In this season of sparkle and shine, you’re likely searching for gifts at the top of your loved ones’ lists. But gifts that you never outgrow and always cling to aren’t found under the tree – they’re found in those gathered around the tree. To give the ultimate gift of love, consider adoption with the help of Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections (APAC). While this act may seem daunting at first, APAC will support you every step of the way as you welcome and integrate a new member into your family.
How Adoption Changes Lives
Imagine the pure joy of your adopted child as they experience their first family Christmas in your home. With the help of APAC, this joy will continue throughout the year, as you attend your child’s sports games, school programs, and gather around the table for family dinners. You simply can’t imagine the intangible reward you’ll gain through adoption. You’ll find, just like in many popular holiday movies, that your heart has grown in ways you didn’t think possible this season through the process of adoption, even if you already have children under your roof.
How APAC Can Help: In the Early Days
Adoption is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give a child. However, it can also usher in big changes that may feel more like hurdles at first—for both the child and the family the child is joining. With APAC, you’ll feel supported instead of hesitant from the moment you say “yes” as you welcome your child with open heart and open arms, creating a long-lasting chain of life-giving acceptance.
Before you welcome your child home, the free Trauma Informed Parenting Strategies (TIPS) course will equip you with communication tools for anticipated challenges, gaining a deeper understanding of your child and more. These classes are available to both couples and single individuals, and last 11 weeks. You’ll also learn how to create rhythms of effective discipline to support your child becoming more autonomous. Other topics particular to what may need to be addressed in adoption such as self-esteem and encouragement are also discussed to best prepare you for your family’s newest member.
How APAC Can Help: In the Later Days
TIPS classes are an awesome primer for your adoptive parenting journey. After this course, the training wheels don’t come off to leave you cruising on your own once your child comes home. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. APAC hosts numerous live, virtual educational events throughout the year on relevant topics for adoptive parents, such as navigating technology, how to best support struggling children in school, and how addiction or grief from your adoptive child’s past could be impacting your newly blended family. APAC provides education that works with your schedule so that you can best absorb and apply it to your current situation. There are also numerous, written resource guides available online for common topics adoptees face, such as narcissism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Speaking of resources, did you know APAC operates the largest adoption-geared library in the state of Alabama? From books to DVDs and magazines, you can check out online and get the materials of your choosing delivered for free to your door (and returned for free, too) – a gift that keeps on giving long after the tinsel comes down.
While education is crucial to thrive, APAC is also your empathetic advocate through the adoption process. You’ll receive personalized assistance from the APAC team, all of whom are licensed social workers.
With the help of APAC, your understanding of adoption will deepen, aligning your intellectual knowledge with your emotional understanding. With support groups, family counseling, and Camp APAC for adoptees and their siblings each summer, you’ll be immersed in new communities that are in the same age and stage that you are – which will warm your heart every day of the year, regardless of if it’s sweater weather or not.
APAC: Here for You in This and Every Season
Adoption epitomizes giving and light abundantly present this season. If you decide to adopt, APAC will be with you at every turn, from preparing to bring your child home to guiding you through emotional or behavioral issues once they arrive and even free adoption-competent counseling for more urgent issues.
Growing your family through adoption is like adding lights to your Christmas tree – it illuminates the best attributes of your family, while wrapping and holding everyone together a little bit tighter. If you’re feeling led to give the gift of lasting love and support through adoption this year, don’t ignore it – reach out to APAC to grow your heart and home in ways that will exude holiday-like warmth all 365 days in the year. Click here to learn more about our APAC program or call us at 866-803-2722 if you’re ready to connect with our team.
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