ATN Angel: Michele Nigliazzo
In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. By: Julie Beem Four years ago – August of 2012 – I attended the Nigliazzo Advocacy Center’s POWER Advocacy Training – and have been […]
ATN Angel: Taylor Davis
In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. By: Sandy Davis Thinking about who has had the most impact on my life when it comes to understanding trauma & attachment…without a doubt […]
ATN Angel – Lynne Lyon
By: Julie Beem In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. An ATN member who was one of my early heroes is Lynne Lyon. Back when I met her, in 1999, […]
ATN Angel: Dr. Lark Eshleman
In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. By: Jane Samuel My youngest child was getting to me. The daily tantrums. The inability to sit still for just one minute. The continual […]
ATN Angel: Donald Craig Peterson
By: Julie Beem Tireless. That’s the word that comes to mind when describing Craig Peterson. Those on Facebook know him as Donald Craig Peterson. Craig is an author, an activist, an advocate, an advisor…but most importantly he’s a dad. Parenting six he adopted as a single parent has been far from easy. His children have […]
That Familiar Holiday Rant: “You’ll never be my real family!”
by: D. Craig Peterson Six words. For many vulnerable children, they give context to a complicated history. For many parents who’ve opened their hearts, they cut to the bone. The words unfortunately rear their ugly head, especially during the holidays – when family gatherings are the norm. I know too well. After years of […]
I Believe Square Pegs Need Trauma-Sensitive Schools
by: Melissa Sadin At ATN we believe that early childhood trauma and attachment disruption impacts brain development. A study found that children living in an Eastern European orphanage had larger more reactive amygdalae and smaller hippocampal volume than children in the same country that had never been in an orphanage. In addition, the same researchers […]
Trauma Informed and The Power of Words
by: Melissa Sadin The idea that our words have the power to wound might be as old as time itself. In the Bible it is said, “For in many things we offend in word….” Many of us grew up with the sayings, “Loose lips sink ships” and “If you don’t have anything nice to say, […]
I Am Not Alone – Why ATN?
by: Jane Samuel I found the blue rubber wristlet where I had left it – at the bottom of my tote bag. As a mom and daughter who floats through her days carrying her work with her from home to carpool to cross country meets to piano lessons to visits at the senior citizen […]
The Attachment Yardstick
by: Melissa Sadin Typically, our children’s lives are measured by events such as birthdays, grades in school, graduation, etc. Recently, however, it occurred to me that there are other events by which I measure my son’s growth. Oh sure, I’m proud of him when he does well in sports, gets a good grade in school, […]