1. "Rhythm, Relationship & Regulation: Antidotes for the Disorder Epidemic" Dr. Marcy Axness.   This session builds on the new science of attachment and its role in the healthy early brain development. It will cover the rhythm, relationship, and regulation needs of children and how they relate to AD/HD.
2. "Adopted Young Adults and Their Siblings Speak Out" Donna Crews-Finney & Young Adult Panel.   Ms. Crews-Finney will lead the panel in a discussion on issues these young adults have pertaining to their adoption experiences such as identity, self-esteem, extended family relationships, loyalty and belonging.
3. "2009: The Year of the Adoptee" Darlene Denton & Martha Fralia.  In this informational session, attendees will gain knowledge of pending legislative efforts to open sealed records of adult adopted people. Learn how to support current legislation and how to obtain contact information.
4. "Post Placement Strategies - Helping Birth Parents After Placement" Patricia Martinez Dorner, MA, LPC, LMFT.  A panel of triad members and adoption experts led by Ms. Dorner will examine the impact of adoption on birth parents and avenues to support them. The importance of counseling and the therapeutic differences between open and closed adoptions will also be considered.

1. "Returning to the Birthplace" Melanie Chung-Sherman (1.75 ethics hours).  This presentation will explore the complexities and the deeper dichotomy of the emotional, cultural, physical and mental impact for those returning to the place of origin that adoptees, adoptive parents, adoptee’s spouse and significant others should consider before traveling.
2. "So You’re Thinking About Adopting" Janie Cravens, LMSW-ACP (1.75 ethics hours).   This session will outline the basic issues prospective adoptive parents must deal with to successfully pursue placement.
3. "A Falling Out of Everydayness: Adoption’s Unspoken Stories" Dr. Marcy Axness.  This session explores the adopted person’s deeper psycho-social and relational implications of the adoption experience. Issues discussed are: separation at birth, biochemistry of pregnancy, postnatal attachment, lost narratives, and progressive healing approaches.

Melanie Chung-Sherman, LMSW-IPR, LCPA is currently the Texas Director of Adoptions for Dillon International, Inc. She is a licensed Master’s level social worker and a licensed child-placing administrator with the State of Texas. She has returned to Korea nine times and has helped lead birth land tours for adoptees, and their families for several years. She is a national and international speaker regarding child welfare issues and permanency rights.

Janie Cravens, LMSW-ACP, has more than 25 years of experience in adoption, infertility, and birth parent concerns. She is a pioneer of open adoption who resides in Austin, where she owns a consulting company, Adoption Development Resources.

Donna Crews-Finney, LMSW, is the Outreach and Marketing Specialist for the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism and maintains a private practice. Her extensive social work and counseling background includes over 25 years helping women recover from addiction to drugs, alcohol, and negative thinking.

Darlene Denton is a Gladney adopted person who had her records opened by court order and has reunited with her birth mother. She is Director of the Family History Center in Gainesville, Texas, and serves on the board of TxCARE and several other community organizations. Ms. Denton is well versed on the resources available for identifying and locating lost family members. She is currently working on completing the genealogical lines of her own adoptive and biological families.

Patricia Martinez Dorner, MA, LPC, LMFT, is the author of Talking to Your Child About Adoption and How to Open an Adoption, and co-author of Children of Open Adoption. She is owner and Director of Adoption Counseling and Search, a private practice in which she serves all members of the adoption triad, consults to agencies, and provides public education and training. Ms. Dorner, who has 26 years of experience in the adoption field, is also an adoptive parent residing in San Antonio.

Dr. Rowena Fong Ed.D., MSW, is the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor in Services to Children and Families at The University of Texas at Austin. She has done training and consultation to staff and foster-adopt parents at the Beijing Child Welfare Institute in the People’s Republic of China. Coauthor of five books and numerous book chapters and journal articles, Dr. Fong is currently a Co-Investigator on a Health and Human Services Commission funded Health Marriage Initiative grant on support networks for adoptive parents. Her scholarly publications and research focus on international adoptions, culturally competent practice, child welfare, and immigrant and refugee children and families.

Martha Fralia serves on the board of the Texas Coalition of Adoption Resources and Education (TxCARE). She has been actively involved in adoption rights issues over several legislative sessions, and has worked closely with state legislators to reform legislation that would give adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates. She is an expert on Texas searches and has facilitated the successful search and reunion of over 100 birthparents and adoptees. She is experienced in petitioning Texas courts to open sealed adoption files and has acted as an intermediary in numerous cases. Ms. Fralia, a reunited Rest Cottage adoptee, resides in Fort Worth, TX.

WANT TO MEET MARCY AXNESS?
Marcy Axness is a leading authority on the primal issues in adoption, a member of Mothering magazine’s online expert panel and a regular columnist in Los Angeles’ longest-running parenting publication.

WORKSHOPS FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE ADOPTION TRIAD:
Helping Birth Parents After Placement, Helping Prospective Adoptive Parents Know the Nuts and Bolts of Adoption, Helping Adopted People In Their Return to Their Birth Place.

SEARCHING FOR THE LATEST IN ADOPTION BOOKS?
Hundreds of titles will be sold at this conference, with proceeds benefiting the adoption support group.