I Never Expected This: When Difficult Behaviors Arise

Children enter adoptive families with many needs. Some are evident at adoption; others surface in the course of later development. This workshop will explore common psychosocial concerns and emotional needs for youth who were adopted (both as part of a voluntary adoption plan or from foster care following history of disrupted relationships). Specifically, the presentation will briefly review the impact of early adversity on brain development and later behaviors, explore aspects of unspoken grief/loss often reported among adoptees, and consider fears of intimacy or questions of identity that may emerge during adolescence.

Samantha Wilson, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the division of Child Development at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is the staff psychologist within the International Adoption Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. In this role, she provides support to families at all stages of their adoption journeys, including pre-adoption education, initial consultation following a child’s immigration, school-age assessment, and child/family therapy. She has published numerous scholarly articles and book chapters on adoption, institutional care, attachment, and early child development. She is an adjunct staff to the Wisconsin-based TIES program, a heritage travel experience for children and families. Additionally, Dr. Wilson has clinical training/education to support the unique social-emotional development of infants/toddlers; she serves as an adjunct lecturer and clinical consultant to the University of Wisconsin Infant, Early Childhood, and Family Mental Health Capstone Program and provides reflective supervision to Early Head Start home visitors within Waukesha and West Bend, WI.