Abstract
Parents adopting traumatized children from foster care or from other settings have unique needs for post adoption support. This paper seeks to present those needs from the unique viewpoint of an adoptive physician mother. Circles of care around the child include the family, the community and wider systems of support.
Key Take Away Points
1) Traumatized children require time and the support of adoptive families to heal.
2) The family may experience significant challenges as they help children heal.
3) Circles of care around a traumatized child are essential to his or her recovery from trauma.
Author Biography
Dr. Patricia Lantis is a pediatric hospitalist with 22 years of experience taking care of hospitalized children. Six years ago she also expanded her family through adoption. During the subsequent years she learned what it means to care for children who have invisible wounds. She is a passionate advocate for children in foster care, as well as children placed in families permanently. She is the Chair for the Georgia American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Foster Care, Kinship Care and Adoption Care. She is a curious gardener who enjoys caring for plants as well as children. She is currently employed as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics by Emory University’s Department of Pediatrics in Atlanta, Georgia where she lives with her husband, five children and adorable dog Ruby.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank all of the circles of care that enabled her family to heal and bond. She also wishes to thank her fellow adoptive parents who have traveled this road with her and her family.
Recommended Citation
Lantis, Patricia
(2018)
"We Don't Know What We Don't Know: Post Adoption Support of Families Caring for Traumatized Children,"
Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1362
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol9/iss1/6
