Adoption, Fostering & Tea: The New Family Social Podcast

58 - Things are still hard but they’re improving

Myfanwy and Jay return to update us on their journey.  They share how supportive their son's school as been, putting in to place a number of provisions to help him.  One the of the scheme, called "thrive", worked well but has come to an end.  The school is continuing to put other provisions in place to help.  They share how sometimes it’s still difficult, but they have more strategies in place to help defuse difficult situations.  Jay explains the importance of picking the “right” school. 

Their previous episodes are 44 - The honeymoon period is over and 34 - When introductions go wrong...

57 - We’re open to adopt a large sibling group

Lucy and Marie are in stage two with panel coming up soon.  They share how there have been some delays in stage one.  Marie was sure right from the start that she wanted siblings, being an only child, and because they felt that adopting siblings at the same time would help the children and mean they wouldn't have to go through the assessment process more than once.  They know they would like to adopt at least two but are open to adopting a bigger sibling group.  They have built a network of people that have adopted siblings and that has helped cement their decision. 

56 - Early permanence - when the child returns to birth family

Eleanor did Early Permanence twice. Her daughter remained with her and her son returned to his birth family.

 

A link to the therapist mentioned in the podcast, 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-reece-saunders-57528267 

55 - When assessment takes ages

It took two years for Alan and Douglas to be assessed. Alan talk about how this benefitted them and how they're coping with waiting.

54 - Separating from your partner after adopting

Tim talks about splitting from his partner after adoption and how they manage to parent well despite some ongoing difficulties. He also talks about overcoming mental health issues and arriving at a much happier place.

53 - Surviving Christmas!

How do adoptive and foster families do Christmas? Lee, Charlie and Chris tell us how they survive and thrive in the holidays.

52 - Family finding

Alex and Chris had a potential match fall through but they're staying positive about family finding.

51 - Adopting when you’ve had depression

Kate and Charlotte talk about their happy adoption journey and how they dealt with Charlotte's history of depression during assessment.

50 - Family finding as a single gay man

James is going to adopt as a single gay man. He's currently searching for his child.

49 - Being asked to adopt another baby

Alex and James had had their son for a year when the phone range and they were asked if they could take their son's younger sibling immediately.