2007-2008 Syllabus of seminars and instructors

George Rogu M.D.

1. A Parental approach to the confusing pre-adoption consultation. What a parent needs to know before speaking to an adoption medicine specialist?
2. What is it about orphanages and Institutions that make them hazardous to the health of innocent children?
3. Data on institutionalized children and the impact of institutionalization on children, including the effect on children of the length of time spent in an institution and the type of care provided
4. The general characteristics and needs of children waiting for adoption, special regional considerations.
5. How does malnutrition and neglect affect the overall well being of children?
6. Maternal substance abuse what effects does it have on the child?
7. Transitioning your child from the orphanage to life in the United States.
8. Preparing for International Travel, what do you need to know to ensure a safe trip for your entire family?
9. The effects of prenatal alcohol use and its effects on your child? How can you tell if your child is affected, and what can you as a parent do to maximize your child’s functioning.
10. A day in the life of a orphan child. How living in an institution affects your child’s development, emotions and ability to attach to it new adoptive parent.

Dr. Mark Lerner

1. Adoption Stress during the long adoption process.
2. Emotional risk factors in the Internationally Adopted child.
3. Attachment disorders and other emotional problems that institutionalized or traumatized children face with a history of multiple caregivers. (Focus on RAD)
4. Grief and loss issues and its impact on the emotional well being of the adoptive child.

Leslie Zindulka

1. Information on he long term implications for a family that has become multi-cultural through inter-country adoption
2. Grief and loss issues and the impact of children leaving familiar ties
3. The inter-country conditions that affect children in their country of origin
4. Talking to Your Child About Adoption Talking to your child about adoption can be one of the hardest things Learn how to discuss this aspect of the child’s past.
5. Building Healthy Adoptive Families: what are the keys to success? 

James Reilly M.D.

1. Known genetic risk factors and its affect on the medical health of your adoptive child?  (I'm thinking like Sickle Cell Anemia and African or Haiti children)
2. General health issues: overview of medical conditions and health problems that could affect your internationally adopted child.
3. Environmental toxins in the country that could affect children
4. Prenatal drug exposures and what it does to our children

Nicholas Rogu M.D.

1. Developmental risk factors and the institutionalized child.
2. Attachment disorders and other emotional problems that institutionalized or traumatized children face with a history of multiple care-givers (Focus on ADHD)
3. Sensory Integration disorders a real condition affecting the internationally adopted child.
4. Attachment and bonding issues in the Internationally adopted child.

General Parenting Classes

Deborah Hickey P.N.P.C

Caring For Your New Baby : topics include choosing a doctor for their baby, infant feeding, preparing for the nursery, safety, newborn characteristics and care.

Skills for successful parenting: learn how to be more effective parents. Topics include discipline, problem solving and communication skills.