Asmina, adopted from Ethiopia, sits on Melissa Diagana's lap while Thierry holds her hand. The Diaganas came to the International Adoption Clinic barely 16 hours after landing back in California with Asmina.
International Adoption Clinic
Building a Healthy Family
International child adoption continues to grow as a valuable and rewarding approach to family building. Infant adoption, as well as toddler and older child adoption, of children from orphanages, baby houses and foster families throughout the world, can enrich your family. While the international adoption process can be cumbersome and stressful, the depth of joy gained from parenting a long-awaited son or daughter usually far exceeds the frustrations.
Many internationally adopted children face complex physical, developmental and emotional health challenges. Medical and social conditions in their country of origin don't allow for providing an adequate level of healthcare. Assessing and treating these challenges is often beyond the scope of a busy pediatrician's general practice.
The mission of the International Adoption Clinic at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is to serve as an invaluable international adoption resource and partner for adoption medical health issues. We help adoptive families, child placement services (agencies, facilitators, attorneys), adoption support organizations and the medical community, throughout the United States and Canada, navigate the medical and neuropsychological unknowns. We work with you throughout the entire adoption process—in the pre-adoption stage, while abroad, and after your child is home—to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.
Multi-disciplinary Approach
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland has the central West Coast’s only international adoption medical clinic. The strength of our clinic is the extensive range of multi-disciplinary pediatric specialists available to care for your child. We can easily discuss any special needs or refer your child for specialized care. Specialty care areas include nutrition, speech and language, physical therapy, psychiatry and infectious diseases. Our specialists can provide support with concerns such as fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD and reactive attachment disorder.
We invite you to learn more about our clinic, services and team. You will find a rich array of information on international adoption under related links.
We welcome the opportunity to help you and your child on your journey. We invite you to email, fax or telephone us to discuss how we can help make your journey well informed, and the healthiest one possible.
Our international adoption pediatrician and pediatric neuropsychologist, along with supporting specialists, provide thorough, evidence-based evaluations and assessments. You will receive a written report detailing findings, concerns and recommendations for your child. We will review our report and discuss your concerns during an in-person or phone consultation. We provide:
International Adoption Education - workshop, seminar and conference educational outreach services for parents, medical providers, agency staff and organizations.
Pre-adoption Evaluation - medical and developmental evaluations of medical records, photographs and videotapes of referred children, toddlers and infants awaiting adoption.
Pre-travel Consultation - medical guidance and education for parents, prior to traveling to the adoptive country to meet the child and/or finalize adoption. We also provide consultations in preparation for a blind referral.
In-travel Consultation - medical advice for families during travel is provided as part of the pre-travel or pre-adoption assessment.
Post-adoption Comprehensive Medical Examination - medical evaluations that complement and expand primary physician care. Medical examination and review includes medical records, growth measurements, physical examinations, laboratory screening, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) screening, recommendations and referrals.
Post-adoption Neuropsychological Assessment - new arrival assessments determine baseline developmental levels and go beyond simple developmental screenings that do not truly reflect the developmental level of a child being adopted from another country. An assessment by a pediatric neuropsychologist takes into consideration the child's international adoption background, attachment style, approach to learning, attention span, capacity to self-regulate, and the impact of transitioning to a new language and culture. Follow-up assessments and comprehensive evaluations of children who have resided with their families for extended periods of times are also available.
Post-adoption Specific Issue Consultation - consultation with our adoption pediatrician or pediatric neuropsychologist focusing on specific parent, physician or educator concerns regarding attachment, behavior, development, learning, or any other concern at any point after your child is home.
Awards
As a member of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, we were awarded the 2005 Community Service Award from Families with Children from China—Northern California for outstanding contributions to families in their journeys toward adoption.
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Referral
You may self-refer to the International Adoption Clinic.
Contacts
Primary Contact:
Email: ncurtis@mail.cho.org
Phone: (510) 428-3010
Fax: (510) 986-1654
Inquiries regarding
Post-adoption Neuropsychological Assessment:
Audrey Bethke, PhD
Email: abethke@mail.cho.org
Phone: 415-218-9437
Where to find us
380 Martin Luther King Oakland, CA 94618
(Please use this address for overnight mail services)
Mailing address
IAC at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland
747 52nd St., Oakland, CA 94609
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