Graduated!!

We are now back home after four days of intensive Adoption Preparation Training Course. We feel so much more knowledgeable and are thankful to have been given the chance to do the course in one go - those that do evenings or once a week must really struggle to piece things all together.

We have learnt so much about trauma, loss, attachment, trust, placement, contact .... the tutor was truly inspirational and her background both as an adoption social worker and as an adopted person herself, has really been an 'authentic' insight.

There are so many different types of children and lots of people automatically assume that a younger child will be less 'damaged'. To be honest this is a myth (in lots of cases). A child who is younger does not know how to express themselves, so they tend to keep their feelings and thoughts deep rooted until later in life, when it can all come to a head. Whereas an older child can say how they are feeling and are able to make people aware of their feelings.

With the course being in London, we made full advantage and got out and about every evening (living overseas, there are lots of things we miss about Britain!). On Monday night we travelled to Brick Lane for a curry. Tuesday night saw us in one of London's best fisn n chip restaurants. Wednesday we went to Chinatown and had my favourite Crispy Duck with pancakes! Thursday night we opted for a vegetarian Turkish mezze. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

We finally arrived home this morning after a 4am wake up call. Our cats were extremely pleased to see us and have been showering us with affection all afternoon.

The next step in our journey is to her from our newly appointed social worker within the next 3 weeks. This will comence with the home study period, which is expected to last about 8 months.

S
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