Adoption Workshops/Information Seminars
In an effort to serve as a continued source of education and support for adoptive families and others interested in adoption, St. Mary’s hosts a series of adoption workshops and information seminars.All seminars are open to the public and pre-registration is required. Programs are not appropriate for children and babysitting services are not available. One credit is given per seminar hour attended.
There is a $20 per person fee, to be paid in advance and is non-refundable. This fee does not apply to families that have been accepted into St. Mary's domestic and international programs. Please make checks payable to “St. Mary’s Services” and send to the agency at:
717 West Kirchhoff Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Upcoming Adoption Workshops/Information Seminars:
Mental health and your adopted child
Saturday, September 25, 2010
10 a.m. to Noon
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Dr. Michael Maniacci will discuss Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and symptoms of each. He also will talk about the role that nature and nurture play in mental illness.
Talking to your child about adoption at different developmental stages
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Join Kay Holler, LCSW, therapist and adoptive parent, as she discusses how to approach the topic of adoption with children, and addresses common questions children ask their parents about adoption at the different stages of their development.
becoming a transracial adoptive family
Saturday, January 22, 2011
9:30 a.m. to Noon
St. Andrew's Church Parish Hall
1125 Franklin St.
Downers Grove, IL
The seminar, led by Carmen Knight with Bridge Communications, will use interactive exercises, discussion, and lecture to teach how transracial adoptive families get to experience the joy of parenting in their own special way. Focus will be on building a positive self, racial, and adoptive family identity for the child and the parents (and siblings if applicable). Additionally, the seminar will help the parents learn how to respond to intrusive comments and questions in different ways. Finally, the seminar will help parents understand how the adoptee's identity changes as the adoptee ages and how to address the child's questions and concerns with age appropriate answers.
effects of prenatal substance exposure on the developing fetus and managing behaviors
Saturday, March 19, 2011
9 a.m. to Noon
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Dr. Dan Griffith, a licensed clinical pediatric psychologist, will speak about the effects prenatal substance and alcohol exposure have on the developing child. He also will discuss managing children's behaviors at different developmental stages.
parenting and disciplining your adopted child
Saturday, May 14, 2011
10 a.m. to Noon
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Join Kelvin Gott, teacher, coach, consultant/presenter and father of four as he discusses how children who develop good self-concepts succeed in school, have strong relationships with their parents and generally enjoy success in later life. Parenting with Love and Logic is a four-step approach to the everyday process of raising children, which is designed to improve self-concept, increase responsibility and make parent-child interactions more pleasant and productive. Parenting with Love and Logic identifies those things we do as parents on the days when things are really working and provides a framework for allowing us to do so more.