Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Laughed, Screamed and Jumped

Our kids from the Adolescent Support Groups, Teen Scene and The Forever Friends Kids Club, had a great time celebrating the end of the summer last Thursday night at BOING! Jump Center in Tampa. They laughed, screamed and jumped until they were drenched with sweat. We then cooled down with water, pizza, snacks and cupcakes. 

We also celebrated the end of our MSW intern, Khalilah's summer internship. (Don't worry Khalilah's not going anywhere

she will still be facilitating Teen Scene).







Don't miss out on the fun. Join us on 9/22/11 @ STC for the next Teen Scene and Kids Club meeting.

Sharon

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

August Support Group


Another incredible group this last Thursday night on “Advocating for Your Child’s Educational Needs” discussing how to prepare our kids for a productive school year and how to navigate the school system special needs programs and advocating for our children. Our guest speaker for this month was Kelli Stocker (you will want to remember this name). She is an amazing resource for our parents with kids struggling through the school system, Kelli is a guidance counselor with the School District of Hillsborough County on special assignment to support students in foster care.   In this role she works with the youth, foster parents and service providers to complete educational plans for students, monitors their progress and serves as the children’s educational advocate. She clearly has a heart for our kids and has openly availed herself to also assist our adoptive families in need of guidance and assistance.
You can reach her at kelli.stocker@hillsboroughkid.org, kelli.stocker@sdhc.k12.us, or (813)210-4108.
Just a reminder, our parent support group is on the second Thursday 6:30 to 8:00pm of every month are open to both Pre and Post adoptive families. So, if you have just finished the MAPP training, have not even been matched yet or if you adopted years ago, you are invited. We usually post our month’s topic on our Facebook page about a week ahead of each group. If you would like to visit, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sylvia-Thomas-Center/255679040265.
Call if you have any questions. (813)651-3150

Kevin

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Back from NACAC 2011


Back from the NACAC Conference and still just processing everything. So many incredible speakers with vast knowledge and experience. As I sat through one amazing presentation after another, I was often struck by the thought, “you just don’t know what you don’t know.”
Of the many of topics covered the most commonly addressed issues were trauma and brain development. Of course our keynote speaker Dr. Bruce Perry is very well known for his knowledge on these topics. But I would not say that these topics were the theme of the conference. Not even of Dr. Perry’s message.
No, if I was to summarize the theme of the conference, it would be this: The potential power of one committed connection to change the writing on a wounded child’s soul. Or “Healing takes place in relationship.”
A healthy committed relationship/attachment has the potential to rewrite the brain.
A good message. One we need to hear again and again. Because when you are deep in the dark forest, at times you need this reminder: there is hope. And that hope is you. You may not see it yet, but you make a difference.

Kevin