[From J-]
A few weeks ago, I took a walk in the park with T-7 and our two dogs. We’ve done this a number of times, though I’ve often had to wrestle/drag her back to the car, even with a lot of preparation. This time, I had a plan.
I chose a very precise walking [...]

We came up with this as a resource for friends who are in the matching process right now. This was basically written by J- and edited by me.
Find out as much as possible about previous placements and disruptions, and in particular, try to have your social worker review all the material.  In our case, there [...]

In early April, T-7 was out of control. She was having tantrums multiple times a day, arguing about everything, physically attacking Jeff regularly and even acting up with her teacher. We thought it was because of her upcoming birthday. After her birthday things got a little better, but not much.
The ramifications of her difficult behavior [...]

About a week ago, a few of my drafts suddenly got posted with a bunch of viagra text at the end.  Hmmm…sounds like it is time to change my password. I thought that I had deleted them all, but I found another today.  Believe me, I am not selling viagra here :)
On that note, I [...]

T-7 has all of the checkmarks for a Disorder called Oppositional Defiant Disorder, which a high percentage of kids that have ADHD have (which she also has the symptoms of). From Wikipedia:

A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting at least 6 months, during which four (or more) of the following are present:
Note: Consider [...]

This is a guest blog from J- (aka Dad)

Here is an all-too-typical day:
 
6:00 – 6:20: Lie in bed petting dog and snoozing after the alarm goes off.
6:20 – 7:00: Make coffee, check email for emergencies (ignore), do some leftover evening dishes, and let the dogs out.
7:00-7:15: Wake T-7 and T-4, lay out their [...]

There are a wide-range of attachment-related problems, some that have diagnoses like Radical Attachment Disorder and Attachment Disorganization. Related may be other behavioral problems like Oppositional defiant disorder (which is T-7 current diagnosis).
We have been researching general parenting techniques for many months trying to figure out how to handle our troubled kids.  It took us [...]

I have begun having a huge problem with insomnia.  My tossing and turning (even with some aids!) is definitely anxiety-ridden.  These nights are always triggered by either an unusual commitment the next day or times that I am having the most serious doubts about the girls.
We are back in a bad spell.  We had a [...]

I originally started this post as a tribute to T-4 because the differences that I saw in her between the beginning of November and the middle of February were so pronounced. At this point, we are also seeing remarkable growth in T-6. So girls, this one is for you. (I am back-dating this, since it [...]

People often ask us if we are happy when they hear that we have two kids that are new to our family. We are a long way from happiness, but we no longer feel that we are constantly panicking, either.  The crisis that we had in mid-December and the subsequent threat of the placement not [...]