"I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Tom Riddle's [Lord Voldemort's] history? I think he was born here in the orphanage . . . he stayed in the orphanage and he's been here ever since. . .

He was a funny baby too. He hardly ever cried, you know. And then, when he got a little older, he was . . . odd . . . He scares the other children."

from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

How to Use This Web Site Scroll down the navigation bar on the left to find the following sections: Start with the BASICS: a primer on attachment theory; why this is important to all families, especially adoptive families; signs of attachment impairment and what you can do to promote a secure attachment. Attachment impairment starts with trauma - find out why in the section on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). ARTICLES - Read more from the experts. OUR STORIES and OUR KIDS' STORIES - compelling narratives from Attach-China families. RESOURCES - help in advocating for your child in school, reading lists, therapists listings and links to other attachment, trauma and sensory articles and web sites

If you have found the information on this website helpful, please make a contribution to Attach-China/International. Donate $10 or more to Attach-China/International, and receive a purple Warrior Mom bracelet.

The families on the Attach-China e-mail listserv have come together to share our personal experiences. It is our hope that adoptive families, prospective families and adoption professionals will gain insight into how attachment issues present themselves in children adopted from China, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries. It is our observation that because of the (mostly younger) age of our children at the time of their adoption and the special circumstances of their abandonment and life in an orphanage or foster home, and then subsequent adoption into a loving home, their symptoms and disorders may manifest differently than those of a child who has been through the domestic foster/adoption system. If you are an adoptive parent, we hope this information will help you determine whether or not your child needs help. If you are a prospective adoptive parent, we want to give you a realistic view of what it is like to parent a child who has suffered as a result of her pre-adoption childhood. If you are an adoption professional, please use this website as a resource for clients and staff to help parents be fully prepared in caring for their precious children. One of the main observations we hear from new members who are just starting to recognize attachment as an issue is that their doctors, teachers, early intervention therapists, friends, extended family and sometimes even spouses do not see/recognize the problems a parent can notice in their child. When reaching out for help, parents are often told to "stop worrying, your child just needs time to adjust" or "it's a typical childhood phase" or "she'll grow out of it." This leaves the parents feeling like they are both crazy and incompetent. If you have a gut feeling that something is 'not right' the best gift you can give your child is to find out what the problem is and how to treat it. Many members here have learned the hard way that if left untreated, relatively mild attachment issues do not go away. They re-appear a few years later, in much more difficult forms. This website was put together primarily so that new families will not have to suffer what many of us suffered while trying to get the help and support we needed in order to help our children. It is important to remember that we cannot be held responsible for what happened to our children before we adopted them, but we owe it to them, as their parents, to help them heal.

Disclaimer This Attach-ChinaWebsite was founded by a parent for parents of children adopted from China who have PTSD or other attachment issues as a resource for these issues. The content selected for the website is intended to share information about various therapies, and although certain articles speak to the success some families have had with those therapies, the website is not intended as an endorsement of any particular therapeutic course of treatment. Families with children with possible PTSD and attachment issues are urged to seek medical advice. If a family begins a therapy without medical advice, they do so at their own risk. Children may have unusual or unique reactions to various types of therapies and "one-size-does-not-fit-all" when dealing with these issues. In particular, some parents have noted that children traumatized while in institutional or foster care may have more extreme or unexpected reactions in holding therapy, and therefore, "Holding" should only be done under the supervision of a licensed therapist with experience in this therapy. This website is not intended to take the place of professional therapy and Attach-China can assume no responsibility for a family's therapeutic choices for their child.

There is an e-mail list for parents whose children are experiencing attachment and / or trauma problems. Parents who have adopted from China as well as other countries are welcome to join. Please note: it is not open to waiting families. If you would like to subscribe, click below.

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