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Welcome to The Adoption Clinic

The mission of The Adoption Clinic is to serve the initial and ongoing medical, developmental and emotional needs of adoptive parents and their children from around the world. We are a non-profit clinic located at Children's South in Birmingham, Alabama. We are staffed with professionals with a love for children who have been orphaned and a desire to see them accepted into loving and well-equipped families.

Every member of our team has a connection to orphans/adoption either through personal work in orphanages, adoption agencies, personal adoption experience or travel abroad to do mission work. Our interdisciplinary clinic includes pediatric medicine/pediatric nursing, occupational/developmental therapy, family therapy and audiology. We provide comprehensive medical services (both pre and post adoption). Families throughout the United States and abroad contact our office to receive Pre-adoption Medical Reviews by Dr. Jennifer Chambers or Dr. Carin Richard Kiser. Our services continue throughout the adoption process and beyond to assist parents in their journey through the international adoption experience. The Adoption Clinic has been helping adoptive families since 2002. During this time we have served the needs of children from over 55 different countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Guatemala, Peru, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Ethiopia, Uganda and many, many more.

If you would like to make a difference in the lives of hundreds families built through adoption, consider making a donation to The Adoption Clinic.

Donate to The Adoption Clinic


Subscribe to Our Newsletter

or send us an email at adoption@uabmc.edu

Download the Adoption Clinic Newsletter (Spring Edition) – (PDF)


Download Adoption Clinic Brochure

Contact Us

Reach out to us and find out where we are located

Front of The Adoption Clinic.

Clinic Location

The Adoption Clinic is located in the Children’s South building which is south of downtown Birmingham. It is at this location that we see all of our patients coming for post-adoption medical, developmental, and/or social assessments.

Children's South Location
1940 Elmer J. Bissell Road
Birmingham, AL 35243

Phone: 205-638-6964
Fax: 205-638-2095

Printer-friendly map version (PDF)

Business Office

Our administrative offices are located on the Children’s of Alabama campus in downtown Birmingham. You may send any important documents or mailings by postal service to this location. Please note that we do not see patients here.

The Adoption Clinic
1600 7th Avenue South, CPPI Suite 302
Birmingham, AL. 35233

Phone: 205-638-6964
Fax: 205-638-2095

Email: adoption@uabmc.edu

Donate to The Adoption Clinic

Directions to Children's South


From I-65 North take Exit 250 to the right and bear right onto I-459 North (Atlanta/Gadsden). Take Acton Road Exit 17 to the right and turn left onto Acton Road. Go under the interstate and at the second traffic light turn right onto Elmer J. Bissell Road. The building will be on the left.

From I-65 South take Exit 250 to the right and bear left onto I-459 North (Atlanta/Gadsden). Continue as indicated above.

From 280 East and West take the I-459 South Exit (Montgomery/Tuscaloosa). Go 2 miles and take Acton Road Exit 17 to the right. Turn right onto Acton Road and at the second traffic light turn right onto Elmer J. Bissell Road. The building will be on the left.

From I-459 North take Action Road Exit 17 to the right. Turn left at Acton Road, go under the interstate and at the second traffic light turn right onto Elmer J. Bissell Road. The building will be on the left.

From I-459 South take Acton Road Exit 17 to the right. Turn right onto Acton Road and at the second traffic light turn right onto Elmer J. Bissell Road. The building will be on the left.

Our Services

Online Seminars: Domestic Seminar

If you are going through a domestic adoption process and would like further education on medical, developmental, and emotional topics to be prepare your home for a child, this is a great option for you. Our team at TAC has created a convenient, online option of our seminar just for domestic adoptive families. Once you complete the registration and payment process, you will be given access to video lectures. Upon completion of each lecture, you will be given a certificate of completion for your adoption agency/workplace.

Available to you online:

  • Expectations and realities

    • Dr. Jennifer Chambers

    • Provides you a realistic overview of what to expect with a domestic adoption

  • Essential of Adoption Medicine

    • Dr. Carin Kiser

    • Geared towards families adopting all ages

  • Ages and Stages

    • Amy Elmore, BS, OTR/L

    • Information on how to provide the best care for your child as your child grows

Meet Our Team

The Adoption Clinic is staffed with professionals who have a love for children who have been orphaned and a desire to see them accepted into loving and well-equipped families.

