Did you know that November is National Adoption Awareness Month? As we have entered the holiday season of thankfulness, it seems only fitting to discuss the importance of family.
Families can be created in so many different ways. In my work with children, I see many different kinds of families. Yes, there are some families that are the simple Mom, Dad, and 2 biological children. Then there are step parents, half brothers and sisters, foster parents, aunts raising nieces and nephews, grandmas raising grandchildren, domestic adoptions, foreign adoptions, and even more varieties. Each family comes together in its own unique way. And every family that is based on love is beautiful!
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. So, I chose this week’s blog to highlight how our TEAM family feels called to support the orphans of the world as they wait to find their “forever families”.
TEAMworks International
This branch of TEAMworks is a group of therapists and specialists who travel internationally, seeking to improve the lives and futures of children. Each international team is comprised of various TEAM therapists from multiple disciplines. Currently, we travel to clinics and orphanages in Guatemala, China, and Rwanda. In the past we have also traveled to Ukraine. During these trips, the therapists meet with hundreds of children and and their various caregivers (parents and orphanage staff), offering individualized treatment plans, equipment, and education to improve overall quality of life for these children. By returning to the same clinics/orphanages over and over again, the teams of therapists can build relationships with these communities and create a lasting positive change for these children with special needs.
Children’s Therapy TEAM Therapists as Mommies & Daddies
Many of our therapists at TEAM have adopted children from foreign countries. Kelly Yates (TEAM Occupational Therapist) recently adopted an adorable 2 year old girl from China. I asked her a few questions about her perspectives on being a new Mom, as well as the unique considerations involved with being an occupational therapist working with children who have been adopted.
What led to you choose adoption for your family?
Kelly: I traveled abroad 5 times as a pediatric occupational therapist, providing assistance at orphanages through our TEAMworks organization. I knew many families, including many coworkers, who had chosen foreign adoption for their families. Each trip abroad broke my heart, seeing those beautiful orphans being cared for in mass by nannies, but never knowing the love of a mommy and daddy. Therefore, my husband and I prayed about and chose adoption. We felt led to love a child, born to a family who could not care for them as their own, knowing that God would place our child in our family as our beautiful daughter. It is an HONOR to be a new Mom to my precious little girl, and we are so, so blessed to make her one less orphan in a sea of many.
In your opinion, what is one of the hardest things about adopting?
Kelly: The joy of having my new little girl is so incredible! But, it remains bittersweet when I think of all the other precious little faces that were in the background of her pre-adoption photos. My daughter has found a forever family full of love. I worry about all the other children who are still in orphanages waiting on for their forever families to come and find them.
What would you tell other families who are considering adoption?
Kelly: If your heart is being stirred to answer the call to adopt I encourage you to act!!! You will be blessed beyond measure! If adoption is not in the cards for you, consider helping in other ways: fostering, sponsoring, helping to fund others’ adoptions, prayer. Borrowed from the great Julie Marvin (another TEAM OT who has adopted internationally): If you have even the slightest curiosity, pl]lease don’t hesitate to ask!
TEAM therapists in the clinic
Children who have been adopted possess a unique set of strengths and needs that are often different from children in biological families.
1. Children who have been in an orphanage often have special needs relating to sensory deprivation in the orphanage. Many babies in orphanages spend the majority of their day in cribs. Likewise, many older children of domestic adoptions come from environments of neglect and sensory deprivation as well. Therefore, when these children are adopted into a loving, sensory-rich environment, it can be a bit overwhelming and scary. Many of these children develop specific sensory sensitivities and sensory processing disorders.
2. It is often important to address separation anxiety in children from biological families. However, when a child has come from an orphanage or foster care, the exact opposite approach is taken. Our therapy sessions are used to encourage more bonding with the new parents rather than independence from their parents.
Both issues with sensory processing and anxieties with bonding with/separating from parents are areas that can be assisted by your occupational therapist.
Did you choose an international or domestic adoption to complete your family? Please share your experiences with us! share@childrenstherapyteam.com