Growing Intentional Families Together, LLC

Today we remember a harsh reality--the tragic deaths of adoptees who have died by suicide or at the hands of adoptive parents.

Special guest, adoptee, adoptee activist, and author, Anne Heffron, joins co-hosts and adoption coaches, Kim Noeth (a birth mother), Sharon Butler-Obazee (an adoptee) and Sally Ankerfelt (an adoptive parent) for an engaging discussion of the "masks" we might be wearing as members of the adoption triad and within our adoptive families. How do the masks we don protect our feelings and the feelings of those around us? If we were brave enough to let the masks down, what would we gain, how would we feel, and how would we be different? Are we even brave enough to share what is behind the mask? Drawing on a tri-spective point of view and lived experience, explore the "unmasking." #AdoptionAttunement #Adoption #AdopteeVoices #BirthMotherVoices #UnmaskingAdoption #Unmasking https://lnkd.in/e_6WK97z

Do you ever consider the impact of how we mask ourselves? what is the impact of hiding behind a mask that we think might be safer or more appealing than simply being ourselves. Watch this great conversation that adoptee activist and author Anne Heffron shared with three of our coaches (Kim Noeth, a birth mother, Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adoptee, and Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent. They take a Tri-spective look at "masking" within the adoption triad. what if we were brave enough to be authentic? What kind of connection and relation might we grow then? Their discussion was deep, genuine, and important. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/eDdXhb3g Sally Ankerfelt Sharon Obazee Susan David Kim Noeth Gayle H. Swift #AdopteeVoice #BirthMotherVoice #AdoptionAttunement #AdoptionTalk

https://lnkd.in/eh_aMFGW https://lnkd.in/eG4V9gWT  33119607 Are you or your children experiencing stress due to the pressures at school? Listen as Kim Noeth, a birth mother, Sharon Obazee, an adoptee, and Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive mother chat with Michelle Soggs a sixth-grade teacher. They discuss ways parents and teachers can work together to support adopted and foster youth in their classrooms. #AdoptionAtSchool #AdopteeVoices #BirthMotherVoices Susan David Gayle H. Swift https://lnkd.in/eh_aMFGW

Children’s biological systems begin adapting to their environments in their earliest days, even before birth. These “molecular memories” shape children’s immune and cardiovascular systems, among others, well into adulthood. When we improve the environments around young children and pregnant people, we are not only supporting a child’s development but also their lifelong health. #PlaceMatters To learn more, check out our working paper, “Place Matters: The Environment We Create Shapes the Foundations of Healthy Development” https://bit.ly/3ZtjEWK

School is open almost everywhere. How can parents help teachers to know and understand the needs of adopted children? What should parents share and what should they keep private? How can parents and teachers be proactive about triggers and traumaversaries? For intentional, Adoption Attuned parents this can require some finesse. We always want to be sensitive to the privacy boundaries of our children and to be clear about what it is appropriate to share with teachers and school staff. A good rule of thumb is to let them know that your child has experienced trauma without sharing the specific details of that trauma. https://lnkd.in/eQH4JNKp Sally Ankerfelt Sharon Obazee Susan David Kim Noeth Gayle H. Swift #AdoptionAttunement #AdoptionAtSchool #Traumaversaries #Triggers https://lnkd.in/eQH4JNKp

As Sally mentioned, Michelle mentioned the importance of the classroom library. For primary grades, we suggest "ABC, Adoption & Me" https://lnkd.in/e5E9y8yH

School has started. It brings excitement as well as some stresses. Listen as Kim Noeth, a birth mother, Sharon Obazee, an adoptee, and Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive mother chat with Michelle Soggs a sixth grade teacher. They discuss ways parents and teachers can work together to support adopted and foster youth in their classrooms. #AdoptionAtSchool #AdopteeVoices #BirthMotherVoices Sally Ankerfelt Sharon Obazee Susan David Kim Noeth Gayle H. Swift https://lnkd.in/gSWP2UY8

Two of our coaches wrote this award-winning book which focuses on how we can better serve adoptees. Their quotes enrich and guide the content and offer much-needed insight about how we succeed and fail at meeting those needs. Review copies available.

This might have implications for adoptive families…