Based on the author's experiences as an adoptive mother and foster parent, as well as interviews with numerous adoptive families, adoption professionals and adults who were adopted, Our Own thoroughly explores both the joys and the challenges of older child adoption. Suitable for families adopting domestically or internationally, it covers such topics as:
- Evaluating whether you have what it takes to adopt a child who's no longer a baby
- Choosing an agency and finding a child to adopt
- Dealing with school and language difficulties
- Recognizing how grief affects your child's behavior
- Deciding how much birthfamily contact is appropriate
- Teaching your child to deal with racism
- Handling difficult behavior such as tantrums and lying
- Testing for and treating attachment disorder, ADHD, posttraumatic stress disorder, hepatitis, parasites, and other mental health and medical issues