 

Physicians

The Adoption Clinic is staffed with professionals who have a love for children who have been orphaned and a desire to see them accepted into loving and well-equipped families. Most of us have worked in orphanages, adoption agencies, participated in foreign missions or have personal adoption experiences. We provide comprehensive interdisciplinary services including: pediatric medicine, pediatric nursing, developmental therapy, occupational therapy and family therapy. We also collaborate with multiple subspecialist in the pre and post adoption process to provide the most comprehensive care available to our families.

The Developmental Specialist

Our therapist will perform a comprehensive developmental assessment on your child to determine if your child is progressing at an appropriate rate as compared to the typical internationally adopted child. She will determine if and when your child needs extra support to accomplish developmental milestones, speech needs and/or scholastic placement.

Due to the unique needs of adopted children, is often difficult to decide what therapy or educational setting is best for your child. The developmental specialist will help you sort this out. She serves as an educator (on adoption) for therapists and teachers that may take part in your child’s care. She is also available to help with Individual Educational Programs should they be necessary. Language and cognitive skills are screened and additional therapy referrals are made when necessary.

The Family Therapist/Adoption Social Worker

Our therapist will assess your child for behavioral/emotional/attachment concerns that are frequently experienced post adoption. She can also help parents see which behaviors are appropriate for your child’s age/stage of development and how adoption-related issues may begin to integrate into your child’s emotional/social development.

She will give you recommendations on handling emotional issues the child may be facing as well as make referrals to local counselors when appropriate. She may also provide education on adoption to the schools and therapists who take part in your child’s care.

 

Learn More About Our Adoption Team

Learning Difference Assessments

 

Does your child seem incredibly bright, yet struggles in school? One possibility for this disconnect is a difference in learning styles. In the general population globally, about 1 in 5 people (20%) learn differently from their age matched peers. They often experience difficulty with reading (Dyslexia), difficulty in math (Dyscalculia), difficulty in penmanship, spelling and communicating their thoughts on paper (Dysgraphia) or maybe even all three (Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia). This difficulty stems from an alteration in the neural pathways of the brain which re-route information to the right side of the brain instead of the left side where most learning takes place. In the general population, it is an inherited difference and requires a unique style of academic intervention.

In the adoption world, the frequency of learning differences is exponentially higher. It may be as high as 40%–50% or even more. While some of our children’s struggles may indeed be inherited, the more likely causes are: life disruptions, lack of early engagement with caregivers, lack of intellectually stimulating play and emotional distress, all of which can cause an alteration in development of neural pathways. Many of our children experience anxiety, depression and other emotional factors post adoption that contribute to learning struggles.

At The Adoption Clinic, we offer services to help identify the specifics of your child’s struggles from an adoption perspective. We are experienced in sorting out what is emotional and adoption related as well as where the deficits are in the learning process. A Learning Difference Assessment is a multistep process. First, we will see your child in clinic to assess for health (including vision and hearing) and emotional wellness. We will want to address any ADD/ADHD, or emotional factors first. Then we will make recommendations and a referral for a Learning Difference Assessment.

Top 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Ahead of Time

 

We have talked with hundreds of families over the years. In our discussions, we have found some common threads regarding things they wish they had known prior to coming home. We thought it would be helpful to share their experiences and offer some advice in preparation for your journey home.

 

Download the PDF

Events

Come join us in our upcoming events

Domestic Adoption–Online Seminar

Attention all families pursuing domestic adoption! We have an online seminar just for you. 
Learn more about our online domestic seminar.


Online Seminars–Adoption Bootcamp

If you and your family/friends are unable to attend one of our live Adoption Bootcamp Seminars, there is another option available to you via our Adoption Bootcamp Online Seminar. Learn More.

Need Adoption Financial Assistance?

 

Adoption costs can be expensive, and we want to provide you with resources from our friends at the Sparrow Fund, Show Hope, and Lifesong.