Questions to ask in Adoption Interview

First, as the mommy to a medically complex little boy, you NEED to know his medical needs. Do not agree to parent him without knowing as much as you can. I'm not saying it would change your mind, but you need to feel prepared and that your family is well-equipped to meet his specific needs.So ask many, many questions about that. What did he do when as far as development, when did concerns for his condition first come about, what has been done so far to help him, etc. Ask to talk to all his professionals. Find out if he is progressing in all his therapies or is he "stuck" at a certain developmental age. If he's stuck, what do they think his prognosis is.Truly, I would just sit down and think of every possible question you have related to his medical condition and treatment. I personally had five pages of questions for my son's worker and foster parents.I would ask the foster parents why they are not interested in adoption, but some people wouldn't ask that.Ask for full disclosure of what happened to them to place them in care and what steps have been taken (therapy, or whatever) to help them cope.Ask about attachment, including asking about specific behaviors related to RAD.I can't think of anything else right now.And finally, be prepared that you won't know everything. Our son came to us with a six inch thick medical file, which included many things that may have scared most people away, but nothing about autism, something that would have scared us away. This morning he was officially diagnosed was autism, in addition to his six other diagnosis. So, I guess we will learn not to be scared away by autism, just as we learned not to be scared away by tube feeding or brain injury or vision impairment or anything else.

#1 How many homes has the child been in#2 Why was he moved#3 Try to talk to former fosterparents. Preferably not the ones the kid isliving with now. If they want him moved into a doptive home quickly they mightnot tell you all the truth, but the parents before that wiill.#4 Why is the current fosterparents not adopting#5 Is the child good with animals (regardless if you have animals or not ask)#6 How is the child with other kids, younger and older.#7 Why were they removed from bio family#8 Was there any family wanting to adopt (this could prevent surprise relativesdown the road)#9 Is the child in school, daycare, headstart. Try to see if you can talk to theteachers and see about the behavior or ask the SW about the childs behavior.#10 Does the child have any mental diagnosis or has the child been seeing atherapist.#11 Is there any family the child needs to remain in contact with#12 How does the child respond around large groups. Would the be ok in a bigfamily or small family#13 are there any medical concerns diagnosised or not diagnosised.#14 In Ohio we have help me grow not sure if that is national, but I would askif the child had been seen or evaluated by help me grow#15 What are the childs grades, any learnign disabilities, how is peerinteraction#16 for older kids - Do they want to be adopted#17 How long have you been this childs case worker so you can tell how long theyhave known the child.#18 What are the child's fears. (If they don't like women a single om would notbe best)#19 What are some triggers the child has for bad behavior or breakdowns (Like myformer foster son with touching of his head)#20 Any known substance abuse while mom was pregnant#21 what is the child personality, his favorite things, what makes him happy.You want to know all the good things along with the bad.