In the last post I mentioned comments from others like "why would you want someone else's problem" or "but you know there are no healthy babies". These show an attitude toward adoption in our current culture. All children who are in need of adoption have problems.
Well in part it is true. All children who face a loss of their birth parent, whether at birth, due to trauma and were removed from their home or placed in an orphanage in another country, are facing unique challenges and have special needs. To say that all children who are available for adoption have special needs does not mean that they are all in need of constant medical care or have insurmountable behaviour challenges. Many children who have faced the loss and trauma do have these types of special needs but there are many who do not.
Special needs can encompass a traumatic history, a need to build secure attachments, developmental delays, or siblings in different homes. I believe there is not a child who has had an adoption plan made for them that doesn't face loss. Even the infant placed immediately after birth will feel a loss of the mother who carried him in her womb.
Knowing that a child who is placed in your home will face unique challenges and have special needs can help direct you to the resources you may need to access. Being open to learning about how to parent your child and meet their needs will only help you in your journey together.
Not every child in care or who has an adoption plan in place for them will have significant medical or significant behavioural challenges. These children will face loss that is unique and have needs that are unique and being their parent requires an understanding and empathy for their story.
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