To Love a Child is the heartwarming story of one man's commitment to a child that had been declared not adoptable. Then three years old, the child was born addicted to drugs, his mother had been murdered, and he had been dubbed all but a throwaway. Here, writer Schwarz chronicles the events of one remarkable year?from the day before he met his son to the day the courts legalized the adoption. During that time, the Schwarzes took in another child. Exhibiting a broad range of experience, Keck, founder of a treatment center for children with developmental problems, and Kupecky, Ohio's 1990 Adoption Worker of the Year, together examine many issues affecting today's adoptive families. They address various phases of the adoption process: early issues in the adoptive family; age-specific problems, as well as solutions; and clarification on issues of parenting or working with the abused or damaged child. Throughout, numerous case histories are cited. Both books include superior resources, readings, and index arrangements, and both are recommended for all libraries.?Marty D. Evensvold, Magnolia P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
THE NEW FACE OF ADOPTION.

Fewer and fewer families adopting today are able to bring home a healthy newborn infant. The majority of adoptions now involve emotionally wounded, older children who have suffered the effects of abuse or neglect in their birth families and carry complex baggage with them into their adoptive families. Adopting the Hurt Child addresses the frustrations, heartache, and hope surrounding the adoptions of these special-needs kids.

Children who have endured emotional and physical atrocities, failed reunifications, and myriad losses associated with multiple moves in the foster care system not only present unique challenges to their adoptive families but also impact greater society in significant ways. Integrating social, psychological, and sociopolitical issues, Adopting the Hurt Child explains how trauma and interruptions affect these children's normal development and often severely undermine their capacity to function in a loving family and in society.

Written in a non-technical style accessible to a diverse audience, Adopting the Hurt Child brings to light grim truths, but also real hope that children who have been hurt can be healed and brought back into life by the adoptive and foster parents, therapists, teachers, social workers, and others whose lives interact with theirs.

"This book is filled with relevant, timely, and specific information for adoptive parents: How are children damaged? What are the age-specific problems, and most important, what are the solutions? Dr. Keck and Mrs. Kupecky clarify issues of parenting, treating, and working with abused or damaged children. All parents who adopt children at risk should make this a 'must read' book!"-Foster W. Cline, M.D., coauthor of Parenting with Love and Logic

"In the 18 years I have spent advocating for children and their families in the child welfare and legal system, Adopting the Hurt Child is one of the finest and most helpful books I have ever read. It should be required reading for anyone contemplating adoption-special-needs or not. It should also be required reading for all foster parents, child welfare professionals, and policy makers. Keck and Kupecky's book is a scathing indictment of a system that often treats children like objects. It is, however, an indictment that offers solid advice, guidance, and hope."-Barbara J. Ruhe, Esq., attorney and adoptive parent

"Adopting the Hurt Child thoroughly and realistically examines many issues affecting adoptive families. Through readable prose interspersed with actual case histories, the authors clearly outline the challenges of special-needs children, but also suggest ways in which parents can work with children to help them make sense of their past and build a better future."-Joe Kroll, executive director, North American Council on Adoptable Children

"Keck and Kupecky's profound and compassionate understanding of attachment-strained children and their adoptive families brought me to tears throughout the book. The poignant insights into a child's needs and the development-enhancing parenting techniques in Adopting the Hurt Child will benefit any parent."-Martha G. Welch, MD, author of Holding Time

"Adopting the Hurt Child should be read by all adoptive parents, adoption workers, and clinicians who struggle to meet the need of deeply disturbed children. Keck and Kupecky advocate the importance of accurate diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder and offer pages of advice and clear examples of the ways parents and therapists can become effective helpers in a child's struggle to make significant connections."-Kenneth W. Watson, MSW, LCSW, former assistant director of the Chicago Child Care Society, and coauthor of Adoption and the Family System: Strategies for Treatment

"Each year, more than 13,000 children come to their families in the United States through intercountry adoption. I am pleased that this revised version of Adopting the Hurt Child includes a chapter on intercountry adoption and the issues that it involves. As international adoptions increase, it is helpful to have the thoughtful, sound advice that is presented with such candor in Adopting the Hurt Child."-Susan Soon-Keum Cox, adoption advocate and adult adoptee from Korea

Ingram
Few families wishing to adopt are able to bring home a happy and healthy infant, for most adoptions today involve emotionally wounded, older children. Presenting a comprehensive picture of all aspects of adoption, this is a beneficial guide that integrates social and psychological issues with other issues that interrupt adopted children's normal development. This updated edition includesinformation on foreign adoption.

About the Author
GREGORY C. KECK, Ph.D., is the founder of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, which specializes in treating children who have experienced developmental interruptions. He and his staff also treat individuals and families experiencing a variety of problems in the areas of adoption, attachment, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and adolescent difficulties.

REGINA M. KUPECKY has worked in the adoption arena for more than twenty years. She currently works with special-needs children at Northeast Ohio Adoption Services and is a cotherapist treating children with attachment disorders at the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio. In 1990, the Ohio Department of Human Services named her "Adoption Worker of the Year."

A Landmark Book on Attachment & Adoption, November 26, 2002

Two years ago, we assumed guardianship of my husband's troubled 12-year old niece. She was my husband's sister's child and came from a "House of Horrors." Every conceivable problem existed. Drug abuse, domestic violence, sick pornography, sibling incest, severe parental neglect, sarcasm, ridicule, brutality and denial. She came from the inner city, to our sheltered, happy home in the suburbs. It was akin to someone moving to a foreign country. Fortunately, I read "Adopting the Hurt Child." The book was a lifesaver. I do not exaggerate. Social workers and incompetent therapists seemed to blame us for her problems, (and we hadn't had her for even a year). The authors said this is common. Adoptive parents take the heat for the original family's neglect. The authors nailed every single issue, or problem, with razor sharp accuracy. Our niece is an actress with attachment issues. She wears masks. She plots, she cannot "be." She was never taught real love or how to be with people. Her presence in our household really shook us to the core. She acted coquettish and manipulative with my husband; snide to me (the mom). I do not see the book as negative, but as candid. Love isn't always enough. Movies may have happy endings, but real life is altogether different. Sometimes, these children do not get better. At least, empowered with the advice of this book, you can seek better therapy treatments, know what kind of therapist to hire, and sniff out the bad ones immediately. Now, two years later, we found an attachment therapist. This terrific therapist cannot be manipulated. She is both tough and compassionate. We made more progress with her -- in three sessions, than our niece did with a sex abuse counselor in a year. Our niece still has many problems, and time will tell. We are hanging in there. And I still reference this book. It's just superb. God bless both the authors.