Category Archives: Posts About Lived Experience
‘Context doesn’t matter’
The Support is a Lie: When Systems Choose Not to See When I adopted, I [...]
Apr
Adoptee – Open Letter to Social Services & Adoption Professionals
To UK governments, councils, schools, local authorities, social services, family courts, regional and voluntary adoption [...]
Mar
What do we mean by social ‘care’?
Lived Experience: Adoption, Violence and Systemic Failure I am a former social worker and an [...]
Dec
From HOPE to HARM – betrayed by systems…
My husband and I adopted our three children over 10 years ago. They were all [...]
Dec
A Painful Journey, Unheard Pain, Unseen Trauma & Missing Justice, By Patch, on behalf of Emily
When the social worker was first handed this case, one wonders — did they feel [...]
Jun
Mum’s Hell – Article in the Sun News
Sun News – 11.06.2025 – Mum’s hell https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/35341747/adoption-disaster-gave-back-kid-homeless/ Nikki Watkins – Heather Main I adopted [...]
Jun
The Ignored Cycle of Hurt, By Lottie
Tommy & Harper Harper was born first, then Tommy — two children born into a [...]
May
Reframing See The Other Possible Narratives
Reframing the Story of Parenting Through Trauma A child who is born into, or removed [...]
May
Advice From an Adopter to Future Adoption – Anon
One Child, Time and Continuity My advice for future adopters would be make sure you [...]
May
Sam and James – Broken Hearts
Sam and James’ Story Sam and James are a loving couple who have been together [...]
May
Overview of Disruption
Overview of Adoption Breakdown If you are an adoptive parent reading this article, then you [...]
Mar
Support That Actually Supports
Support That Actually Supports ASF therapies We adopted our children, full siblings, when they were [...]
Mar
If only they’d listened.
Like most people who adopt, we went through several years of desperately wanting to give [...]
Mar
If only they had listened…………
my children would still live with their siblings. my daughter would not have [...]
Mar
Mum’s Agony
We Adopted Two Children, But Four Months Later We Were Forced to Put Them in [...]
Feb
Reflections on My Adoption Experience By FT
My partner and I had not tried for birth children. Instead, we wanted to provide [...]
Feb
Parenting At A Distance
Parenting at a Distance When my adopted son went back into care in July 2021, [...]
Feb
Child To Parent (And Sibling) Violence And Abuse Due To Early Life Trauma And Attachment Disorder
By Sian Cooper For anyone who reads this story, I would ask that you consider [...]
Jan
Visibility as an Ethnically Mixed Family By Augusto Nembrini
Being autistic brings its own challenges, especially when it comes to recognising certain behaviours in [...]
Jan
Generations of Adoption – 70 Years By Crystal
Adoption 70 years Ago to Today As a family, we have had a varied experience [...]
Jan
Our Disruption Story
Our Disruption Story Disruption is never anything other than heart-breaking for everyone involved. However, how [...]
Jan
Adoption Cult-ure
Many of you may know that there comes a point in the adoption support journey [...]
Jan
The “Wrong Kind of Disabled”
The “Wrong Kind of Disabled”: How Services Fail Adopted Children & Their Families By Madeleine [...]
Jan
PATCH VIEWS ON…Allegations
This collection offers insights from parents caring for children with trauma symptoms, often encountering extremely [...]
Jan
A Different Take on Trauma?
Anon I appreciate this may be controversial in the adoption world, and I definitely agree [...]
Jan
Unwanted Object – A Poem
I feel like an object, misplaced Born to a womb of a foreign space, Thrown [...]
Jan
Dandelions – A Poem
It’s hearing “children are children” And “they just need love” Fake smiles and knowing that [...]
Jan
Betrayed by the System: A Mother’s Fight for Justice
By Christine D I am a retired police officer and a single mother to a [...]
Jan
My name is Ellie, and this is my story
My husband and I adopted three siblings, hoping to give them a loving and stable [...]
Jan
Who’s safeguarding who? By Jenny
Traumarama By Jenny Who’s safeguarding who? Another new school, another panicky call from a teacher [...]
Jan
When is your hand not your hand? By Jenny
When is your hand not your hand? Answer: when it’s attached to your terrified daughter. [...]
Jan
Traumarama By Jenny
This is a blog about being mum to 11 year-old Rosie; half tiger, half lawyer, [...]
Jan
Roadhog By Jenny
I, Roadhog What would Lewis Hamilton do, I sometimes think, on the 25-minute drive to [...]
Jan
Jenny’s Story: Festive Koala
This is hard to write. As I reflect on the complexities of my relationship [...]
Jan