HOME PAGE

ABOUT US

ABOUT ADOPTION

ADOPTION MAGAZINE

SUPPORT & EVENTS

BOOKS & RESOURCES

NEWS/MEDIA

HOW YOU CAN HELP

SEARCH

Home > Adoption Conference > Speaker Bios and Workshop Information

Workshops and Speaker Bios

Diane Benoit

The Impact of Attachment on Children and Caregivers (All day workshop for parents, professionals welcome)

**Please note that Attachment with Diane Benoit is an all-day session.  Participants cannot alternate between streams on Friday

Research findings show that the role of parents as attachment figure may be the most influential role in predicting the social and emotional outcomes for children. Videotaped vignettes of actual interactions between caregivers and children are used.

Diane Benoit is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Research Scientist and Staff Psychiatrist Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. She also has a private practice focused on conducting Parenting Capacity Assessments. Her research, educational and clinical activities focus on parenting, child-parent attachment relationships, trauma-focused interventions, and problems of early childhood.  She has published in peer-reviewed, scientific and other publications, and has made numerous presentations related to these various topics across North America.

Maris H. Blechner MEd, MCSW

Empowered Transition

Family Focus Adoption Services, a twenty year old special needs adoption agency in New York, describes its extremely successful techniques for moving older children into adoptive families.  Child and prospective family each have their own advocates during the visiting process, and are equal participants in the process.  Families and children come together in solid permanent family life.  This workshop offers both practical advice and the belief system that feeds the techniques for successful transition

The Successful Adoption of Adolescents

Can adolescents be successfully placed into strong, permanent adoptive families? Absolutely! The speaker will present techniques that work, the belief system that must be in place for staff and families, and myths that must be retired.

Straight Talk to Kids - Dealing with Tough Topics

Successful adoption work includes not only talking “tough truth” to children today, but also preparing adoptive families to speak to their children at different stages in the future, in ways that will ensure that the children hear and understand even the most difficult information.  Participants will learn techniques and reasoning behind the communication method known as “straight talk”

Inducement:  Understanding the Acting-Out Behaviour of Adopted Children

Many long term adoptive families talk about their children's unexpected and even unusual acting-out and negative behaviour --- even years after finalization.  It can be so bad that it causes families to dissolve their adoptions.  Is there an explanation?  Is there any hope?  This workshop looks at this seemingly negative behaviour by long-adopted children - and provides a new and positive look at what is happening in so many adoptive families - a perspective of hope.

Keynote:  Undermining Successful Adoption - A Consumer's Point of View

Have you ever felt that certain prospective adoptive families come to adoption with a mindset that creates blinders and keeps them from considering real children while holding out for their fantasy child? This entertaining, interactive, no-holds-barred discussion will address the reality of consumer mentality and its impact on the world of adoption.

Maris H. Blechner is an adoptive parent, a birth parent, and a grass roots child advocate who helped found, and now directs, Family Focus Adoption Services, a twenty year old multi- service New York State adoption agency.  She is also a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on child welfare and adoption issues.

Dr. Martin Brokenleg

Keynote: Families - A Circle of Courage

Drawing from ancient aboriginal child rearing philosophy of children as “sacred beings”, Dr. Brokenleg offer families the practical strategies of raising children to grow and flourish in their communities.  This session highlights how parents, schools, and caregivers can help children meet their needs for attachment, achievement, autonomy, and altruism.  Research shows that these elements are crucial to the development of resilience and inner strengths in children, enabling them to surmount difficult challenges in their lives.

Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future

Based on research and traditional aboriginal practices of child-rearing, Dr. Brokenleg highlights the importance of community in instilling the values of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity and allowing youth to become contributors to the vibrancy of their community.  This session will offer practical tools that provide a pathway for youth at risk to lead valuable, meaningful and enriching lives.

The Goals of Life

Drawn from tribal wisdom, Dr. Brokenleg addresses the spiritual dimension of contemporary youth problems and powerful, proven strategies for connecting with young people.

