Back to School with Foster & Adopted Kids

How can you help your child succeed at school? We talk with Heather Forbes, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of the Beyond Consequences Institute. She specializes in the impacts of trauma and is the author of Help for Billy and Classroom 180.

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the specific issues that parents of foster and adopted kids need to consider when their children go back to school?
Tips for helping kids transition into the new year.
Is it better to address potentially sensitive issues up front before they happen, when they might not even happen, or wait to see if it comes up? For example, family tree assignments.
What are some other potentially triggering school assignments for foster or adopted kids?
How much of your child’s story should you share with your child’s teacher? How to balance the desire to keep your child’s history for them to decide who knows and sharing sensitive information with the teacher to help them work with your child.
How to address the issue of your child’s past trauma and how it affects the way they behave?
Why is it important to have a trauma-informed school?
What can parents do to help their school and their child’s teacher become more trauma informed?
A disproportionate number of adopted and foster kids have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and drugs. How does this exposure impact their education and time at school?