Adopt Perspective is a podcast for anyone affected by adoption. We discuss the adoption experience from the perspectives of mothers, fathers, adopted people and their loved ones, so that we may learn and grow from the perspectives of others. Sharing personal stories and explore adoption topics including adoption loss, psychological impacts of adoption, forced adoption, inter-country adoption, searching, reunion, healing and many others. We interview adults affected by adoption as well as pra ...
…
continue reading
Alison Willoughby was born at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Carlton, Melbourne in 1965. She was the first of four children adopted by her adoptive parents, who were unable to conceive naturally. Alison has since connected with her mother, father and biological siblings and has written a book about her experience called Forced Adoption, A Memoir. Yo…
…
continue reading
Arie Baker was born in Brisbane in 1974 at the Corinda Private Hospital where she was adopted at 3 weeks of age. In this episode of Jigsaw Queensland's Adopt Perspective Podcast, Arie will share with us her experience of adoption and searching for her biological family and how her desire to make sense of that experience led her to write a book that…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Gemma Chudzinski - Researcher in intercountry adoptee mental health
11:54
11:54
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
11:54
Today’s guest, Gemma Chudzinski is an Australian Intercountry adoptee and PhD candidate from the School of Health Sciences and Social Work at Griffith University, who is undertaking important research in the area of the mental health of intercountry adoptees and is calling for participants. To find out more about the research, email gemma.chudzinsk…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Brendan Watkins - 'Tell No One'
1:00:40
1:00:40
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
1:00:40
Brendan Watkins was eight years old when his parents told him he was adopted. When he was in his late twenties, he started searching for his biological parents and eventually discovered the identity of his mother: he was later told that following his birth, she’d become a Catholic nun, and she wanted nothing to do with him. For the next thirty year…
…
continue reading
Jo Fraser is a mother who lost her son to adoption in 1971 and connected with him again almost two decades later. She is also the Convenor of the Victorian branch of the Association Representing Mothers Separated by adoption (better known as ARMS) - a not-for-profit organisation formed in 1982 out of a common need to support women who are living wi…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Dr Giselle Newton - Researcher Donor Conception & DNA
28:20
28:20
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
28:20
Dr Giselle Newton, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland. She’s a digital health sociologist whose research is focussed on understanding how reproductive and genetic technologies (re)shape personal and familial relationships and considers how people with lived experience participate and position themselves in research, poli…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest was born in England in 1970 and was adopted at six weeks of age into a family who had already adopted a son. Lisa Preston’s family moved to Australia when she was two years old, and then grew to include a biological daughter. Lisa’s story of reunion spans decades, two continents, and is testament to courage, tenacity, and understandin…
…
continue reading
James Vasilic was born and adopted in Brisbane in 1985 and has an incredible story about his experience of being adopted and reunion to share with us. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Q…
…
continue reading
Thomas Graham is a South African born adoptee, who migrated to Australia 25 years ago and in 2009 started the Australian Journal of Adoption (AJA) , an online journal providing an independent, open access forum for people affected by or involved in adoption. He published 16 volumes focusing on adoptee experiences before hanging up his hat. After AJ…
…
continue reading
Thomas Graham is a South African born adoptee, who migrated to Australia 25 years ago and in 2009 started the Australian Journal of Adoption (AJA) , an online journal providing an independent, open access forum for people affected by or involved in adoption. He published 16 volumes focusing on adoptee experiences before hanging up his hat. After AJ…
…
continue reading
In today's episode we speak to Sarah Burns, Manager of the Benevolent Society's Post Adoption Resource Centre (PARC) about the first Australian Adoption Literary Festival; Stories Stranger than Fiction to be held on Saturday, 4 November 2023 from 9.30am to 2.30pm. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more info…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest was born in the Boothville Salvation Army Hospital in Brisbane in 1960 and was adopted one week later. Diana Jackson, has since gone on to make contact with both her mother and her father and knows from personal experience that adoption reunions can be complex and don’t always run a straightforward trajectory. This episode discusses a…
