Meet The Allens

The Allen family joined the F&ST program in hopes of strengthening the relationship between the eldest son and the dad. The parents were not sure exactly what was pushing the son away from the dad. They of course thought that it was due to the fact that they had recently adopted him and that he was having some challenges adapting.

The son did not enjoy doing any of the F&ST activities with the dad, that is, until dad changed his approach. Dad started to listen more, and talk less. Consequently the son began to look forward to attending F&ST with his family. A few weeks later, the son disclosed to dad that he was being bullied at school. Together they created a plan on how he can deal with the bullying. The bullying presentation for the F&ST families was soon approaching, and the parents were happy that their son would be able to gain more information. To everyone surprise, he shared his bullying experience with everyone, and moved from being a victim of bullying, to becoming an advocate against bullying.

In addition to the son’s success, the parents experienced their own success through the F&ST program. The Parent Group had provided a safe space for them to share their struggles of adoption and the poor bond between father and son. As a result, they were able to implement new techniques with their son and they also gained friends from the program, whom they now go out with regularly and schedule play dates for their children!