated how difficult it will be for us to create appropriate, affordable and accessible resources and support if those in charge of providing those services don’t understand our lives or our family dynamics.

Here’s another aspiration for this organization … how’s about that it is financially self-supporting? My... more

I’ll admit that I have a very bad aftertaste in my mouth when it comes to talking about school systems and teachers. About a year ago I blogged about having my own little stress reaction (not full-blown PTSD, but some trauma) everytime I saw a school bus. Given all that we’ve been through with our due process hearing and fighting for LuLu’s rights, it’s hard not to become bitter, or label all teachers, especially all of them working for our county’s school system,... more

I’ve written a good bit about the successes of my older children after many years of problems and challenges and I sure don’t mean to imply that all is well eventually. I am still shocked and saddened, feeling like I’ve done a poor job of parenting, taking it all too personally when one of them, in their twenties, still acts as if they don’t have good sense, still making poor choices.

Poor choices: A polite phrase for some of the most ill-conceived ideas I’ve ever seen, did none of y’all listen either in school or in church when basic morals were taught? If you do this, then that will occur. Every action has a result or a consequence, what were you thinking? Did you not learn... more

From Newborn Adoption: The First Week:

6. Protect the baby during travel.

Many new parents choose to keep their new babies at home. They drive the baby home from the hospital with care, and then they do not bring the baby back out of the house except for required well visits. Most parents would never dream of traveling with a new baby.

If a baby joins your family through adoption, then you... more

My child has special needs, but where did they come from? Are they hereditary? Could it be that one or both parents were afflicted with special needs? - Perhaps there was parental substance abuse during the pregnancy that caused my child’s special needs. Certainly, I’ve seen other children with similar problems, which were known to be caused by exposure to drugs and alcohol while in utero.

Could my child’s special needs be caused by the lack of a stimulating environment... more

Two different moms have contacted me about neuropsychological evaluations in the last couple of days…so I started thinking about when it’s appropriate to seek a neuropsychological evaluation and when other assessments or approaches will work.

First you have to know what a neuropsychologist does. This specialization combines the fields of psychology and neurology. Neuropsychologists are generally called upon to do in-depth testing of the cognitive function of people who have neurological impairments of some sort, like brain damage or an organic brain... more

Continuing on from my description of the original four moms that conceived of the organization that eventually became ATN, and from my distaste of the business of business, I’d like to see if I can put into words my vision for ATN going forward.

Since this organization sprang from my experiences and my realization that services... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ethiopia: Finland, Amhara Region Sign Agreement Worth 9 Million Euro

From the Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) June 29, 2007

One of the Millennium Development Goals that Ethiopia is currently trying to implement calls for a reduction in the proportion... more