Adoption Training Course Descriptions
Gladney's Family Service Department's mission is to provide education, counseling, pre and post adoption education to Domestic and International Adoptive Parents.

The Gladney Center for Adoption is excited to present informative and educational training sessions on adoption. Each training will be facilitated by a highly trained professional. Some of the courses offered to families include:

Attachment and Bonding
The attachment relationship between parents and their children is one of the most cherished experiences of our lives. This seminar will focus on the attachment relationship and how to most effectively cultivate it in our families. Information shared in this seminar is designed to enrich our understanding of attachment, both theoretically and practically, and to provide a rich foundation for adoptive parents and their children.

Child Development Training, Ages 0-5
The Child Development Training will provide information on age appropriate developmental levels for ages 0-5. Along with information about normal child development, you will also learn what to watch for concerning developmental delays in children. Language, Cognitive, Social and Emotional, Motor, and Sensory Developmental Stages will be explored for each stage of development.

China Training
This training will help adoptive families prepare for the specifics of adopting a child from China. Topics that will be discussed include cultural awareness and sensitivity, practicalities of travel and the adoption process, issues of identity as a transracial family, health concerns, and post-placement adjustment.

Collaborative Group for Families who Adopted Older Children
This group provides an opportunity for parents to gather and share ideas, support, and strength as they face the unique challenges and joys involved in parenting their adoptive children. Adoptive parents whose children were 4 or older at time of adoption are encouraged to attend. The group is held on Gladney's campus on a quarterly basis. Childcare is not provided.

Ethiopia Training
This training will help adoptive families prepare for the specifics of adopting a child from Ethiopia. Topics that will be discussed include cultural awareness and sensitivity, practicalities of travel and the adoption process, issues of identity as a transracial family, health concerns, and post-placement adjustment.

Facilitating Behavioral Change
Every parent has days when they take the fact that children are a gift of God by faith! We don't know any parent who doesn't sometimes wonder how to navigate their child's behavior. During this seminar, we will talk about what causes many of the maladaptive behaviors in our children. In addition, we will discuss many specific skills and strategies for helping our children succeed.

Grief and Loss Training
For all people touched by adoption, adoption brings different meaning and experiences. For many people, it means joy and family. For everyone it means change, and with all changes in our lives come losses. This training will discuss aspects of loss unique to each member of the adoption triad - adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents. Models for understanding grief will be discussed, as will resources for understanding and dealing with grief in the adoptive family. A panel of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents will discuss their own experiences with grief and loss in regards to their own adoption experience.

Guatemala Training
This training will help adoptive families prepare for the specifics of adopting a child from Guatemala. Topics that will be discussed include cultural awareness and sensitivity, practicalities of travel and the adoption process, issues of identity as a transracial family, health concerns, and post-placement adjustment.

Institutionalized Child
Six Words for Adoptive Parents to Live By is a topic that has grown out of ten years of research with adoptive parents and their children. A goal of this presentation is to help parents find the balance of insightful compassion and gentle structure in establishing trusting and joyful family relationships with their adopted children. These six words provide a foundation from which parents and children can work together to overcome virtually any challenge in their path - and are the words that can guide loving parents in developing forever families.

Medical Issues in International Adoption
Dr. Heidi Schwarzwald will present information regarding the medical and psychological health of children adopted internationally. She will cover both short-term and long-term issues families adopting internationally face and will emphasis certain trends from specific countries.

Sensory Integration
In our estimation, sensory integration is one of the most important topics for parents, teachers, educators, and professionals. Sensory processing issues can be caused by difficult pregnancy, birth complications, lengthy hospitalizations, abuse, neglect or trauma. Because of the wide range of causes, there are many children whose lives are significantly altered by their inability to completely understand sensory input from their environment. During this seminar we will talk about its causes, symptoms, and most importantly, we talk about how to recognize and effectively deal with your child's need for sensory integration.