Hello! My name is Olivia and I am currently researching the effects of early life trauma in adopted teenagers aged 13-17, a study (which we call E-LAB) that was previously being conducted by Dr. Dominic O'Connor.We are still in the high-intensity recruitment stage. The study's email address is the same as previous (mhmpsych@manchester.ac.uk), except that it is now managed by me. Please see below for the advert I would request for you to share:E-LAB Study Advert:We are recruiting adolescents (aged 13 – 17) who were adopted/separated from their biological parents and have lived in local authority care, and their parents/guardians, to help us understand how early life experience impacts the brain and behaviour. For further details please contact: mhmpsych@manchester.ac.ukAdditionally, I have attached some digital recruitment flyers which have been approved for dissemination, in case you have a newsletter or any other resource which might be appropriate for this format. Thank you for your consideration and please let me know if you have any further questions about our research!

I am conducting a research study for my MA in Trauma‑Informed Practice at the University of Nottingham. The study explores adopted young people’s experiences of Life Story Work (LSW), including the Life Story Book, and how different approaches, particularly with or without therapeutic support, affect emotional well‑being and trauma processing.I am seeking to recruit adopted young people aged 16–25 who have received a Life Story Book and/or participated in Life Story Work. Participation involves a semi‑structured interview lasting approximately 60–90 minutes, conducted online or in a private, safe location agreed with the participant. Optional supplementary interviews with parents/carers may also be offered to provide contextual insight into how Life Story Work was delivered and supported within the family.In addition to interviews, I have now introduced a short, anonymous parent/carer questionnaire as an alternative way to participate. This allows parents to share their perspectives even if their young person does not wish to be interviewed or is not emotionally ready to engage directly. The questionnaire explores how Life Story Work was delivered, supported, and experienced within the family.Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the University of Nottingham. All interviews and questionnaire processes follow trauma‑informed principles, and a safeguarding protocol is in place should any concerns arise. Data will be anonymised and stored securely in accordance with GDPR.Nicky BrimicombeMA Trauma‑Informed Practice Student University of NottinghamTo participate please download the Participant Information SheetORTo complete the questionnaire please click the link: MA Research Study – Experiences of Life Story Work in Adoption – Fill in form

My name is Amy and I'm a trainee clinical psychologist and have joined Adopters Advocacy to conduct a research project. My research project is on adopters’ experiences of adopting children who have or have the potential to develop life limiting or life-threatening conditions. Adopters Advocacy is a small research group based at Lancaster University which conducts research on adopters’ mental health and their support needs. We focus on those voices that are seldom heard, on aspects of adoption that are rarely discussed. More information on our work can be found on our webpages: www.lancaster.ac.uk/adoptersI wish to speak with adopters who are English speaking and have adopted via the UK system. The interviews will be online, last approx. 90 mins at a date/time that is mutually convenient. Ethics approval has been granted for this project. The advert is attached belowPlease can I ask that you share the advert with your members to see if they may be eligible to participate in the research and if so, get in touch with me directly for more information. Best Wishes,Amy LordAmy Lord (she/her/hers)Trainee Clinical Psychologist

Rich Brown POTATO member and Trainee Facilitator of the FASCETS Neurobehavioural Approach.Exciting opportunity! I have an opportunity for you to attend a 12- or 15-hour FASCETS workshop on the Neurobehavioural Approach. This approach was developed by Dianne Malbin, author of the book "Trying Differently Rather Than Harder". This approach is foundational to many of the key FASD parenting programmes used across the globe. More recently the approach has been expanded to cover all forms of neurodivergence including ADHD and Autism. I am currently training to become a facilitator of the FASCETS Neurobehavioural Approach, and I am keen to offer these 12- and 15-hour workshops to parents/caregivers who would most benefit. Attending the 15-hour workshop run directly by FASCETS would currently cost $420, but I am able to offer this to you at no cost in exchange for your time as a committed participant. Further details about the workshops can be found here: https://www.fascets.org/aboutAs you will see from the FASCETS website, the Neurobehavioural Approach is applicable to all forms of neurodivergence, and a diagnosis is not needed to attend. I will host both the 12- and 15-hour workshops online (via Zoom), and each will be split into four or five 3-hour sessions. I plan to run one of them in the evening (6-9pm) and the other in the morning (10am-1pm). In conversation with interested participants I hope to establish the best days of the week to host these. Dates for each of these workshops will be within the months of October 2026 to January 2027. If you're interested in attending, please get in touch by emailing me at: thinking.differently@outlook.com. Please can you include a little bit about yourself, specifically the ages of your children, whether or not they have any neurodevelopmental diagnoses and your current level of understanding of neurodivergence and/or FASD. A bit about me: I have three children with multiple diagnoses of FASD, ADHD and Autism. Our youngest child's diagnosis of FASD was the start of a journey into understanding all forms of brain-based differences, which has enabled our family to find the right supports for each of our children/teens. I have previously worked as a parent partner and volunteer for FASD Hub Scotland (which was established and led by my partner Aliy) for its first 3 years. As an active participant within the FASD community, I am a keen advocate for the importance of understanding FASD and neurodivergence. I am looking forward to sharing the content of the FASCEST workshops to benefit many other families like my own. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you and creating two supportive learning groups for parents/caregivers to access content and peer support, which can significantly change lives for the better. Rich Brown Trainee Facilitator of the FASCETS Neurobehavioural Approach

Reforming Adoption Support in ScotlandBringing together adopted people, adoptive families, professionals and policymakers to improve adoption support and deliver better outcomes across Scotland. https://scottishadoptionalliance.org/

Tell us what matters most in adoption research Are you an adopted person? A friend or family member of someone who is? Or a professional with adoption expertise? Help decide future priorities for adoption research in this 15-minute survey, developed with adopted people. You’ll be entered into a £100 prize draw. www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_01a26aEWIuhUozI

I am making a podcast about adoption, to raise awareness and talk about peoples experiences within and around the adoption process. I have already had collaboration with social workers, organisations and  adopted individuals. I have brought in my own experiences of being adopted and this has become especially important as I have just turned 18. This brought up lots of different emotions around adoption and how I want to move forward as an individual. I am doing this podcast with my school, Queen Ethelburga's, this is completely separate from my studies. This has been completely my own work.   You might be adopted or be an adoptive parent or looking into adoption or just generally working around the topic. I need you to help spread the narrative/story around adoption.   I am looking for your help for my last episode, I am working towards a 6 episode podcast. The last episode will be called looking forward. I want to collaborate with many different individuals to build a story or  statements that I will read out. This is to encompass a wide range of people experiences, thoughts and advice which I will read. I am not completely sure how I will organise all of this, but I want it to be a powerful piece that everybody helped with. Helping ourselves and others understand things around adoption and how we can move forwards.   I am going to attach a google form, this is where you will be able to fill in the necessary information. All of your data, like your name, will not be read out. When you answer the questions I would like you to write in first person. This is going to allow me to have some continuity around the story. Within the episode it will be explained that there are many people collaborating on the topic.   I would love for you to share, either this email or the google forms, to make a diverse response for my podcast. I hope all of this makes sense and if you have any questions or would like to talk to me further on the topic please let me know. I am happy to help!   When the podcast is released, I will reach out to you again and share the link so you are able to listen to it.   Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEjxber7CJrmOczv35DwUFIgxZkOKp03gjfNLAEl5j9MgNLg/viewform?usp=dialog   Thank you so much for reading my email and possible collaborating with me. I am looking forward to see everybody's response.   Lucy Born between the lines- Lucy's Adoption story.

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