Dr. Martin Brokenleg is the Director of Native Ministries and Professor of First Nations Theology and Ministry at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Colulmbia.  He serves as a Vice President of Reclaiming Youth International.  He holds a doctorate in psychology and is a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School. With over thirty years experience in teaching, counselling and chaplainship, Dr. Brokenleg has consulted and led training programs across the world.  He is the father of three children and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe practising the culture of his Lakota people.  Dr Brokenleg has authored many articles and a book, Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future.

Family Finding

“Family Finding,” implements extraordinary frameworks that may help us rethink what is possible in terms of improving safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes for children and youth.

Kevin Campbell is a nationally known youth permanency expert and creator of “Family Finding” a set of strategies that help to find lifelong supports for children and young people in America ’s foster care system.  Kevin has been an administrator, director and vice president of private social service agencies for 21 years.  He has provided technical assistance to 40 states and has been a consultant with the California Permanency for Youth Program in 14 California Counties.  He has spoken on the issues of youth permanency throughout the country and published a number of articles on family finding and youth permanency. Kevin is currently an independent technical assistance consultant. Recently, Kevin’s work was featured on CBS’ 60 Minutes with Leslie Stahl and in newspaper articles around the country.

John Dubé MEd RSW

Grief, Loss and Separation

This session will give participants a greater understanding of the three types of loss, anticipatory grief and disenfranchised grief. The session will address the particular challenges that adoptive children may face when dealing with grief, loss and separation.

John Dubé, a registered Social Worker, provides counselling at the Living Through Loss Counselling Society of BC.  John has worked as a counsellor since 1985, and for the past 18 years has been working in the area of grief and loss.  growing up in a small aboriginal community in the Northwest Territories, John brings his cultural and ecological systems perspective into his counselling work dealing specifically with the impact of culture on individual responses to life-altering experiences

Transracial and Transcultural Youth Panel - Presented by AFABC

Workshop participants will have a chance to interact in a moderated panel of transcultural and interculturally adopted young adults who will share their experiences, challenges and stories of growing up.

Pat Buckley, RCC

Families: Blending Birth and Adoptive Children

In this session, Pat will discuss the issues that surface when families have both birth and adoptive children.  She will share ways in which parents can learn to balance the needs to all the children.

Pat is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and internationally recognized presenter who has been in private practice for over 25 years.  As a foster, adoptive and birth parent, Pat’s career is focused on ways to help traumatized individuals and the professionals who help them.

Kristal Bodaly

FASD: What is Behind the Behaviour?

This two hour session will focus on thinking about the FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) brain and behaviour.  Understanding where behaviour comes from in the context of FASD will give us the tools to help change behaviour and support individuals with FASD.  It is assumed that those attending this workshop already have a background in the basics of FASD.

Kristal was a 2003 graduate from the U.B.C. Speech-Language Pathology program. After working for 2 years providing service to preschool and school aged clients in Lillooet, BC, she joined The Asante Centre team. Kristal completes speech-language assessments with individuals suspected of having FASD and contributes to the diagnostic process on a multidisciplinary team. She also offers individual and group speech-language intervention through The Asante Centre for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Hope Adoption Services

Openness Panel

In this interactive session, Hope Adoption Services will moderate a panel of agency and MCFD families who have had varied experiences with openness in their adoptions.  They will address the challenges and opportunities that they encountered in their decisions for openness.

Hope Adoption Services is a licensed BC Adoption Agency that facilitates domestic, interprovince and intercountry adoptions.  "Building and preserving families" is Hope's mission and focus.  They have been providing services in BC since 1987

Lifebook Workshop

Adoption is an exciting time, full of new memories and many firsts as families get to know each other.  Capture these memories in your very own Lifebook for your child!  Lifebooks make great keepsakes.  Capture the memories of your child and your family in this interactive and fun workshop!  (Please note:  Cost of lifebook kit not included in the cost of the conference.)