…
continue reading
Benjamin Franklin once famously said that ‘nothing is certain except death and taxes'. And yet, when it comes to procrastination we often find wills are at the top of the list of things we put off until later. The problem of course is that death can be unexpected, and it is the living who are left to cope with the consequences of the decisions made…
…
continue reading
Lindy Saunders was born in Manilla in the Philippines and was adopted in 1976 by Australian parents who brought her home to the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Lindy was told shifting stories about her origins as many adopted people, particularly inter country adoptees often are, but she felt it was disrespectful to dig too hard for the truth. It…
…
continue reading
Helen Weder was born in Brisbane in 1955 and adopted just six days later. She has since met her mother and more recently her father via an AncestryDNA test. In this episode, Helen shares her experience and how writing a memoir is helping her to process it. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information …
…
continue reading
Peter Capomolla Moore is a family genealogist who stumbled across his adoption via a DNA test at the age of 59. The father of 5, grandfather of many and foster carer is also a committed advocate for adopted people through his work as President of Adoptee Rights Australia. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For m…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest is a Queensland mother who lost a daughter, and a son to adoption. Di Riddell is also a rape and domestic violence survivor, who has dedicated her life to helping others find their voice and is the author of three books, Beyond Abuse, Speak Out and Knowing You. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. Fo…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest is one of those extraordinary humans who travels off the beaten path, and lives a life filled with adventure. Heather Kinang is a Himalayan climber, trekker, yoga teacher, espresso lover and late discovery adoptee. In this episode, Heather shares her experience as a late discoverer and her adventurous life. This episode discusses adul…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest is a Canadian born adoptee who has lived in Australia for more than two decades. I first had the pleasure of meeting Angela Irving at a workshop I facilitated in Perth for Jigsaw WA back in 2018 and her story has changed so much since then. Today she will share how the internet and DNA have helped her solve an international mystery an…
…
continue reading
Today's guest is an adoptee from Newcastle, Australia who says the internet, social media and DNA has been a game changer in her search for her biological family and connection. Louise Gleeson utilised all three during her search and is using them again now to help others. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For …
…
continue reading
This year we commemorated the 10th anniversary of the federal apology for past forced adoption policies and practices. The apology was a direct result of tireless advocacy by those affected, which led to a senate inquiry and resulting report. Today's guest has been a powerful ally of those affected by forced adoption and was an integral part in how…
…
continue reading
Joining us in this episode of Adopt Perspective is a Queensland mother who lost a daughter to adoption in 1976. Kathryn Rendell was also a member of the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children (now Single Mother Families Australia Inc.) and was a member of the national Forced Adoptions Apology Reference Group and the Forced Adoptions…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Julia Gillard - 10th Anniversary Apology for Forced Adoptions
26:42
26:42
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
26:42
On 21st March 2013, the Australian Government delivered a formal apology to people affected by past forced adoption policies and practices. The apology was delivered by then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard in the Great Hall at Parliament House. The apology acknowledged the experiences of those affected, which created a lifelong legacy of pain and suf…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Trevor Jordan & Jo Sparrow - Redress
22:17
22:17
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
22:17
In the final episode of Season 3, Jigsaw Qld's FASS CEO Dr Trevor Jordan joins Jo to discuss a topic you’ve likely heard a bit about in recent months…redress. With an ageing cohort, the clock is really ticking on this issue. With only weeks remaining until the Queensland apology 10th anniversary event, we explore a number of issues, including Jigsa…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest is Sarah Dingle, a dual Walkley Award-winning investigative reporter and presenter with the ABC, working across radio and TV current affairs, news and documentary. Her work has won the UN’s Media Peace Prize and the Voiceless Media Prize and her radio documentaries have been recognised by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Amnest…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Darryl Nelson - I am adopted, I was adopted
