Article

This is something I just wrote that may potentially be put in our local newspaper for National Adoption Month.

Adoption in today’s world holds many different experiences for many different types of children. While the typical adoption of a newborn baby is still the most widely thought-of type of adoption, there are many other types that need to be recognized in order to find homes for waiting children. “Special Needs Adoption” is one example. Through my personal experience as an adopted child, I have been able to accomplish many things in life. I was adopted at the age of eleven. Before that, I had spent some time in foster care while parental rights were terminated on my biological mother. My past was not pretty and it made me a “hard to place” child, especially when you threw in the fact that I had two younger brothers who needed to be placed with me. When prospective adoptive parents think about their perfect adopted child, they usually do not picture a sibling group of three kids, none of them even close to babies or toddlers, who are dealing with issues stemming from years of abuse and neglect. Regardless, I needed a home, and I needed someone to go out on a limb and offer me that home. But, I didn’t need just anybody. I needed someone who was committed, someone who could understand that I was a wounded spirit who needed time to heal. This is not an easy task. It is a lifelong commitment to loving, nurturing, protecting and understanding a child who you have just met. I needed a parent. As a pre-teen I was beginning a hard time in my life and I had nobody to help me understand it. I was dealing with issues surrounding grief and loss and I had nobody to talk to about them. For years, I had been the caretaker to my younger brothers, having lost any sense of a normal childhood and I needed someone to take over that role so that I could begin to be a child. At the same time, I was dealing with a profound sadness over the loss of my biological family, because even though it was abusive and neglectful, it was the only family I knew. All this, wrapped into an eleven year old girl. I was not the poster child for adoption. But, maybe I should have been. There are so many children out there right now just like me. Waiting for someone to step up to the plate and bat for them. Older children do bring their own special needs with them into an adoptive home, but they can also bring lots of joy and happiness. Many people mistakenly believe that an older child could never bond with them, since they have so many memories of their biological family. I firmly disagree. I could not be more bonded to my adoptive mother if she had birthed me. Blood lines do not dictate our love for each other, we choose to love one another and that’s so special. Being adopted has meant the world to me. It means that my mother chose me as her own. If only more people were willing to do the same for all the waiting children.

Special Needs Adoption encompasses a wide range of children. I was considered special needs because I was eleven years old, Hispanic and part of a sibling group. Many other children fall into this category because they are older than eight (Caucasian children), older than one (African-American children), have emotional, physical or other needs, and/or are part of a sibling group. If you are interested in learning more about Special Needs Adoption, please visit All God’s Children, Inc.’s website at www.agcadoption.org or call 706-316-2421. To see a photolisting of waiting children in Georgia visit www.myturnnow.com. As an adoptee I urge everyone to search their hearts and see if this is something you feel called to do. Being a parent is the most important job one could ever have.