Adoption, Fostering & Tea: The New Family Social Podcast

Brandon and Pier have been stuck at pre-stage-one for two years due to their immigration status, wedding and house move. They're finally ready to start. They've been to all the information sessions, made a spreadsheet and chosen an agency. Brandon talks about their families back in Italy, their support network and how they're building their childcare experience while trying to decide what kind of needs they can cope with in the children they hope to adopt.

Ash and John talk about adoption journey, having both been adopted themselves.  Ash explains how he was adopted and has no details of his birth family.  John tells how he was given up for adoption after his birth mother was sexually assaulted.  John and his older half-brother were adopted together.  John tells how his foster family made introductions difficult, but his mother was determined to adopt him and his brother.  Ash shares how in the culture he was raised, adoption wasn’t spoken about, but his extended family all knew that he and his sister were adopted. 

Aaron and Adam are counting down to their panel.  They share how their experience has been smooth, thanks to their social worker.  Aaron explains that big life events, which had happen to both of them, were positives when it came to assessment because they showed their resilience and demonstrated that the couple knew how to deal with traumatic events.  They talk about how the process helped them to better understand each other's approach to the adoption and how it highlighted each other’s strengths. 

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...

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. 

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 

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.

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.

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

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