Special Needs?!?!

A lot of the children that are in foster care are termed special needs.  Many of them do have some type of emotional issues but there not all as horrific as you would imagine.  When I heard the words “special needs” I was scared of what I might end up having to deal with.  In this post, I would like to tell you the reality of the special needs children I adopted.

My 3 year old is a ball of energy.  He’s bright, funny, and very outgoing!  He was placed into my home right out of the hospital at the age of 1 week.  He was termed special needs only because he was in care 2 years before his adoption proceedings began.  That’s it!  He was in my home his entire life, he has no emotional or behavioral issues and he was not traumatized because of a horrific event that might have happened in his life.  He is a normal, happy 3 year old.

My 5 year old was 1 when he came into care.  He was placed at another foster home before ours.  That family had a hard time dealing with him and asked that he be moved.  He has been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder as well as ADHD.  He was diagnosed at age 3, which is surprising to everyone.  He’s had severe behavior and emotional issues since he was placed into my home.  He has been through several daycares and schools because the schools were not equipped to deal with a child that had special needs like my sons.  Because of multiple reasons, our 5 year old was not released for adoption until he was 5.  He was in care much longer than most children normally are.  This had a great effect on our family as a whole.  Because we had to operate within the DFCS (Department of Family and Children Services) system that meant a lot of red tape and hoops to jump through.  It meant well-meaning caseworkers were pushing for him to be medicated before we were ready because the doctor offered it as a viable option.   When dealing with the foster care system you find that everyone has a different opinion and everyone thinks they are right but in the end, you’re the one that has to deal with the child!  J   When we decided to adopt our son we knew what all of his issues were and decided to move forward.  He is a joy and I wouldn’t have done anything different! He is one of the smartest children in his class and he has a wonderful sense of adventure.  We have no issues in the home environment but are still working out the kinks of school but the solutions we have put in place to help our son have greatly increased the possibility of a normal, productive, life. A life he might not have been able to have if someone didn’t take on the challenge of adopting a special needs child.

If you’re thinking of adoption I urge you to take a look at these children whom they title “special needs”.  Many of them have just been in the system for long periods of time or have emotional or behavioral problems that are not unsolvable. By giving these children a loving, stable environment you give them a chance at a  wonderful, normal life!

What do you think about special needs adoption?  Do you have any adoption stories?  Please share them by leaving me a comment!