The Gift of Faith by Amy Swigart.
I got a surprise on Facebook from a woman that I worked with over thirty years ago when she was just a little girl. Finding and contacting me could not have come at a better time. I was really questioning whether or not what I did made a difference, I was tired, run down, letting negativity creep in and just plain uncertain. Because of June contacting me, I was reminded that the work that we do, the time that we spend helping, does make a difference. We enter into people’s lives to assist. Sometimes we assume that it’s just a simple drop of water in a huge ocean. We question ourselves; do I really make a difference?
I would like to share this communication with you. My hope is to help individual service providers to know that what we do, no matter how small WE may think it is….DOES MATTER! We don’t get pats on the back, big raises, win academy awards or trophies. We don’t hear a stadium roar for what we do or have an audience scream our name. The work that we do is mostly unsung. That may be why we question our effectiveness or let our batteries run down. Sometimes we think that people don’t care about what we do.
I thought by sharing this, some batteries may be charged, and that we may be reminded that our work is very important! Every little drop that we contribute to that big ocean does MATTER!
As we celebrate the season of giving, myself and all of the professionals at Inspiring Change, LLC want to sincerely thank all service providers for the dedication, work, sacrifices, and expertise that they UNSELFISHLY provide to families.
My response is faith based and is strictly my view/practice as to how I perform. While this may be offensive to some, it is meant to show that even more than thirty years later, what we do does MATTER. Even though it may have seemed like our helping was only a little ripple in the huge ocean, what we do does make a difference. Thank you for reading this:

To Amy from June: I’ve wondered where this ANGEL went to…Many years ago…She was my caseworker. She saved my life. She did her job well. She actually cared for me. And for that I love her. I haven’t seen her since foster care. Been about 30 years. She took us to McDonalds for the very first time. We were so hungry. I can’t help but smile with tears in my eyes. She had to go into our home to find us clothes. We didn’t have any. Just what we had on. Which was rags. No undergarments. But she made sure we got some. Amy Swigart, if it’s the last thing I do on this earth I will hug u One more time. U see u were my angel.
Bless u
Juneann

To June from Amy: June what a wonderful surprise! I have to share something with you: Working as a Caseworker/investigator/therapist/probation officer takes a toll on us. We question, am I doing the right thing? Did I do that correctly? Did I ask the right questions to get the answers that I needed? Do I really make a difference? We second guess ourselves and question if we are truly helping and making a difference. What I continue to do every time I go into a home, interview a child, do a therapy session, I say a prayer:

Dear God, give me the wisdom, understanding, skills needed and the special Insight that I need to see what needs to be done to help this child and family. Bless me to say the words that this child needs to hear to know that it’s safe to talk and tell me their deepest darkest secret that they fear to tell anyone. Give me the courage and wisdom to say what is needed for the parents to hear and the courage to do what is needed to be done for these lost souls. Amen

I was an instrument of God that intervened for you. The Glory goes to God. Here is the real kicker June….when I recently let negativity enter into my mind and my heart I asked God for help, guidance and a sign. The next day when I checked my Facebook I could not have received a bigger sign or message from God. You said something that I needed to hear just at the perfect time that I needed. Wow! God really does work in mysterious ways!!!!

As we celebrate our faith during this season of giving: Please say a prayer to guide all professional helpers in their work and to know what they do does matter! Thank you for the service and work that you do.

If you would like to meet Amy Swigart or any of the other mental health professionals at Inspiring Change, LLC, please contact us using the form below, or send us an email from our ASK AN EXPERT page. As we continue to provide ‘all kinds of therapy for all kinds of people’, please know that YOU and our FAITH continue to INSPIRE us.

This is the second in a series of messages from the people that we serve. This was written in response to the documentary that aired recently on 20/20. Thank you for reading: The Gift of Perseverance.

I’m a 17 year old girl who was diagnosed with RAD around age 7. It’s a very hard thing to deal with in parent’s lives and in the kids who have been diagnosed. I’ve been struggling with it and I’m almost done with services, therapy because I’ve been overcoming RAD.

Now, RAD isn’t something that goes away, it never does. People with RAD have to work extra hard in everything they do especially relationships… You can’t change a RAD child but you can help them overcome it at a distance away, their goanna have to want to change and you can’t make them want to it’s something they have to want to do on their own. If you are constantly close to them it’s going to make the child lash out and push you away because they are scared of being too close to people from previous things in their lives.

My adoptive parents have been married for 27 years and it really tested how strong their marriage was by having a RAD child come into the picture. I used to hurt my parents on purpose when they got too close, comforted me or anything of that sort because I was scared of yet more rejection. I used to turn my mom and dad on each other because if I was miserable and scared they had to be too.

My mother went to bed every night crying herself to sleep. But that was years ago, I have a stable loving family who I can get close too, to some extent without lashing them and hurting them there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will be forever before you get to see the light. But if you keep working and parents understand how to cope with a RAD child it will be beneficial in everyone’s lives. A lot of people don’t know much about RAD and we need to get the word out.

At Inspiring Change, LLC,  trained mental health professionals can help you or a child that you love to deal more effectively with symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder…If you would like to make changes in yourself or your family, please contact us through this web site. You may use the contact form below, or use our ASK AN EXPERT page. We will get back to you immediately. Thank You!

Susan Roop, Amy Swigart and Susan Johnson are trained mental health professionals who help families to deal with childhood developmental trauma. For adoptive or biological families with children or adolescents who may be experiencing difficulty attaching with caregivers, we understand the anguish that comes from realizing that ‘love is not enough’. Contact us today so that we may help you and your family members connect with one another for a more enriched and stress-free life.