This is my Expository piece, I don't fully understand the marking criteria so I just went with the example in the

book so if it needs correcting Ill be ready to do it over with some guidelines. My Reflective piece is currently 200 words so by Saturday Ill have a draft but not the entire piece because I have some techniques I want to query. Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, the theme and issue I have chosen to accentuate today is "The Emotional Journey of an Adopted Child". Though it is not a subject people commonly focus on, it deserves some attention. These finding may not apply to all adopted children. Some may or may not be affected by these circumstances mentioned based on their experiences. Adoption is essentially "the permanent legal transfer of parental rights and responsibilities for a child from the natural birth parents to another adult known as the adopter." In these cases it may occur through an orphan/foster home, open adoption and/or international adoption. Adoption can be considered for some a blessing, a relief and for some a burden. Though it may seem like a typical legal process with an adoptee acquiring a stable family and home, this process has many psychological effects on the adoptee. The adoptees age and past experiences play key roles in the triggering of his/her emotional journey. The cornerstone of my exposition is the emotions that some adopted children are face with. Throughout the initial adoption and adjustment process the adoptees emotions may fluctuate. This emotional fluctuation may have negative on the adoptee and even on those close to him/her. At some point in time an adopted child gets a feeling of emptiness and a feeling of difference from other relatives. Adoptees may feel appreciative of the acceptance of their adopted parents but they realize that they were still rejected by another, their biological parent(s). This realization could have a perennial effect on adoptees as they struggle to come to terms with the fact that they were rejected by their own birth parent(s). Some have found that adoption is a reasonable alternative for orphans as they are relieved from institutionalised stress. However, researchers have found that a small amount of adoptees continue to have difficulties in adjusting and coping with adoption issues (Lifton 1979; Sorosky, Baran and Pannor, 1978). Researchers have found that there is no definite age group that is emotionally affected by adoption. It was gathered that adoption most commonly affects children ages 6 and above. Children of these age groups are more vulnerable to emotional issues as they have more experiences. According to researchers Brodizinsky, Schechter and Henig, it was found that generally children adopted before the age of six months fare no differently than children raised with their biological parents. Later problems that develop among children adopted from the welfare system at an older age are usually associated with the effects of chronic early maltreatment in the caregiving relationship, abuse and neglect. We see that even after being adopted as a baby an adoptee can still be affected eventually. Statistics has also proven that adoption can indeed affect the emotions of various age groups. It was shown that 9% of adopted children ages 2 and above were diagnosed with depression, 26% ages 6 and above diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and 15% ages 2 and above were diagnosed with behaviour and

conduct problems. However, it was found that 88% of adopted children ages 6 and above exhibited positive social behaviours. Many emotional factors contribute to the Emotional Journey of the Adopted Child. These factors may have negative and/positive effects on the adopted child. David Kirschener coined a phrase called Adopted Child Syndrome which explains some emotional behavioural trials faced by adoptees. These include problems in bonding, attachment, acts of violence and defiance of authority. Though Adopted Child Syndrome is not accepted by Psychiatrist and Psychologists as a real syndrome it is said that it does in fact affect a small amount of adoptees. Negative or positive emotions can stem from past experiences, whether it be while in foster care or from previous adoptive parents. If the child was exposed to a loving and nurturing environment he/she is more likely to exhibit positive emotions. Likewise, if a child is exposed to an unhealthy environment he/she will display negativity in emotions. Loss and grief are two emotions that go hand in hand when it comes to emotions of adoptees. The loss of ties with past experiences can be quite ambiguous. They can feel unsure since they are leaving behind memories of their childhood that they may/may not want to remember and memories of their biological parents (if any). All these factors contribute to the emotional state of adoptees. Anger, anxiety and/or fear are all emotions that may accompany loss and grief. Children that were adopted via open adoption are less likely to encounter negative emotions as they can easily communicate with their biological parents or relatives. Additionally, some adoptees feel a sense of difference between them and their adopted family. They may feel as though they dont belong in the family or they have no real ties with the family. Appearance and even simple family school projects can trigger this emotion. This may result in the adoptee choosing to isolate himself/herself, hindering communication among themselves and relatives. Also this may heighten the desire to find biological family. On the other hand, some adoptees may have little/no issues related to communication and accepting differences. According to recent findings, 81% of parent-child relationships were regarded as very warm and close. Thirdly, some adoptees are likely to become emotionally frustrated when it comes to their identity. Identity plays a crucial role in the development of the child and therefore is a complicated process for the adoptee. Since identity stems from family and the impact of others in their life, this process can be quite puzzling for adoptees. In order to get an identity, they must integrate both their biological and adopted family ties. Adoptees may also be unaware of their medical or genetic information. Silverstein and Kaplan stated that Adoptees lacking medical, genetic, religious and historical information are plagued by questions such as; who they are? Why were they born? Were they in fact a mistake, not meant to have been born, an accident? This lack of information can lead adoptees to find other ways to belong which may lead to depression. On the contrary, Professor Goldfarb in England settled that some adoptees do in fact adjust well socially and emotionally despite

their past negative experiences. Other researchers have also stated that time institutionalised does not necessarily lead to emotional or character issues. Adoption can be a very emotional process for both the adopter (adopting parents) and the adoptee adopted child). It has many emotional effects on either parties that can either make or break the relationship. Focusing on the emotions of the adoptee is a crucial step in this process as he/she adapts to new surroundings and customs. Throughout the years many researchers have found useful information and techniques to deal with adoptees emotional ambiguity. Entirely, we can see that adoption has both positive and negative effects on adoptees emotions and it is essential that adoptive parents find solutions for them. In my research for information on my selected topic: The Emotional Journey of an Adopted child my main obstacles were choosing appropriate research information from the internet and time management. My typical schedule is usually filled with projects for other subjects and I was faced with the challenge of balancing time between subjects. Also there was a variety of choices both relevant and irrelevant via the internet. The challenge with using the internet for research was finding the relevant information to suit the topic. The process of gathering information for this expository was collected using both primary and secondary sources. My personal awareness on the topic was also added into the expository. The primary source used was a questionnaire answered by an adoptee and the secondary source of internet and books. The internet was very resourceful for my research on the topic. I acquired a variety of information that was all in all helpful. It offered several forms of proof and evidence to back up my information. The use of the questionnaire to extract information was also credible. It gave me a better and genuine perspective of the topic. This is due to the fact that the respondent is actually an adoptee herself. This gave me a view on the topic from the eyes of the adoptee. Bibliography
http://books.google.tt/books?id=7WQp2uEnogoC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepag e&q&f=false http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption

http://www.statisticbrain.com/adoption-statistics/