Help for the Hopeless Child: A Guide for Families
An intelligent and insightful book that examines the special problems of the post-institutionalized child.  Dr. Federici's personal and professional experience with this population adds a dynamic dimension to this work which reaches well beyond a dry medical text.  --Lois Hannon and Thais Tepper, Co-Directors, Parent Network for Post-Institutionalized ChildFor most adoptive parents, the addition of a new child to the family is one of life's high points.  Sadly, this joy is not a universal experience.  Children who have suffered extreme deprivation and/or abuse within institutional care settings often arrive with a spectrum of problems that overwhelms most parents.  As a drowning person reaches for a lifeline, parents of severely disturbed post-institutionalized children should reach for this book.  Guided by his extensive professional and personal experience with these "hopeless" children, Dr. Federici helps parents navigate through the complexities of medical and behavioral services for children with complex problems to help their child reach his or her full potential.  --Dana E. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Division of Neonatology, Co-Director, International Adoption Clinic, The University of Minnesota Hospital and ClinicI feel privileged to call Dr. Ronald Federici my friend.  I have traveled with Ron to Romanian orphanages on two occasions this past year and his work is remarkable.  His drive to save the lives of the "the forgotten" is inspirational.  After reading his book I am convinced that families and adoption professionals all over the country will get the passion that flies off of every page.  Ron's efforts to save children who ordinarily would have been abandoned is truly unique.  His depth and breadth of experience with older adopted institutionalized children has served to help thousands of families over the last 10 years.  No one knows the effects of institutionalization on the neuropsychological development of children like Dr. Federici.  His guidelines for evaluating and managing newly adopted institutionalized children are invaluable to adoptive parents and adoption professionals.  We thank you Ron! --Dr. Jane Ellen Aronson, Director, International Adoption Medical Consultation Services, Chief, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Health Sciences Center-Stony Brook, Winthrop-University Hospital