Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

One of the hardest things a parent may have to face is a mental illness or psychiatric disorder in their child. It is terrifying both in the presnt and in the future. How best to diagnose mental illness in children and how best to treat it.  Should psychotrofic drugs be used and are psychiatric medicines safe for children.  Our guest is Dr. Joshua Sparrow, child and adolescent psychiatrist, Associate Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Strategy, Planning and Program Development at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children’s Hospital Boston. He also writes a regular column for the New York Times.ADHD, bi-polar, oppositional defiance disorder, ODD, sensory processing disorder, SPD, reactive attachment disorder, RAD, depression, schizophrenia

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood.  Parenting a child with ADHD can be frustrating.  How can we help our kids at home and at school. Our guest to talk about ADHD is Dr. Vincent Monastra, a clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD and author of Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lesson that Medicine Cannot Teach published by the American Psychological Association. adoption, infertility, parenting after infertility, twins, multiple births, infertility treatment, domestic adoption, international adoption, foster care adoption, transracial adoption, adopting an older child, adopting a baby

If there are children already in the family, parents need to prepare them for the adoption of a new child. How you approach this preparation depends on the age of your children and the age of the child to be adopted. Our guest today to talk about preparing kids for the adoption of a sibling is Patricia Irwin Johnston, noted speaker and expert on adoption and author of many books on adoption, most specifically the wonderful book, Adopting: Sound Choices, Strong Families; and Karla Thrasher, Executive Coordinator of International Programs with Lifeline Children’s Services, and China Program Director.International adoption, adopting an older child, domestic adoption, adopting a baby, Ethiopian adoption, China adoption

Medicated IUI or Straight to IVF?

The standard infertility treatment protocol is the try a couple of cycles of medicated artificial inseminations before moving to in vitro fertilization. Is this best way to manage your fertility dollars and still get pregnant? What are the dangers of a medicated IUI cycle? What is the best way to get pregnant?  Our guests will be Dr. Alison Zimon, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF, and Dr. Samantha Pfeifer, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. infertility treatment. Fertility Treatment. Clomiphene citrate. Clomid. IUI. artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization.

What questions should you ask about a possible egg or sperm donors medical history?  What type of genetic testing is reasonable to expect?  How can you lessen the risk of genetic diseases?  Our guests to talk about these issues are Dr. Harvey Stern and Dr. Dan Shapiro. Dr. Stern is the Director of Genetics and the Fetal Diagnostic Center at the Genetics & IVF Institute and is Medical Director of Fairfax Cryobank and of GIVF’s Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) program. Dan Shapiro is the medical director of Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta and one of the founders of MyEggBank, the nation's largest frozen donor egg bank. Chromsomal abnormalities. Genetic Disorders. Testing for Chromsomal abnormalities. Testing for Genetic Disorders.PGD. PGS.

Adoption always happens in less than ideal circumstances, but some are harder to tell children than others.  Should we tell our children about rape, drug abuse, or physical abuse that may be a part of their birth family's history? How do we explain poverty so extreme that a family is forced to place a child for adoption?  How do we handle the possibility of corruption or fraud that happened in their birth country?  How should we tell, how much should we tell, and when should we tell? Join our guests Marilyn Rich, District Supervisor and Adoption Social Worker at Adoptions from the Heart with over 15 years of experience in adoption, and Rebecca Hackworth, Director of Social Services Dillon International. domestic adoption, international adoption, adopting from foster care, fostercare adoption, Guatemala adoptions, Ethiopian adoptions, transracial adoption, adopting a baby in the US, Russian adoption, adopting from Russia, adopting from China, Chinese adoption

What’s the difference between domestic adoption and international adoption and foster care adoption. What are the requirements for each type of adoption.  How does the process for each type of adoption differ? How do you know which option is right for you.  Join me to talk about domestic infant adoption, domestic foster care adoption, and international adoption.

What are special need adoptions? Who should consider this option? Our guests to talk about special need adoptions are Susan Watson, Director at Spence-Chapin Adoption Services in New York City; Martha Osborne, Exec. Director of Rainbow Kids, an internet based photolisting of children with special needs awaiting adoption and a great source of information on special needs adoptions; and Nancy Fox, Director of Americans for International Aid & Adoption, with over 30 years of experience in finding families for kids from Bulgaria, Hungary, India, Korea, Russia, and El Salvador, with a special emphasis in special needs adoptions. Cleft lip and palate.  Limb difference. Albinism. Adopting from China. Adopting from Korea. International adoption. Domestic newborn infant adoption. Foster care adoption.

It is possible to give birth or adopt in your 40s, 50s, and even 60s, but should you?  What are the health risks for pregnancy with older mothers and what are the psychological and ethical implications for beginning parenthood in your 40s and beyond.  Our guests will be Dr. Jeff Ecker, a high risk obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School; Dr. Julianne Zweifel, a psychologist and professor in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; and Dr. Linda Applegarth, the Director of Psychological Services at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility and Professor of Psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at the New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Fertility treatment. Infertility treatment. Age limit for fertility treatment. Age limit for adoption. Age limit for domestic adoption. Age limit for international adoption. How old can you be and still adopt?

The Adoption Tax Credit has caused a great deal of confusion this year. We have a terrific panel of experts to answer your questions about this refundable tax credit and to talk about what the future holds.  Mark McDermott Washington, D.C adoption attorney and past president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; Jackie Perlman, principal tax research analyst with The Tax Institute at H&R Block; and Josh Kroll, adoption tax credit specialist with the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Adoption Tax Credit 2011, Adoption Tax Credit 2012, Adoption Tax Credit 2013. Getting the adoption tax credit for a failed adoption. What expenses qualifiies for the adoption tax credit? International adoption. Foster care adoption.