Nurture and learning

The amount of holding an infant has is directly related to its future health and psychological well-being at a cellular level and the more distressed the infant the more relevant this becomes. For neglected babies who may be suffering intense distress (hunger, fear, discomfort, drug withdrawal) this clearly has profound life long implications.

Babies Who Get Cuddled More Seem to Have Their Genetics Changed For Years Afterwards The amount of close and comforting contact that young infants get doesn't just keep them warm, snug, and loved.

Lovely little film by my old tutor Graham Music and the inestimable Sue Gerhardt of Why Love Matters Fame about baby brain development. A helpful reminder about what can go wrong and how we can approach repair.......
https://youtu.be/hVN0YzBVAKQ

Over recent years there has been a greater understanding of the impact of drug and alcohol use during pregnancy - many adopted children have experienced this and since FASD is considered a spectrum disorder a wide range of behaviour problems, learning difficultie or attachment disorders could be linked to this. The only dedicated clinic nationally is run at SABP:

Our FASD clinic offers assessment and treatment to those who have difficulties caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb.

A diagnosis can help people to understand their condition and better manage their symptoms leading to improved wellbeing.

To find out more visit our website www.fasdclinic.com or call our expert team on 01737 288 813.

Helpful info graphic about Reactivr Attachment Disorder - although few children get this diagnosis, many of our adopted children are somewhere on the RAD spectrum.

[INFOGRAPHIC] How parents of kids with reactive attachment disorder get post-traumatic stress disorder - Institute For Attachment and Child Development Imagine a soldier comes home from war. But when he returns, there aren’t “Welcome home hero” signs. No warm embraces. The people he loves might be there—maybe his wife and parents—but only to tell him that the war was his fault. That if he had just tried harder, he could’ve stopped the w...

What every adoptive parent already knows - at last being talked about in the Guardian and TES....here’s hoping more teachers and those in the Department for Education really start to see this before our children suffer any further harm....

Adopted children 'barely surviving' in high-pressure schools Adoption UK says pupils are falling behind in their studies and struggling emotionally

After a long period of hibernation, Nurture and Learning is starting to awaken with a gentle stretch of our limbs and some deep breaths..... we’d like to meet our adopter friends in Sussex to see what emerges next so pm or comment below if you are local and interested 🙏😊

If this pilot as it suggests is focussed on speech and language/communication needs where is the attention being paid to the attachment needs of children in foster care?

Government vows to launch mental health check pilots later this year Delayed trials of mental health assessments for children entering the care system will launch later this year, the government has pledged.

If you have younger children this might be if interest:

Request from BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme and BBC News re film on attachment disorder | Adoption UK Adoption UK is a national charity run by and for adopters. We provide information, training and guidance at all stages of the adoption process. Our vision is a world where all children and young people unable to live with their birth parents can find security and happiness with permanent families wh...

Beacon House have put together this helpful resource based on the film Resilience and the Adverse Childhood experiences (ACES) study:

We've created a training aid to help you start conversations, inspire resources and educate your community about ACEs and resilience. It can be downloaded for free here: http://beaconhouse.org.uk/useful-resources/

Love the inclusion of ‘soup’ on this handy visual diagram from Dan Hughes 😂

Dr. Dan Hughes offers 24 'S's as a simple way to remember what children and young people need more of from us, and what they need less of.

We have provided these as a free easy visual to printout and use at work and home: http://beaconhouse.org.uk/useful-resources/

Adoption UK has produced a special feature on trauma-fuelled violence with advice from adopters and experts on how best to deal with the challenge of aggressive behaviours.

http://bit.ly/2yVpZ1j