Courses

This course guides parents through a series of adoptee stories giving a unique view into the hearts, minds and souls of the adopted person experience.

Adopting an older child presents a unique set of joy and challenges. From knowing what kind of information is important to have to anticipating potential stumbling blocks to a smooth transition, this course serves as a guide to anyone considering adopting a child older than an infant (whether internationally or from the US public welfare system).

The adoption tax credit provides a very valuable benefit to adoptive families; it is also among one of the most complicated tax law provisions. This course will help you determine eligibility, create record keeping systems and prepare for year-end tax planning.

Upon completion of this course, you may purchase a certificate for $25.

Advocacy begins even before a child joins her adoptive family and continues throughout her childhood. This course will help you understand why you are the best advocate for your adopted child, determine your need for services and find resources available to assist your family.

Upon completion of this course, you may purchase a certificate for $35. If purchased as part of a package, the fee is already included.

An understanding of your child's heritage is essential to help her connect to her culture. This course is designed to introduce you to the history and people of China.

This course provides an overview of Chinese language and explains some festivals and traditions that you can incorporate into your own family.  A great resource for families anticipating an adoption from China as well as those who have already adopted from China.

An overview of the home study, family assessment and post adoption process of adopting from China. Learn more about general needs of children awaiting adoption and conditions that may affect children in China.

Adopting a child of a different race or ethnicity presents challenges families may not expect.  Share in the wisdom and collective experiences of adopted persons and adoptive parents with transracial families and learn new skills for responding to insensitive comments as well as strategies for expanding the diversity in your life.

Make the first step in connecting with expectant parents considering adoption a good one by creating a compelling profile that truly highlights who you are.  If your adoption profile creatively expresses who you really are, expectant parents get a window into your life and therefore a reason to connect with you specifically.

Ain't Misbehavin' helps parents better understand potential causes for challenging behaviors and develop effective adoption friendly discipline plans to address them. By encouraging children to make better behavioral choices, effective discipline results in happier, more connected families.

It is natural for adopted children to grieve the life and family they never knew, no matter how old they were when adopted, how open the adoption or how happy their life with the adoptive family. This course will help adoptive parents recognize the signs of grief at different developmental stages, identify situations that may trigger grief and develop strategies to help children grieve.

This highly-interactive course is helpful to anyone considering adopting a child from the U.S. domestic foster care system and will help you understand the entire process of adopting your foster child. It will also help you prepare your family for the emotional transition to adoptive family and help you identify resources.

Talking about adoption can be difficult for a variety of reasons, but it should not be a one time conversation. This course gives you the tools you need to make talking about adoption part of your family's everyday life.

A Lifebook is a book created for an adopted child that tells his story, before and after adoption.  It helps children place foster care or adoption in the context of their life experiences.  This course will help you understand the purpose and importance of a Lifebook, identify situations in which it is beneficial and develop some pages of your child's Lifebook.

A fear they will not be able to maintain connections with their birth families and their past may cause a teen to react negatively to an adoptive family. Created by the Family Connections Project through Adoptions Unlimited, Inc., this course is designed to advise child welfare professionals on helping youth maintain contact with birth families and past connections.

This course provides an overview of the common medical issues, health risks and specific conditions internationally adopted children may face. Become familiar with the medical and developmental effects of orphanage or foster care as well as the role of professionals in assessing health.

Open adoption can be a scary and difficult relationship to understand. This course will explain open adoption, will help you to understand the expectant parent and birth parent perspectives and will offer some strategies for making openness part of your every day life.

Attachment is an essential component of any healthy, happy family. Adoption, however, may present challenges to the attachment process. Designed for both first time adoptive parents and parents struggling with attachment issues with their adopted child, this course provides practical tips on how to form and sustain this important bond.

Brain Development Matters thoroughly explains the impact that early trauma has on a child's brain chemistry, brain development and sensory processing. Once parents understand how their child's brain is connected to his behaviors, these behaviors begin to make more sense. With a thorough understanding of brain development, parents are better prepared to learn how to more successfully intervene and shape their child's troubling behaviors.

The goal of this course is to help parents understand the toll raising a tough start child can take on them, their relationships and their other children. Family Matters teaches techniques parents can use to support each member of the family, and themselves, through these challenges.

Parenting Matters applies a strengths-based, therapeutic approach parenting in order to heal a child who has had a tough start in life. Learn this deliberate and intentional approach to parenting through exercises, family stories and expert advice.

