Is It an Adoption Thing?

 Webinar  - Wednesday, August 7, 2013

7:00 PM Central, Q&A 8:00 PM

Are you struggling to decide if your child's challenging behaviors are adoption related or just kid stuff? Because so many families face that difficult task, Adoption Learning Partners asked an expert to help! Join Dr. Gregory Keck as he helps parents understand the impact of adoption and trauma on child development. Common challenging behaviors, how to manage behaviors, and effective (and ineffective) parenting tools will be discussed. Register here.

What No One Ever Told Me About Special Needs Adoption: Loving Our Perfect Child

  

Adopting several children from China has been a joy-filled, faith-building, abundant adventure. We have four biological children and feel as though we are experienced parents. However, sometimes even experienced parents can find that they are not adequately prepared for some issues.

During November of 2006, we decided that we would pursue a special needs child on a waiting child list. Our agency diligently prepared us for parenting a child with special needs....

Here is a list of items that no social worker ever prepared us for:

1. No one ever told us that when we had our adopted "special needs" daughter evaluated by an occupational therapist, that she would be 6-months ahead of her typically developing two-armed peers in motor development

2. No one ever told me that at age 2, she would figure out how to climb to the top of a bunk bed with her one arm just to admire her brother's trophies on a high shelf.

3. No one ever told me that she would be only 19 pounds but have the desire, tenacity, and strength of a Super Bowl bound football team.

- Tamera Wong - Rainbow Kids

To read the rest of this article and the remainder of this inspiring list, click here.

Special Waiting Child Webinar - Recent Superkids Trip!

Join us for a fun and informational webinar to learn more about Gladney Center’s China Waiting Child program and our humanitarian aid work through Superkids Charity. This summer, the Superkids team spent two weeks in China meeting over 100 amazing children in several orphanages across three provinces! This webinar is the first presentation in a three part series and we will hear from team members about their time spent in Shanghai. Please share this invitation with anyone interested in learning more about Gladney’s China Waiting Child Adoption Program and the exciting work that Superkids is doing to improve the quality of life for children in China and across the globe!

The webinar will be held on Thursday, August 8th at 7pm EST. Be sure to register today!

Gladney Cup

The Gladney Cup Golf Tournament is a world-class, PGA style charitable golf related event benefiting The Gladney Center for Adoption. It is held every-other year on one of the most beautiful, prestigious golf courses in the nation. This year's event will take place on Monday, September 23, 2013, on the famed Merion Golf Club East Course in Ardmore, PA.

Click here for more information.

Monkey: Journey to the West

Last night, several Gladney Asia staff attended Chen Shi-Zheng’s Monkey: Journey to the West at New York City’s Lincoln Center. The performance is an adaptation of Journey to the West, one of the four great classics novels of Chinese literature. It was a very exciting and interesting performance which used mixed media, including music, animation, acrobatics and martial arts to tell the compelling story of the Monkey King’s quest for immortality. The music was a blend of Chinese traditional opera and electronic pop, and the use of color, elaborate stage props and acrobatic performances were very reminiscent of shows that can be seen in China. Although the traditional Chinese themes in the show were the highlights, there were moments of humor that seemed to be able to cross cultural boundaries and were enjoyed by all!

Thinking about Adoption? Have you considered a Waiting Child?

  

When my husband and I first started our adoption process, these children were referred to as Special Needs which can be a scary term.

But what if instead we called them "Waiting Children"? Doesn't sound as intimidating, right, and it is the truth as well! Furthermore, what if we thought of "Special Needs" kids as "special", amazing children in "need" of or waiting for a forever family?... 

When our caseworker mentioned reviewing a special needs list, we looked at each and said, "we don't think so", but God had other plans. He began to work in our hearts and brought people into our lives who had adopted children from China on the waiting child list and showed us that He had a completely different plan than we were thinking of for our adopted child. Read more.

Get Involved in your local GFA

The summer fun continues... check out the GFA sponsored events planned for July and August - pool parties, play groups, potlucks and more will be taking place around the country to bring families together to enjoy each other's company and the beautiful weather!

Click here for the GFA Network's Event Calendar to learn what is happening in your area!

 

If you would like to learn more about opportunities to volunteer your time with your local GFA board, please contact the GFA Director of volunteers: Wendy Lee at  wendy.lee@gladney.org. Volunteers can help in a variety of ways. The new GFA season will kick-off in the Fall with a calendar of events specific to each local region. It is a great way to meet other families and make a difference!  

Thoughts About Sharing and Connecting

For almost two years now, I have had the privilege to work with the Gladney Asia staff on communications by creating a monthly newsletter and maintaining the program's blogsites. It has been such a pleasure getting to know the staff and experiencing first hand, their passion for adoption! Each month, we have enjoyed working collaboratively to publish adoption related articles and news, helpful resources and most importantly, adoption announcements and photos! 

Gladney and the Gladney Family Association strive to keep families involved and informed, providing a resource for parenting needs from before placement through young adulthood. There is so much wonderful information about adoption, parenting and heritage celebration that it is always exciting selecting the contents for our readers. It is our hope that our outreach and communications serve all Gladney Asia families, from those who are waiting, through those who adopted 15 or more years ago.

  

After publishing this summer newsletter, I will pass along this role to others so that I have more time as our oldest daughter prepares to apply for college! However, as I wrote in the article last month "The Benefits of Staying Connected", I will remain in contact with the Gladney Asia staff, complete some projects we have been planning and continue to assist Gongzhan with the custom China Heritage Tours.

- Lydia Macci

Gladney's Waiting Child website has been re-launched!

A Child to Love is now available to families who are interested in domestic or international adoption. Profile information of children waiting to be adopted can be accessed with varying levels of detail. The levels of access allow Gladney to present relevant child information, but also make sure the child's information is kept secure

Recent China Adoption News

CCCWA has matched families with LIDs through October 26, 2006.

CCCWA has reviewed dossiers with LIDs through October 31, 2012.

CCCWA has issued a referral for one Gladney family in June!

CCCWA has issued 2 Travel Approvals for Gladney families in June!

Welcome home to the two families who traveled last month to pick up their children!

  

Big sister Lia welcomes Rosalie to the Markland Family!  Follow their adoption blog here.

 

The Lin-Wang family welcomes Jay!

New York GFA named GFA of the year!

This year, Gladney staff chose the New York Metro Gladney Family Association (GFA) as the Legacy Blanket 2013 WINNER!

Sarah Krikstone, along with the New York GFA, worked with passion and commitment to host several events for families to share and connect with each other. This year, two great new activities were offered: Family Day at Greenwich Beach and a sleepover event at the Intrepid Museum. Due to their overwhelming success, these will become annual events! 

If you would like to learn more about opportunities to volunteer your time with your local GFA board, please contact the GFA Director of volunteers: Wendy Lee at

wendy.lee@gladney.org.