Special Needs Adoption

Adoptive couples who are looking to adopt an older child may request to be placed with a child with special needs. Special needs can be anything that makes a child more difficult to place than others. Some biracial children are considered special needs for placement reasons, other children may have special needs for developmental conditions or behavioral problems. According to the chartbook Adoption USA, adoptees are more likely than their peers to have ADD, ADHD, anxiety and depression. These problems.

Adopting children with special needs may take extra parenting effort and resources. While this may be easier for adopters who are more well off or qualify for federal aid, it's also good news for nontraditional adopters, who are less likely to be placed with infants or healthy older children due to prejudices against adopters whose lifestyle does not embody the widely accepted idea of a traditional family dynamic.

Nontraditional adopters are those who do not fit into the typical adoptive family. They may be single men or women, older couples, gays and lesbians, in the military or have a disability. Special needs adoption is equally popular for international nontraditional placements.

Federal and state aid is sometimes awarded to the children and adoptive families of special needs adoption as a way to increase incentive for placing hard-to-place children. This aid includes reimbursements for home studies as well as negotiations for future medical assistance.