Yale Adoption Clinic

General Info
Locations

The Yale International Adoption Clinic offers comprehensive services to adopting families, internationally adopted children and the community doctors who care for them.

Americans interested in adopting children from countries and areas such as Russia, China, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America, need to be aware these children bring with them unique and complex physical, developmental and emotional issues that have the potential to interfere with their adjustment to their new families.

The Adoption Clinic staff are knowledgeable about the unique medical and social conditions of children from other countries, are skilled in managing infectious diseases, and understand the developmental and psychological impact of institutionalization and sensory deprivation.

The goal of the clinic is to assist families every step of the way: from providing guidance and information about pre-adoption records to performing a careful post-adoption assessment of an individual child's medical, developmental and psychosocial well-being. Educational seminars are offered throughout the year for both pre- and post-adoption needs.

Building intimate relationships with caregivers provides children with a framework of how to understand and interact with the world. Children who haven't had that experience may exhibit many behavioral symptoms that need to be assessed. The clinic staff can help pediatricians caring for children who may need specialized attention, and they can help parents figure out ways to help their child learn coping strategies. The workshop Building the Bonds provides tools to the parents, and private counseling is also available.

Pre-adoption services:
Identifying the special needs/limitations parents are willing to accept Counseling about general risks of international adoptees Evaluating videotapes, photographs and medical histories Preparing adoptive parents for their trip abroad, including how to spot red flags and how to interpret information about the child Providing telephone support for families during their stay abroad
Post-adoption services:
Comprehensive evaluations of newly adopted children every Monday in the Pediatric Specialty Clinic on the second floor of the Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. Building the Bonds workshop

	Andiman, Warren Alan, MD	Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases); Co-Director, Yale Adoption Clinic; Medical Director, Pediatric AIDS Care Program	(203) 785-4730 Appts (203) 785-6961 Fax
	Weitzman, Carol Cohen, MD	Associate Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics) and in the Child Study Center; Director, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Program; Director, Yale Adoption/Foster Clinic ; Fellowship Program Director, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics	(203) 785-7521 Appts (203) 737-1208 Fax