This type of "preparation" for medical issues in adoption is difficult to help you with, but it's a question we have been getting more frequently of late.

Here's the difficulty.  Only with decently clear info about a specific child can the doctors really give you clear guidance and preparatory advice.  For example, even if you were to say, "I can handle the care of a child with a birthmark," you might later consult on a specific child and find out that this particular birthmark is not just cosmetic but is associated with a genetic syndrome or disorder which includes many health care issues for which you are not prepared or able to parent.

If you must "submit a list of medical issues that we would accept", I would recommend that you speak candidly with your agency about the ultimate necessity to consider each child individually.  Please make sure the agency and the country will tolerate your need to do a medical consult to help you understand the individual child.  If you decline a child with a medical condition listed on your approved list, will this be held against you?

So, what do you do, short of going to medical school, to understand the enormous variation of special needs?  I would probably use the internet, even though we generally say beware!  Please remember that the internet is not always 100% accurate, nor without bias or hidden agenda, but you can certainly read informational websites which will describe the generalized course of care for children with specific conditions.  I would start at our website  as our doctors have written a lot here and have trusted resource links, too.  Websites hosted by well-known national societies and associations would be a better mainstream resource for you than a personal blog, but if nothing else, the latter will give you hints into the variation of familial response to special needs children.

Sometimes a sense of whether a special needs issue may be right for your family is about gut reaction, too.  Would a possibility of heart surgery be affordable and emotionally possible for you?  What if there would likely be many heart surgeries?  Are you still comfortable?  Do you live in an urban setting with surgeons, therapists, and special educational programs or would there be excessive travel for all of your special needs care?

I hope this answer is helpful, even though it clearly doesn't give you the answers you sought.  Perhaps after you have done some preliminary digging around, you might let us know if there are any issues that our coordinators could help clarify for you.

Thanks so much and good luck!!

Last updated on May 5, 2007 by Cyndi Musar