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Many with disabilities qualify to adopt children. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects against discrimination, and court rulings prevent adoption agencies from "routine exclusion of prospective parents based on disabilities." However, that does not mean that every person with disabilities will qualify.Madelyn Freundlich of Children's Rights (and former executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute) writes that "[c]ategorical rejection of individuals with disabilities as prospective adoptive parents on such bases as blindness, deafness, HIV infection, or history of drug use and treatment will violate the ADA and expose adoption agencies to liability."In her book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Adoption", author and adoptive parent Chris Adamec advises those with disabilities who are seeking to adopt to stay focused on the options open to them and not take initial resistance as a personal affront. Openness about limitations arising from the disability is of utmost importance, as is a discussion of the way they are handled. And adopters with disabilities should know that they are not limited to adopting a special needs child.According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, an individual is considered "disabled" and is protected from discrimination if:* he/she has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life abilities, or* he/she has a record of such an impairment, or* he/she is regarded as having such an impairment, which includes- * when an impairment is treated as if it limits major life abilities, or- * limited abilities as a result of attitudes of others about the impairment, or- * when no impairment exists but the individual is treated by others as though it does."Major life abilities include" such things as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.If you are an American with disabilities, you probably already know about protection against discrimination offered to you by the ADA. And if you're in another country, be sure to learn the laws that protect your rights to pursue adoption if you want.To contact the ADA:1-800-514-0301 (voice)1-800-514-0383 (TDD)
Last update on April 27, 2:07 pm by Miriam Gwilliam.
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I have been diagnosis with PTSD and depression since 1991. I have had medication free periods during that time and have not needed any since Jan 2005. I have gone to counseling for my problems and have worked really hard to overcome this but there are still times when have depression. My flashbacks and PTSD have pretty much been nonexistent since 1999. I am now working on getting back to work and do part-time work from home doing medical billing and coding for a couple of local doctors. My question is: Do I have any chance of adopting either domestic or international? I am single and have no children. Also, I have been getting disablity checks since 1991 and want to work up to full time employment so that I can be financially independent again and not have to rely on SSD.
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Why not emphasise "people' first rather than say 'disabled' persons. We, who are disabled, are PEOPLE with disabilites.
This issue raises the following question for me.
There are no guarentees that an adoptive parent will not experince a disability after adopting a baby.
If the thinking is that people with disabilities are not suitable parents, what happens in the situation where an adoptive parent becomes disabled?
People with disabilities can have their own children.
Just look at British Artist, Alison Lapper.
Thanks for your comments and you're absolutely right about the qualifier "disabled" so I've changed the text. I don't believe the thinking is that people with disabilities are not suitable parents, and the thrust of information out there is that it is, indeed, illegal to categorically deny people with disabilities the opportunity to adopt.
When courts entrust the life and well-being of a child to adoptive parents, I believe their rulings are made on the basis of the child's best interests - at that time and *hopefully* (in all cases) well into the future. Certainly no one can foresee what that future will bring... people become disabled, die, couples divorce, etc.
There are many with disabilities who have adopted and will adopt in the future; however, I do believe that we still have a long way to go in understanding the limitations that some disabilities present - and do NOT present.
disabilities do not have to 'limit' anything if there is a physically barrier free society.
Mothers who are physically disabled can conceive and give birth to children. Their children are not taken away from them.
Yet children are given to couples who only want to adopt to try to heal their infertility.
Adoption does not cure infertilily.