Stage 2 Training - What to Expect?

[CandleMouse]

Hello, I have been a reader for a long time and have always found the threads on Mumsnet immensely helpful and decided to finally make an account and join in!

Me and my husband are currently in Stage 2 of the adoption process and have our four-day training course in a couple of weeks. Two days will be in person, and two will be virtual.

I was wondering what we can expect from those four-days, what topics will be covered etc. I'm really looking forward to meeting other prospective adopters and making new connections so will be making sure to use this as an opportunity to meet others, but I would love to know what you took away from it and if you have any advice to us going in.

Of course we can (and will) ask our social worker about this but I find it really useful to get insight from those who have been through the process.

Thank you in advance, I appreciate your time!

Hi @CandleMouse

It's a long time since I did mine and things will have changed ( I hope) but expect to look at things like child development, trauma and the reasons why children are removed, Attachment, the hierarchy of need ( google the Adoption wall) you will probably look at a range of case studies, support, from what I can remember.
I think the thing I would take away now is that although 4 days seems like a lot of time, when I look it was all very introductory level and you need to do a lot more research on your own, and additional training if you can do it.

It will probably be quite emotional times so give yourself time around the sessions to process it all.
Good luck

If I remember mine was a lot of:
learning about sensory needs, thinking about our own and how we sensory seek & avoid.
What we could do to look after ourselves in terms of self-care.
The foundations of a successful life, if children aren't given/provided the basic foundation blocks in infancy/early childhood then they will struggle to build a stable and happy life. Regardless of the age of any child we adopt we need to make sure those foundations are in place before trying to encourage other areas of development.
We discussed the physiology of the brain, how when a child/person is in 'fight or flight'/brain stem mode they can not absorb or learn and therefore, again, it's about meeting the child where they are at and not rushing them on a schedule of learning/development because that would be futile for all involved.
We did some group activities, it was a lovely group but I didn't keep in touch with anyone as they were all completely different and I didn't have anything in common with anyone (apart from wanting to adopt a child) lots on the course were 2nd time adopters and that was reassuring to see because they were obviously enjoying being adoptive parents!

Thank you both for taking the time to share your experiences! I really appreciate it.