Dismiss Modal

Post-Adoption Clinical Evaluations


There are three (3) types of post-adoption evaluations that are offered through our medical clinic:

  1. Initial Assessment Visit(s) (scheduled within a few weeks of your arrival home)
    Please note: It is highly recommended that you schedule this appointment prior to your international trip as we tend to book up quickly.
  2. Follow-Up Visits based on child s needs (3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 yr and annually)
  3. Interdisciplinary Consultations (as needed)

Initial Assessment Visits (1 Session "Combined" Visit  or  2 Session Visit)

The focus of the initial assessment visit will be to comprehensively examine your child identifying any medical, developmental, and emotional issues. These visits are typically scheduled to begin 1-2 weeks after your arrival home with your new child. Ideally, we would like to see you before your initial visit with your primary care pediatrician. We will collaborate with your pediatrician to prevent redundancy in assessment lab-work. If you are from out of state or travel more than 3 hours to our clinic, we can complete your initial assessment in one lengthy clinic visit (this is termed a "combined visit").  If you need a combined visit, please make arrangements through our office prior to coming to the clinic. Otherwise the initial assessment visit will be divided into two separate clinic visits. Please give us a call at 205-638-6964 to schedule an initial assessment visit with us.

  • The first visit (Session 1) involves a comprehensive physical assessment, lab-work, and x-rays (if needed), all completed\ordered by our pediatrician. She will make appropriate referrals to subspecialist (if needed). This visit also includes a thorough assessment and recommendations from our Family Therapist, who specializes in helping adopted children integrate into their new families. The total time for this session visit can take up to 4 hours.
  • The second visit (Session 2) of the initial assessment visit occurs about 3 weeks later.  During this visit the pediatrician will review the results of your child's diagnostic testing\labwork, assess growth and nutrition and answer any questions you may have. You will also have a follow up consultation with our Family Therapist to assess the progress of integration within the family and continued concerns or questions regarding behavior/emotional needs. The Occupational\ Developmental Therapist will conduct a comprehensive developmental assessment with your child. This is typically about a 3 hour visit.

Follow-Up Visit

Following your child's Initial Post-Adoption Evaluation with the TAC, our specialists will request to see you back at specific times depending on your family and child's unique needs.

The monthly, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 1 year, and annual follow up assessments include a review of medical/nutritional, developmental/educational, and emotional/behavioral issues for your child. The length of time between follow-up appointments will be determined by our specialists at each visit and will vary due to the child and family needs. At each follow up visit, you may see the doctor and family therapist as well as the developmental specialist, if applicable.Please give us a call at 205-638-6964 to schedule an initial assessment visit with us.

Telehealth Appointments

We offer telehealth appointments to Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee residing families who cannot make it for a clinic appointment. We also offer “Welcome Home” telehealth appointments to Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee residing families to ensure that their child/children have the smoothest transitions while adapting to their new homes. Telehealth appointments are offered via Zoom. Telehealth appointment fees include a doctor copay, occupational therapy copay (with some insurances), and an out-of-pocket fee for a family therapy telehealth appointment. Please give us a call at 205-638-6964 to schedule a telehealth appointment with us.

Interdisciplinary Consult

If your child has been in your home for 1 year or more and is having difficulties academically, emotionally or with behavior, you may want to have an Interdisciplinary Consultation completed. The focus of this visit is to sort out what developmental or emotional difficulties may be hindering your child from reaching his/her greatest potential.

You and your child will have a consultation time with 3 specialists: Pediatrician, Developmental Specialist, and the Family Therapist.

Please give us a call at 205-638-6964 to schedule an initial assessment visit with us.

Phone Consults (MD, Family Therapist or Developmental Therapist)

In a situation where you are unable to attend a clinic visit or need immediate help, a phone consult is a good option for most families. Depending on your child's situation, you have the option to discuss medical issues with one of our doctors, behavioral/emotional issues with our family therapist, or developmental issues with our development specialist. These consults are all fee for service, there is no insurance billing. Please give us a call at 205-638-6964 to schedule an initial assessment visit with us.

Letter Services

There are a variety of situations that may warrant an official letter from our clinic, detailing adoption issues and providing education and advocacy for your child. If you are experiencing obstacles receiving developmental services, behavioral services, issues with care related to your child's school, and even some insurance coverage issues, these may be reasons to consider an official  letter from our clinic to those entities where you are experiences issues. If your future child has clinically documented urgent medical issues requiring expedited medical attention, we can provide an official letter to you for an expedient international adoption process. (Note- expedited adoption letters are only written for those who have used TAC for their international pre-adoption medical review).

Community Education

Our desire is to help provide another level of support to adoptive families through community education regarding the unique needs and demands of adopted children. We work closely with adoption agencies (both local and national), adoption advocates, and support groups to help meet the needs of families who have adopted. We are available to offer educational talks to schools, churches, pediatric practices or community organizations.  To request community education, contact our office at 205-638-6964 or email adoption@uabmc.edu.