What comes to mind when you think of “special needs”? In the adoption world, a child with “special needs” is one with any condition or situation which makes them harder to place in a family. They could be a large sibling group, older, or simply boys. But most often, a “special need” refers to a medical or developmental condition. It might be an actual disability, it might be a condition that needs surgery but is correctable, such as cleft palate, it might be a risk factor such as extreme prematurity, prenatal drug or alcohol exposure, or it might be a developmental delay of unknown origin.
In our initial application packet from the agency was a form, double-sided and single-spaced in small print, listing various “special needs” and asking us to check “yes”, “no”, or “maybe” for whether we would accept a child with that condition. This form was very thorough and mentioned, it seemed, just about every conceivable medical condition. I will try to note which ones were on there, to give prospective adoptive families some idea. I will also try to note which ones seemed very frequent in the waiting child files we saw and in the waiting child flyers we still receive from adoption agencies.
In the U.S., the most common special need was being older and having experienced multiple moves. In the children from Asia, very many were low-birthweight. Cleft lip and palate or other facial deformity was also very common, as were minor heart defects. Alcohol exposure and developmental delays were common in children from Eastern Europe but a growing issue in children from Korea as well.
I’ve recently seen more case histories of children with Down’s Syndrome in international adoption lists. This is actually likely to be a positive development, as before these children were probably not put forward for adoption because the sending countries considered them unadoptable.
Other special needs I’ve seen include dwarfism, other genetic syndromes like Russell-Silver syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and eye conditions such as strabismus, hearing loss, cerebral palsy, and albinism.
Most adoption agencies and photolistings will provide websites where you can go to get information about the precise type of special need a child faces. Agencies will also encourage you to have the referral and medical history reviewed by a doctor who can consult with specialists to give you more information.
There are also whole organizations devoted to finding homes for kids with a certain type of special need, such as Deaf children, children with Down Syndrome, or children with albinism. Some people have experience of a certain condition in their family and feel they would be well suited to adopt a child with similar needs.
Please see these related blogs:
What Is An Adoption Doctor and Why Would I Need One?
What An Adoption Doctor Did for Us
Understanding The Terminology Used When Adopting