Understanding the Trauma of Institutionalised Children: To support the child you adopt

By Florence Koenderink

Parents adopting a child from an institution (or orphanage) are often not quite prepared for what they can expect and how to deal with it. Institutionalisation affects a child's brain development, physical development, cognitive development, emotional development and stress response. Understanding how care in an institution is different from care in a family and the effects this has on a child helps parents prepare to welcome their child and support him or her. The book also gives some advice on pitfalls and helpful approaches to caring for a previously institutionalised child, handling challenging behaviour, and helping the child catch up on delayed or skipped development. Areas discussed are expectation management, a general understanding of the development of the brain and the stress response system in a child, the roles of attachment, physical contact, stimulation, attention, and living in the community in child development, and the effects of institutionalisation such as attachment disorders, challenging behaviour, self-harm, and health problems. And how to help the child build trust and relationships, how to help reduce stress and establish felt safety, and deal with challenging behaviour - including positive disciplining in a way that does not cause further harm.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1471722600
• ISBN13: 9781471722608
• Release Date: September 2022
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.3"