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Adoption"Rebirthing" Therapy and other coercive techniques: Be wary of organizations that tell you your child has "attachment disorder" and that they need to use a coercive technique to help the child be "reborn" or "vocalize" pain. Bonding with an emotionally damaged child takes time, love, patience, gentle counseling, and more time. In April 2001, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens signed a law to outlaw the controversial "rebirthing" therapy that resulted in a 10-year-old girl's death. Candace Newmaker, who was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, was suffocated after being wrapped in a sheet for 70 minutes and told to force her way out. Two therapists were charged and convicted in her death. Two Utah adoptive parents were charged with killing 4-year-old Cassandra Killpack in September 2002 by forcing her to drink excessive amounts of water. The parents have said they made the child drink just 12 ounces of liquid, but Dr. Todd Grey, Utah's chief medical examiner, has said that in order to develop the brain swelling that killed her, the child must have swallowed at least 2.5 liters of water in one sitting. Parents told authorities they were following advice from a Utah therapy clinic to help bond with the child by giving her an excess of whatever it was she wanted, but the clinic's owners and employees deny that they ever recommended forced drinking. There are other coercive techniques used to supposedly help children bond. In one, a therapist lies on top of a prone child to restrict the child's breathing. In another, a therapist uses a "deep tissue massage" using his hands and knuckles to press into the child's abdomen and ribs. Such techniques, while generally not illegal, are thought by other therapists to risk causing added emotional trauma, organ damage, impaired cardiac function, and asphyxiation. If you decide to use an adoption "facilitator," research the agency and person before handing over any money. Fraudulent and unprofessional behavior may or may not be in the minority of adoption professionals, but you don't want to lose your hard-earned money (and perhaps your only chance to adopt a child) to the one unscrupulous person on your area. The Better Business Bureau is one place to check for complaints.
For more on adopting, on being an adoptive parent, or on placing your child for adoption:
Be well-informed: Safer Child, Inc. includes links to these organizations as a courtesy and makes no recommendation as to their veracity or effectiveness. It is particularly difficult for us to know how well an international organization is run. Do your homework before conducting business with any adoption agency. Know with whom you're dealing, and make sure you are well-informed about their business practices before you hand over any money or sign any contract. Look through our links: We do suggest that even if you are considering an international adoption, you take a few minutes to look through the links above on adoptions in the United States. Some of these are informative on adoptions in general, and might help you and your new family member adjust more easily.
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Safer Child, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with federal tax-exempt status. Please note: 1) External organizations listed herein do not necessarily endorse Safer Child positions, nor do we necessarily endorse theirs. We list them as a courtesy and aren't responsible for their accuracy, completeness or content. 2) We recommend you maintain a healthy skepticism when reviewing information on the Internet; it might appear to be reliable -- yet actually be false, misleading, incomplete, out-of-date and/or intentionally harmful. 3) There might be material on the Internet that you disagree with or find objectionable; preview all sites before viewing them with your child. 4) We are not responsible for external addresses/phone numbers changing without our knowledge. 5) The information and commentary on this site are not substitutes for professional advice from your doctor, lawyer, or mental health professional. 6) Requests for permission to republish, copy and/or distribute any material found on this Web site should be directed to Safer Child, Inc.
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