Standing Strong

Parents and Caregivers, join us for our Standing Strong Conference September 13-15, 2021 – Virtual This conference is designed for parents & caregivers of children impacted by trauma or struggling with attachment challenges, anxiety or neurodiversity that impacts their learning. Helping our children get the supports, services and care that better enable their learning is […]

It’s a Pandemic…So Why is My Child So Calm?

lonely girl wearing dress and mask holding dandelions

Seriously…I don’t get it In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, some parents have asked ATN, “Why is my child so well-behaved?” They are parenting a child impacted by early trauma, and their experience has been that change often heightens the child’s reactive behaviors (more anger, acting-out, raging, withdrawal, etc.) Yet some parents report that […]

Making a Difference in a Time of Dis-Ease

Making a Difference in a Time of Dis-Ease

The rise of dis-ease Over the last weeks, we have awakened daily to the rising of dis-ease. The blurry edge between fact and fabrication has brought us to question our questions. It has activated the sort of fear that causes toilet paper to be prized ahead of reason and parity. It has let us feel […]

Therapeutic Vacationing, Part II

three women on vacation at Disney Magic Kingdom

Hello! It’s Dena again. In my last post, I shared how our Disney trip last summer was quite therapeutic for us as a family, especially when looking through the eyes of Theraplay®. In this follow-up post, I will look at Theraplay® dimensions of engagement, nurture, and challenge, and show how Disney brings them to life […]

Therapeutic Vacationing

family with Goofy on vacation at Disney world

Have extraordinary experiences For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Dena and I’m a parent of two children, now adults, through adoption. I originally started writing this whilst on vacation at Disney World in Florida last summer, but today I sit in my kitchen reflecting on our vacation and why it […]

Shame: One Mom’s Thoughts

boy with head in hands

In the world of therapeutic parenting and developmental trauma, we hear a lot about shame. Professionals write lots of great articles about it. This is my perspective as a mom. When I first read about shame in our kids, I was pretty positive that my often narcissistic son could not have that issue. I looked […]

When My Son Cries for His Birth Mom

Silhouette of a young boy

My son’s behavior has been improving. It’s really quite incredible when I think about the progress he has made in such a short amount of time. There has been no hitting. No biting. No long-lasting rages. Very little swearing. Still. When my adopted child cries for his birth mom, my heart breaks. He’s constantly agitated, like […]

Tis the Season of Everyday Celetastrophe

cloudy sky with sun, pond, and green grass

A new season is upon us. The glow from the dawn of the new year is on the wane. For some of us, it is in the company of the resolutions to which we swore our allegiance before we climbed into bed at 9:30 on December 31 – satisfied that 2019 would arrive whether or […]

Those Adoption Books

picture of books with "adoption books: are they working?" written on it

For years, I felt frustrated by parents and therapists suggesting I just read fill-in-the-blank  adoption books by fill-in-the-blank authors. I’d already read all of those parenting books. I’d highlighted them and made notes in the margins.

But the well-worn copies on my bookshelf didn’t seem to help. Sometimes the most worthy book suggestions even seemed to hurt our family.

The Greatest Christmas Gift

Plate of sugar cookies in the shape of stars and candy canes

A few years ago, my parents flew out from Wisconsin to visit for Christmas. Because they only make it out to California to see us twice a year, and we make it to Wisconsin to visit them even less, it was a pretty big deal. Holidays were hard When we adopted our daughter through foster […]