Facing unexpected challenges with adopted kids

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Facing unexpected challenges with adopted kids

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As an adoptive parent I faced a lot of unexpected issues and challenges. My son was placed with me when he was 10 days old and I practiced attachment parenting, baby wearing, feeding on demand and then I made sure that my parenting was non-violent and unconditional. And what I discovered is that unconditional love, while it is necessary for optimal brain development, it’s not enough to heal a brain that’s been hurt by trauma. And so I’ve had to educate myself as to the effects of trauma on the brain. I’ve had to seek out alternative therapies to help my son’s brain heal. Most of all, I’ve had to really grow as a parent and as a person in order to love my son unconditionally no matter how he’s behaving in order to help him work through his challenges.

View Kathy Gordon's video on Facing unexpected challenges with adopted kids...

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Kathy Gordon

Parent Educator

Kathy Gordon is the single adoptive mother of a very spirited nine year-old boy, but was not prepared for the challenges of parenting a child whose brain was developed under stress. When her son was three, Kathy had the good fortune of taking parenting classes with Ruth Beaglehole, founding Director of the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting, (theechocenter.org), and she realized this powerful compassionate method of working with children was something she wanted to teach. She has been a teacher, director and coach most of her adult life. Kathy was certified as a Parent Educator through the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting in May of 2008, and will now continue her training by becoming a Certified Hand-in-Hand Parenting Parent Educator. Kathy works with families individually, teaches parenting classes and facilitates trainings for educators and schools communities. Her practice is called Unconditional Connection because we all long for connection, and we long to be unconditionally loved. We live in a society in which we are continually judged by our behavior. Kathy offers research-based information and tools to help people look underneath and beyond the behavior, so that we may be more unconditionally connected thus creating a world of cooperation and peace. 

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