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We specialize in working with birth parents considering adoption and individual/families interested in adopting a child. The benefits of counseling cannot be underestimated. Birthparents thinking about placing a child for adoption should seek the advice of a professional counselor who can help them understand their options and the consequences of their decision for adoption. All prospective adoptive parents considering adoption should also seek the help of a professional adoption counselor.
We and provide counseling in the home or a mutually agreed upon location convenient to all individuals involved in order to make the process as stress free as possible. To discuss professional counseling services with us, call 1-800-643-3960 or email.

Professional counseling can be extremely helpful when trying to make a decision, which will affect the lives of many people. Birthparents should seek the advice of a counselor prior to making a final decision regarding adoption. A professional counselor can offer their assistance when one is trying to sort out feelings regarding such a big personal decision. A birthmother is making a decision that not only affects her life, but also the life of a child. A counselor will often ask the birthmother or birthparents to create and complete a list of the advantages and disadvantages of going through an adoption. That list can them be gone over with the counselor on an objective basis to discuss the impact of those decisions. The decision to place a child for adoption or choosing to raise a child will have lifelong effects.

If the birthmother chooses to place the child for adoption, she must consider how this decision will affect her in the future. Will she be at happy with her decision? Is adoption in the best interest of everyone involved? Does the adoption plan sound possible to achieve? Many issues should be addressed before making a decision for adoption. A professional counselor is in position to be objective about these choices. It is often difficult to discuss adoption with relatives and people who are close to you. It is always helpful to discuss the possible choices with friends and family, which should also be consulted. The most objective information will come from an adoption professional.

Attachment
The formation by a child of significant and stable emotional connections with the significant people in its life. This process begins in early infancy as the child bonds with one or more primary caregivers. A failure by a child to establish these types of important connections before the age of about five years may result in the child having trouble with a wide variety of social relationships for significant periods in its life. Severe cases can fit within the definition of a more permanent condition known as "reactive attachment disorder."

Bonding
The process that a child goes through in developing lasting emotional ties with its immediate caregivers, which is seen as the first and most significant developmental task of a human being, and is central to that person's ability to relate properly to others throughout its life.

Reactive Attachment Disorder
Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) isused to describe a condition that generally appears in children before age five, and is thought to result from a lack of consistent care and nurturing in early years. The disorder is characterized by the inability of a child or infant to establish age-appropriate social contact and relationships with others. Symptoms of the disorder may include a failure to thrive, developmental delays, a refusal to make eye contact, feeding difficulties, hyper-sensitivity to sound and/or touch, failure to initiate or respond to social interactions with others, self-stimulation, indiscriminate sociability and a an unusually high susceptibility to infections.

Anti-Social Behavior
This term generally refers to actions that deviate significantly from established social norms. Behavior that fits within this definition will vary to some degree, based on the social environment in which the child lives. This kind of behavior commonly includes skipping school, getting into fights, running away from home, persistently lying, using illegal drugs or alcohol, stealing, vandalizing property, engaging in aggressive or violent behavior towards other individuals, and violating school rules, home rules or local criminal laws.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder
A recurrent pattern of negativitistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least six months. This disorder is characterized by frequent occurrence of at least four of the following behaviors: frequent loss of temper, tendency to argue with adults, refusal to obey adult rules or requests, deliberate behaviors to annoy others, spiteful and vindictive behavior, being touchy or easily annoyed by others, being angry and resentful, use of obscene language, and a tendency to blame others for mistakes or misbehaviors. Symptoms are less severe than those associated with Conduct Disorder but sometimes indicate the early stages of Conduct Disorder (CD) and may sometimes lead to the development of Anti-social Personality Disorder during adulthood.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
A condition in which victims of overwhelming and uncontrollable experiences are subsequently psychologically affected by feelings of intense fear, loss of safety, loss of control, helplessness, and extreme vulnerability and in children the disorder involves disorganized or agitated behavior.

Special Needs Children
Children who have emotional or physical disorders, age, and race, membership in a sibling group, a history of abuse, or other factors, which contribute to a lengthy stay in foster care. Guidelines for classifying a child as special needs vary by State. Common special needs conditions and diagnoses include serious medical conditions; emotional and behavioral disorders; history of abuse or neglect; medical or genetic risk due to familial mental illness or parental substance abuse.

Developmental Disability
This term refers to a severe and chronic impairment, which can be attributed to one or more mental or physical impairments, which will require specific and lifelong or extended care that is individually planned and coordinated, and which had an onset before age 22, and which is likely to continue indefinitely. The condition or conditions must create substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
1) self care
2) language skills
3) learning
4) personal mobility
5) self-direction
6) potential for independent living
7) potential for economic self-sufficiency as an adult.

Learning Disabilities (LD)
One or more impairments that a child may have in such areas as reading, mathematics and/or written expression skills, which interfere with the expected academic performance of the child in school, or in other daily activities that require those skills. Performance on standardized tests that is below that which would be expected for the child's age, schooling and level of intelligence are customarily used as preliminary diagnostic tools to identify areas where children are experiencing difficulties. Children with learning disabilities may be of average or above average intelligence, but experience difficulty in learning, differentiating, and processing, storing and/or otherwise maximizing their use of information. Some children with LD will find it difficult to learn in a conventional classroom environment, and may need to attend LD classes for a period in order to help them achieve their potential in school.

Alcohol-related Birth Defects
Physical or cognitive deficits, which can range form mild to severe, that a child experiences as the result of alcohol consumption by its mother during pregnancy. This term includes, but is not limited to, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).

Seattle (206) 452-2007
Puyallup (253) 604-0466
Toll Free (800) 643-3960
Fax (253) 604-0465

Office Location: 10116 - 116th Street East, Suite 201 | Puyallup, WA 98373
Mailing Address: PO Box 731128 | Puyallup, WA 98373

For more information or to set up a homestudy, click here to email us.

www.AdoptionHomeStudyService.com