Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms: Adoption terms and special needs words may vary from agency to agency.The terms used in this Special Needs Adoption-Related Glossary may be slightly different from one State to another.
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
- Behavioral Disorders: May include disorders influenced by heredity, brain disorders, dire, stress, and family functioning. Symptoms like hyperactivity, aggression, withdraw from social activities and relationships, self injury, immaturity, learning problems, excessive anxiety and abnormal mood swings.
- Bipolar disorder: A category of mental illnesses in which mood and affect are disturbed. Characterized by irregular cycles of mania and/or depression. During manic periods, a person may be in an elevated mood and exhibit symptoms of hyperactivity, wakefulness, and distractibility or irritability. Severe episodes of mania might include, psychotic symptoms. People experiencing depressive periods can experience sustained symptoms of depressed mood, diminished pleasure or interest in most activities, fatigue, sleep disturbance of either insomnia or hypersomnia, weight loss or weight gain, and slowed thinking.
- Birth family and birth parent: Are those who share a child’s genetic heritage, blood relatives, and extended family members. Birthparents, Birthmother and Birthfather are a child’s biological parent.
- Bonding: The process of developing lasting emotional ties with one’s immediate caregivers. Bonding is seen as the first and primary developmental task of a human being and central to the person’s ability to relate to others throughout life. Often among Adoptive parents bonding is defined as the parents ability to feel attached with their baby or child and the term Attachment is used to define the ability of the child to bond or attach with the parents.
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For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.