Di Saunders: Adoptee Consultant

About

The identification of the needs of Adoptees from the Forced Adoption Era, is now supported by government through the training of psychologists to support a new category of clients, the 'Adoptee' within the ATAPS scheme.

The perspective of Adoptees, is vital to truly understanding the lifelong impact of adoption on Adoptees, their needs, and how they can be supported in the health professionals role of addressing the impact of adoption on Adoptees.

I am an Adoptee, a Late Discovery Adoptee. For the first 43 years of my life I had no idea that I was adopted. The difficulties I've experienced and continue to experience, in my life (social, emotion, psychological and health) are as a result of the circumstances of my adoption, my living the life (be it unknown to me) of an adoptee, the way I found out, what I found out and the impact of that knowledge on relationships within my 'family'.

My adoption journey led me into counselling as a profession, and into advocacy for changes in legislation to reflect the primacy of the needs of Adoptees to know the truth about who they are, their identity, the names of their parents, usually recorded on birth certificates, but denied to Adoptees.

I am one of a growing group of Adoptees speaking up about the injustice and inequality of law for Adoptees, as governments review present legislation and laws on adoption in response to the research and demand from Adoptees that we learn from history and prevent the same mistakes being made to this and future generations of 'children' who are adopted.

Please phone me if I can assist you or your organisation towards a better understanding of the needs of Adoptees.