It is not costly to adopt a child with special needs. Often the agency has a sliding fee scale, and frequently there is little or no cost. Following the adoption, the children may receive subsidies to cover the medical and other necessary expenses, although the family is still likely to incur costs for the child s on-going care. Kids who are no longer babies come with histories, fully formed personalities, and intense anger over what they ve lost. For an adopted child, forming a healthy identity requires incorporating two family legacies into his or her self-definition.
Children define family on the basis of their own personal experiences.
It shows that families may be different sizes or different ages. Learn as much as you can about normal adjustment issues, the lifelong core issues that affect adoptees, and trauma. Talk to experienced adoptive parents and ask about their experiences. Some people worry they will not be able to adopt due to being single sexed couples. Gay men and lesbians are adopting children with special needs in the U.S. as well as considering the adoption of younger children through private and international adoptions.