47:27
47:27
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
47:27
Darryl Nelson first shared his personal experience of discharging his adoption in Queensland with us in our Jigsaw Queensland newsletter, Bits & Pieces Summer 2020 edition. Darryl was born in Brisbane in 1964 during the closed and forced adoption eras. He first discovered he was adopted when he was 14 years old, and uncovered further information ab…
…
continue reading
In 2021, a series of morning teas aimed at highlighting adoptee mental health were held during Qld Mental Health Week, under the banner of AdopTEA. All up, four peer-supported gatherings of adopted people were registered across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and regional Queensland. This year, the AdopTEA events will again take place again during Qld Men…
…
continue reading
There was barely a dry eye on the Qld GOMA balcony when Allan Hill and his son, Chris shared the emotional story of their reunion at this year's national apology anniversary event. As we approach Father's Day, Allan again shares his story with our listeners; of losing a son to forced adoption in the early 1970s, their reunion and the impact this lo…
…
continue reading
Today's guest is an adoptee born at Crown Street Women's Hospital in Sydney in 1953. Jill Rodger is a tenacious amateur detective who managed to track down her mother in 1984, years before New South Wales legislation was amended to allow access to identifying information and even before the common use of the internet and social media. More recently…
…
continue reading
For some adopted people the search for their biological parents ends at a gravestone. This abrupt ending can create an overwhelming sense of grief and sadness made worse by a lack of answers and a profound sense of guilt for a search left too long. Sometimes our search leads us not to a gravestone, but to complex family dynamics or severed family r…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Dr Jenny Conrick - Adoption & Mothering
56:58
56:58
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
56:58
Many adopted people report that their adoption experience has impacted their parenting. Today's guest is a social worker and academic at the University of Melbourne who has researched the mothering experience of adopted women - an area she hopes to continue to explore in the future. Prior to becoming an academic, Dr Jenny Conrick had thirty years p…
…
continue reading
Natalie Lewis is an Aboriginal and South Sea Islander woman who was adopted in Queensland in 1974. Her adoptive parents were originally from Germany and India. Because Natalie was adopted in Queensland in 1974, she falls outside the Australian states currently offering redress to the Stolen Generations and the criteria for states that do offer redr…
…
continue reading
Today’s guest is an adoptee born in the late sixties under the closed adoption system and a cloud of secrecy. Tracy Shand searched for and reunited with her mother and sister at the age of twenty-four, finding the relationships complex to maintain over time. At the age of forty-five she did a commercial DNA test to find her father and 3 years later…
…
continue reading
Benjamin Kelleher was adopted from Brazil in the city of Belo Horizonte and was brought to Australia in 1989 at the age of 13 months. He was one of 5000 children in the orphanage at the time of his adoption. Benjamin grew up on the sunny beaches of the Gold Coast in Queensland and recently shared his experience of intercountry adoption in a series …
…
continue reading
Even if you're not quite sure what it is, chances are you've heard of Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a form of psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many people affected by …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Evelyn Robinson - Grief & Loss in Adoption
45:10
45:10
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
45:10
Evelyn Robinson is a mother who was separated from her first child through adoption in Scotland in 1970. She later emigrated to Bermuda and then South Australia in 1982, where she still resides. Evelyn has a wealth of knowledge and experience in relation to the long-term outcomes of adoption separation and has experienced post-adoption services fro…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Evelyn Robinson - A Mother's Story
50:16
50:16
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
50:16
Evelyn Robinson is a mother who was separated from her first child through adoption in Scotland in 1970. She later emigrated to Bermuda and then South Australia in 1982, where she still resides. Evelyn has a wealth of knowledge and experience in relation to the long-term outcomes of adoption separation and has experienced post-adoption services fro…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Trauma Sensitive Yoga - Edwina Kempe
42:25
42:25
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
42:25
There is no "one size fits all" approach when it comes to finding a therapy that is right for you. Throughout this and coming seasons we'll be exploring a number of therapeutic options in the hope that amongst them you might find an option that you'd like to investigate further. First up we'll be discussing Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TSY) with Edwina K…
