Tag Archives: social

Adopted Children Need New Social Security Numbers

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If you are about to adopt or have recently adopted, you may need to add one more thing to your “to do” list. After a child is adopted, his name is changed according to your wishes. Obviously, parents want their adopted child to have the family name. But you should not stop there. If it was a closed adoption, you need to also change the child’s social security number. If the number is not changed, the birth parent can find your child by tracing the number. We do not want our birth mother to find us at some future date … Continue reading →

What to Do When People Keep Asking

One of the frustrating things about adoption is all of the unknowns. The one that bothers me the most is that there is no timeframe. Sure, your agency can give you an estimate, but those estimates are really more like guesses. As in, you guess is as good as mine. That is hard to explain to all of those people who are interested in you and your adoption and keep asking, “So, when is your child coming home?” I have known people who purposely didn’t tell anyone about their adoption plans because they didn’t want to answer questions. If you … Continue reading →

Social Phobia – Treatment

Earlier we looked at the problem of social phobia from the viewpoint of a fictitious character named Jeff. Let’s now look at some methods Jeff can use to make life a little bit more bearable. Not too many years ago, the prescribed treatment was to throw social phobics “in at the deep end” by advising them to join a speech-training organization like Toastmasters. This probably provided help for some sufferers, gradually allowing them to build enough confidence to cope better in their day-to-day lives. But for others, such a step was just too great, with each Toastmasters meeting becoming an … Continue reading →

Social Phobia – A Case Study

Jeff is a quiet sort of a guy. He is reasonably well-liked, mainly because he doesn’t step on anyone’s toes and is always willing to go along with other people’s suggestions. His acquaintances sometimes laugh about how shy he is, and how odd it is that a grown man can blush for no apparent reason. “What color’s red, Jeff?”is always guaranteed to get a few laughs. For everyone except Jeff, of course. He’s also popular with the boss at work, as he gets on with the job without too much fuss and doesn’t waste time standing around telling jokes and … Continue reading →