Sibling Groups? Florida adoption?

I had a reply written to you, then my internet went down and it didn't appear! Summing it up: Please be very careful when considering older child adoption. Bravo to you for considering it at all and wanting to help older children in their lives. However, realize parenting older children is NOT the same as parenting children adopted as infants. It will require a totally different way of parenting; it will require a lot of one-on-one time with each of these children as they may have been sorely neglected, abused and hurt. The neglected part may be the worst of it all because with this, often comes RAD (reactive attachment disorder) which can be a VERY, very hard issue to deal with---for life. I do not mean to be such a downer about this, but am coming from our own experiences and what we should have known from the beginning. But, we were very eager to parent older children and we had had extensive experiences and education (over and above the required classes) so that we thought we were prepared. We were not. In months and years down the road, we often said, "If we'd only known.' Yes, there are *some* older child success stories; but you'll find those that are more often than not are those from parents who have the scars to show it. They would tell you this has not been easy or 'fun' for the most part. They would tell you the success lied in a different way of thinking, but their child has learned to love life and themselves. I'm glad you're thinking ahead of time. Take the courses, not because they're required, but because through them, you may meet up with parents who've BTDT and can supply the support and resources you most likely will need. Those seasoned parents will be the ones to really know 'what it's like'...and not the parents who've been doing this for a few months or even a couple of years. Talk with the parents who've been doing this for many years. Their experiences and advice will be invaluable. (If your state courses don't link you with a support group---an independent group not affiliated with the state----search and find one.) It will also be helpful to read the 'foster care forum' and the 'disrupted adoption' forums. Reading experiences from those who've BTDT is only helpful, even if their experiences don't exactly mirror what you're hoping to do. You might also find helpful, volunteering with residential homes for children. You can become quite educated by being around and helping with children who have been in the system for awhile; or those who are unable to ever live in a traditional home because of their behaviors. Good luck to you. Please feel free to pm me if you'd like. Sincerely, Linny