The International Adoption Health Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) strives to meet the needs of both your family and your adoptive child throughout the adoption process. We also support families during the child's first years with a new family.
Each potential adopted child has a medical, emotional and developmental history. Our team aims to help you gain knowledge and understanding of what this history might mean for your family. We offer guidance during the transition phase of the adoption process and beyond.
Pre-adoption counseling
A review of the child's records can help your family understand more about the prospective child and recognize the issues this child may have upon arrival or transition into your home. Pre-adoption counseling helps you make an informed decision about whether the child is a good fit for your family and then helps you to appropriately prepare for bringing the child home. The initial meeting and traveling with the child have particular challenges. We can help you understand the child's immediate physical and behavioral needs, which can help ease the travel and transition period for both you and the child.
Post-adoption consultation
Our consultation service is available to adoptive families, as well as to pediatricians and other healthcare providers. Your initial consultation shortly after the child's arrival into your home will be with a pediatrician and an occupational therapist. Our team members have extensive experience caring for adopted children who:
- Have special healthcare and developmental needs
- Have lived in institutions or foster homes
- Have been exposed to drugs, alcohol or other toxins
- Have a biological family history of psychiatric disease
- Have experienced, witnessed or been an active part of abuse or neglect
The issues our team will address include:
- Early emotional adjustment to the new family
- Growth, development, feeding, sleeping and other health issues
- Immunization planning
Our team works to review the child's history, help educate the family about potential issues, support adoptive parents in the early and post-adoption phase, and support children and families if they're faced with longer-term challenges.
Consultation is also available for children who have already been with their families for months or years and whose emerging or persisting issues may be physical, behavioral or developmental.
Our team also supports families by communicating with their primary pediatricians concerning the ongoing care of the adopted child. To empower families with the best knowledge and care they may need to help their child thrive, our team may make referrals to specialists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and to community resources.
Therapy
Therapy is often recommended for children who have special healthcare and developmental needs, who have lived in institutions or foster homes, or who may have experienced abuse or neglect. Through various therapies available at CHOP, our team helps children advance in areas such as developmental skills, behavioral issues and feeding difficulties.