Research
Far, Far Beyond the Adoption Order: Lessons From Lives Impacted by Trauma
Far, Far Beyond the Adoption Order: Lessons from Lives Impacted by Trauma is a landmark contribution to understanding the lived experiences of adoptive families caring for children and young adults affected by early-life trauma.
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Produced by The Potato Group, this report brings together the voices of adoptive parents who shared their stories of love, determination, and challenge. It exposes how neglect, abuse, and loss in early childhood continue to impact children well into adulthood, and how families are too often left to navigate crisis alone.
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70% of members participated in a quantitative survey, representing the experiences of 438 parents caring for over 700 pre-teens, teenagers, young adults and adults. In addition, 23 members participated in qualitative research, producing in-depth insights into adoptive families’ experiences.
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From child-to-parent violence to mental health crises, sibling relationships, harmful sexualised behaviour, experiences with youth and criminal justice systems and repeated struggles with services, the findings are stark but essential reading for anyone working in adoption, social care, education, mental health or the criminal justice system.
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This is not an abstract policy document. It is a testament to the commitment of parents who have opened their homes and hearts, and who continue to advocate fiercely for children who carry the deep imprint of trauma.
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“What stands out in these experiences, is the extreme, long-lasting impact of trauma on the lives of teenagers, young adults and adults exposed to neglect and abuse in their early years. The single, biggest issue adopters were unprepared for, and that impacted significantly on accessing support, was the sheer lack of understanding of trauma in statutory services”
~ Gillian Elam, Research Manager
We hope this report will be read with care and urgency, and that it will drive meaningful action.
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What You’ll Find Inside
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The impact of developmental trauma from infancy to adulthood
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Sibling relationships and risk
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Children’s experiences of education, exclusion and unmet needs
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Child-to-parent violence
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Involvement with the criminal justice system
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Harmful sexualised behaviour and lack of specialist support
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The mental health challenges so often compounded by systemic failure
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The hidden costs to families: careers lost, health affected, isolation and fear
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Practical, experience-led recommendations for policy and practice
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Who This is For
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Professionals involved with our families throughout our children's lives, including but not limited to children’s social care, adoption agencies, education, the youth and criminal justice systems, supported living providers and mental health
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Policymakers and those shaping services and strategy
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Researchers, academics and students
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Adoptive parents and those supporting them
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Download the Report
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You can download the full report and a summary document here:
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Download Summary (PDF)​​​
Acknowledgements​
​This research is the result of a collaboration among members of the POTATO group for our conference “Far, Far Beyond the Adoption Order”, held in May 2024, hosted in partnership with The Belay Foundation.
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We are very grateful to: all of our amazing members who revisited some of the most traumatising times of their lives to share their experiences in our survey and in our qualitative interviews; the POTATO Committee and Conference Steering Group for their expert advice, guidance and ethical oversight; our quantitative and qualitative researchers, graphic designer, peer reviewers and proof readers; our founding chair for her constant commitment to the wellbeing of POTATO and to improving outcomes for our families and children; and our wonderful children who keep on going and keep us going.
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About The Potato Group
POTATO (Parents Of Traumatised Adopted Teenagers Organisation) is an established online peer-to-peer support group for parents of traumatised adopted teenagers and young adults.
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Press, Media and General Enquiries
For press enquiries or interviews, please contact:
research@thepotatogroup.org.uk