…
continue reading
The Queensland Parliament's Legal Affairs and Safety Committee have recently invited submissions for its inquiry into matters relating to donor conception information with a deadline of 29 April, 2022. It is important the committee receive as many submission as possible from people with lived experience of donor conception. With this in mind, Jo ta…
…
continue reading
In the last episode we spoke to Joyce about her story of losing a daughter to adoption and later reuniting with her. In this episode, we speak with Joyce's daughter, Kylie about how adoption has impacted her life and what her reunion with her mother has brought to her life. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For…
…
continue reading
Joyce is a mother who lost a daughter to adoption in Rockhampton (Qld) in 1970. In this episode, Joyce shares her story with Jo, including her reunion with her daughter, Kylie in 1990. In the next episode Kylie shares her powerful story of how adoption has impacted her life. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. Fo…
…
continue reading
In the first two episodes of Season Three, we speak to psychotherapist, author and lecturer, Nancy Verrier about her research into adoption and her books, 'The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child' (1993) and 'Coming Home to Self: The Adopted Child Grows Up' (2003). Nancy's first book turned the fairytale narrative of adoption on its head.…
…
continue reading
In the first two episodes of Season Three, we speak to psychotherapist, author and lecturer, Nancy Verrier about her research into adoption and her books, 'The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child' (1993) and 'Coming Home to Self: The Adopted Child Grows Up' (2003). Nancy's first book turned the fairytale narrative of adoption on its head.…
…
continue reading
Here is Part Two of our interview with Collette Glazebrook. Jo Sparrow talks to Collette about managing the lifelong legacy of adoption, weathering its storms and rejoicing in the sunny days with someone who has a great deal of experience with both. Collette Glazebrook was born in 1948 and adopted 3-days later. She has since gone on to discover she…
…
continue reading
Today we're taking talking about managing the lifelong legacy of adoption, weathering its storms and rejoicing in the sunny days with someone who has a great deal of experience with both. Collette Glazebrook was born in 1948 and adopted 3-days later. She has since gone on to discover she had ten siblings, and all but one were placed for adoption. C…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Integrated Birth Certificates - Nikki Hartmann
41:50
41:50
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
41:50
In this episode, Jane speaks to Nikki Hartmann from Relationships Australia about Integrated Birth Certificates. One of the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into former forced adoption policies and practices and the Australian Government's response following the 2013 Apology for Forced Adoptions was the nationwide introduction of Integrated Bi…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Rebecca Autumn Sansom - Reckoning with the Primal Wound
54:19
54:19
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
54:19
Rebecca Autumn Sansom is a New York documentary film maker whose latest offering, 'Reckoning with the Primal Wound' is the first film to explore Nancy Verrier's landmark book, 'The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child'. First published in 1993, Verrier's work remains the starting point for many adopted people when they begin to explore the…
…
continue reading
Today's guest is an author and adoptee who was born in Sydney's Crown Street Women's Hospital in 1965 where she remained for a month because of a mild talipes diagnosis. When released from the hospital she was placed in a foster care arrangement with her future adoptive parents for a period of twelve months, until the adoption was finalised. Karen …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Dr Gary Clapton - The Father's Experience (Part Two)
51:14
51:14
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
51:14
In the second episode of our interview with Dr Gary Clapton, Jo asks him about his adoption research, with a particular focus on fathers who lost children to adoption. Gary is a father who lost a daughter to adoption in 1970. He is also a social worker who conducts research into adoption at The University of Edinburgh and is a committee member of t…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Dr Gary Clapton - A Father's Story (Part One)
37:31
37:31
Spela senare
Spela senare
Listor
Gilla
Gillad
37:31
Dr Gary Clapton is a father who lost a daughter to adoption in 1970. He is also a Social Worker who conducts research into adoption at The University of Edinburgh and is a committee member of the Father's Network Scotland and an advisor to 'Birthlink'. In this episode Gary will be sharing his personal story with Jo Sparrow and in part two he'll be …
…
continue reading