Treatment Matters gives parents strategies for seeking professional help as soon as they recognize significant challenges in their child. Understand the importance of a diagnosis, when to consider medication and how to choose a therapist.

This course was designed to address immediate issues families adopting school aged children face while getting to know one another. The course discusses school placement, the impact of previous life experience, maintaining connections with people from the past, language, sleeping, eating, discipline and attachment.

This course was designed to address immediate issues families adopting toddlers face while getting to know one another. The course discusses language, sleeping, eating, discipline and attachment.

Join Dr. Ira Chasnoff as he helps parents sort through complications that may arise when raising a child who was exposed to alcohol before birth. Dr Chasnoff will explain the physical and developmental impact of pre-natal alcohol exposure on children as they grow. He will also offer practical intervention ideas and strategies that parents can use to help their child develop to their maximum potential.

Dr. Karyn Purvis discusses the most recent research on the impact nutrition can have on behavior.

Because many adoptive families struggle with the difficult task of sorting out if behaviors and challenges are adoption related or not, we asked an expert to help! Dr. Gregory Keck discusses common challenges at each developmental stage and offers real life examples and suggestions.

All parents hope for close relationships with their children. And for children, trusting their parents and feeling secure in their family is essential. Often, adoption can pose challenges to the attachment process. Circumstances prior to adoption experiences either in utero, in an orphanage or in foster care, can create serious barriers to attachment.

A discussion with Heather T. Forbes, LCSW on how to help your child succeed at school. Circumstances prior to adoption often cause adopted children to experience school, among other things, in a different framework than other kids. Orphanage care, foster care or prenatal exposure are all events that can affect behavior as a child grows.

Adopted people and adoptive parents don’t always look at adoption the same way. Understanding your child’s feelings about adoption is essential, so how do you gain some insight?Our panel of adult adopted people discusses what they wish their parents had known.

Traveling, family gatherings, holiday foods and music are all special parts of celebrating the holidays. But for many children, especially those with sensory sensitivities or who may have only recently come into their adoptive home, the frenzy of the holidays can push them beyond their ability to cope. This webinar will help you understand your child's capacity to cope and help them regulate behaviors.

Dr. Dana Johnson, renowned international adoption physician, shares the results of his research on the common physical, cognitive, and behavioral impacts of poor nutrition on internationally adopted children.

Understand the impact of early nutritional deprivation, identify warning signs and help them catch up!

Secure parent-child attachments are essential to healthy child development, but often adoption can present challenges to the process. World renowned attachment expert Dr. Dan Hughes shares family centered strategies on how to connect to your child as a toddler, tween and teen. Lynn Wetterberg presents ideas on finding attachment related resources and professional support.

Online tools like Google and Facebook have revolutionized the way we look for information and connect with one another. Your teen (or even tween) may be searching for birth relatives online. She may also be approached online by a birth relative ... or someone posing as one. This webinar will share strategies on talking to your children about searching and preparing them for possible outcomes. It will also identify safety risks and discuss how to avoid them.

A review of key findings from a study of over 450 adult adoptees focusing on the complex and inter related impacts of being adopted and raised by parents of a different ethnicity. Practical recommendations for adoptive families on how to promote a healthy sense of self.

A guided discussion on the impact adoption has on identity formation. A panel of adult adoptees shares personal stories from their childhood and teenage years, reflecting back on how adoption factored into their identity formation.

Arleta James discusses helping children navigate relationships when new kids join the family. Our experts will share transition tips and strategies for welcoming a toddler or school aged child home, focusing on preparing brothers and sisters prior to adoption and the first year after adoption.

In this webinar, for professionals only researchers discuss the impact of poor nutrition on neurodevelopment in internationally adopted children.

An exploration of why young children (and their parents!) often sleep so poorly, and what to do about it! This webinar will help you formulate sleep strategies and trouble shoot specific sleep problems.

An "in the trenches" discussion on how parents of adopted children with special needs can get connected and supported. Martha Osborne, adopted person, adoptive mom and founder of the largest special needs adoption advocacy website, RainbowKids.com, discusses the unexpected challenges parents of post-institutionalized children often face.

A review of key findings from a study of over 450 adult adoptees focusing on the complex and inter related impacts of being adopted and raised by parents of a different ethnicity. A panel of transracially placed adult adoptees give their personal perspectives and address common questions.