What's with the Russian adoption stories?

[inna]

I took a sick day today (I'm down with a cold/flu?), and I'm in bed listening to MSNBC in the background...

I don't know if many people saw/heard that story cheerfully narrated by Contessa Brewer, but...

Does that crap really pass for journalism these days??

Basically, the only take-home message expected from that piece is: Do not adopt Russian orphans, they are genetically predisposed to be difficult/psychopathic/sociopathic.

Anyway, I thought it was slightly disturbing and possibly prejudiced/and/or meant to foster prejudices.

That's the impression I got anyway. :shrug: Whatever.

[YOY]

1. "Does that crap really pass for journalism these days??" Yes...yes it sadly does.

And speaking as someone who is familiar with Eastern European orphanages...they're nasty bits of work where kids who are usually the byproduct of social misfortune or chemical addiction get dumped. When I was in the Peace Corps...I visted one on a monthly basis to play with one kid...Vladi. Sweet kid. Looked like myself at that age...but scars all over his face from fighting with the other kids. Wouldn't stop hugging my leg and cried when I left. He just craved attention. Wish him well no matter where he is.

I have shaken my head at some folks who spend rediculous amounts of money getting a child abroad when they could do the same at home. Usually the attraction means that the kid is "white". Ironically, many of the adopted kids have mixed Roma heritage.

[lunatica]

2. I may be mistaken but isn't the kid related to the woman who sent him back?

I thought I heard that she was his grandmother or an aunt or something.

The Russians are reacting just about the same way we would if that happened to one of our orphans. What a horrible insult to adopt a child and then to send it back as if it was a defective piece of furniture. What a horrible thing that an orphanage would adopt out disturbed and mentally ill children without letting the adopting parents know.

This story just sucks lemons from beginning to end.

[YOY]

3. There's money in it for them too. It's a business. Don't fool yourself.

Those orphanages take less tax dollars when adopters are paying and one less mouth to feed for the state. The state doesn't spend much on them and TLC is usually an afterthought for many of the kids so when they get out it may very well be a drop straight into the role of a "Zek".

Most countries that have international adoption don't do so unless it's beneficial to them.

As for the kid being related to the woman...didn't hear that part.

[inna]

8. No, I don't think she is a relative at all -

in fact, it was HER remarks/behavior that I found to be disturbingly anti-Russian and sociopathic (although the latter was what she accused the little kid of). What kind of person does that sort of thing that she did, anyway? And then blame a little 6 year old, and start an international controversy? And then it is *she*, somehow, who gets a break from the media, because - you see - Russian kids are somehow genetically predisposed to having behavioral difficulties.


"This story just sucks lemons from beginning to end."

That I completely agree with you on.

I have a gut feeling it has something to do with current (international) politics, but that is just a gut feeling.


On edit: If anything, that woman strikes me as a Teabagger. I bet she is, in fact.

[wolfgangmo]

4. Journalism died in the US in 1983 under Raygun

What has passed for journalism in the US could best be described as gossip.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. I was hearing something about it late last week

Apparently Russian authorities want to stop all Americans from adopting Russian children because of this woman.

I'm not sure what to make of it but I agree with you, there are more important things the media nitwits should be covering.

[dorkulon]

6. I don't think the idea is that it's genetic, just that these kids are badly traumatized

in their early years and it leads to behavioral challenges. It's also true. Not everything is a conspiracy. I mean really, what would be the point of fostering prejudice against Russian orphans?

[Lucy Goosey]

7. It's not genetic predisposition, it's Attachment Disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_disorder

Attachment disorder is a broad term intended to describe disorders of mood, behavior, and social relationships arising from a failure to form normal attachments to primary care giving figures in early childhood, resulting in problematic social expectations and behaviors.

There are treatments available, but it is definitely something to consider when adopting a foreign child. Not to say ther Brewer's reporting was any good; it really wasn't.

[Warpy]

9. I've got a cousin who's adopted two pretty damaged kids

from central Asia. She and her husband have worked very hard to turn the kids around and they've been mostly successful. Most of the bad behavior stemmed from the extreme scarcity those kids experienced in the orphanages.

Just be aware that adopting an older kid from an orphanage in a very poor country is likely to involve a tremendous amount of work. Sometimes, if the kid has already formed an attachment disorder, that work won't pay off.

As for my cousin, she and her husband have already made two trips to that same country trying to adopt a third orphan. Some people just have the gift and welcome the challenges and she's one of them.

[HopeHoops]

10. It hit the mainstream after the 7-year old boy in York, PA was beaten to death.

The "parents" basically lied like hell to get him and his twin sister and then abused them. The boy died recently from his wounds - 88 specific points noted in the autopsy. Apparently, Russian children are still considered citizens of Russia until they turn 18 even if they are adopted by foreign adults. Russia sent investigators to follow up on the matter and may request extradition of the couple for prosecution in Russia.

The other cases are just riding on the coat tails of that story.

[inna]

11. How truly awful. Is that the same fundy couple that published books on "how to

properly spank/punish your child" (or something to that effect), or is that a different case?

<<Apparently, Russian children are still considered citizens of Russia until they turn 18 even if they are adopted by foreign adults. Russia sent investigators to follow up on the matter and may request extradition of the couple for prosecution in Russia.>>

Thanks for that piece of info, I didn't know that. Seems like a reasonable idea anyway... - don't American-born children ALWAYS remain American citizens, even if they are orphaned and then adopted in foreign countries?

[HopeHoops]

13. I seriously doubt it. I don't think they are that intelligent.

[Still Blue in PDX]

12. Reactive attachment disorder has to be seen to be believed.

When RAD kids are adopted they are overly loving and inappropriately affectionate with people outside the family but can be downright dangerous with a family member, quite often the mom. I worked with a woman who adopted a child from Russia, and she actually felt unsafe in her own home. Her own parents and people from her church thought she was crazy and were very judgmental. She and her husband spent thousands of dollars on different modalities of treatment for him, in addition to the cost of the adoption and nothing helped.

My friend purposely adopted a 3-year-old thinking she would be avoiding health issues that might crop up with a baby. She had no idea what she was getting into, and now her son is living in one of the few group homes prepared to handle someone with RAD. I worry about him and the people he encounters in the future. It's no one's fault, but there very possibly could be one less heartbroken family and one less psychotic person here in this country if this had been widely known years ago.

From what I've read about RAD, and from what I've seen of my friend's experience, adopting a child from a Russian orphanage is not unlike rescuing an abused pit bull.

[LibertyLover]

14. International adoption is not for the faint of heart

my daughter is an internationally adopted child. We had a wonderful adoption agency who really worked with us so that we understood the risks as well as the rewards of international adoption. One of the things they stressed was that when adopting an older child, as my husband and I were doing, we would have to really work on the attachment and bonding issues. We were offered special classes to help us if necessary. We were very fortunate and our daughter bonded with me after a very short time - roughly 15 minutes. It took her a few days to bond with her father - at first he was only good for keeping her cup full of juice and turning the television on - but once she bonded with us it stuck. However attachment disorder is a major problem with adoptions, both domestic and foreign. It's sad that this woman's agency was apparently not prepared to help her and that she failed, at least from what I've read, to reach out to the available social services in her city and state.