Adopting child whose birth mom has history of mental illness

Hello, My wife and I are faced with the possibility of adopting a child whose birth mom was found to be mildly mentally retarded. Her mom and other relatives were found to also have similar issues including schizophrenia. We are unsure what this will mean for the child and what we should know before proceeding. Please, any information is appreciated.

Hello, My wife and I are faced with the possibility of adopting a child whose birth mom was found to be mildly mentally retarded. Her mom and other relatives were found to also have similar issues including schizophrenia. We are unsure what this will mean for the child and what we should know before proceeding. Please, any information is appreciated.

Hello, My wife and I are faced with the possibility of adopting a child whose birth mom was found to be mildly mentally retarded. Her mom and other relatives were found to also have similar issues including schizophrenia. We are unsure what this will mean for the child and what we should know before proceeding. Please, any information is appreciated.

I personally would get a complete family medical history for the child you are considering and then go meet with a geneticist. Then you will know the risks and can make a well thought out decison that must include taking into consideration the impact on any other children you have or hope to have, on how they will be impacted growing up with a sibling with mental illness. Kind regards,Dickons

We are adopting a two yr old from foster care. Her bioMom has an IQ of 75 and the GrandMom has a lower IQ as well. Both went to Special Ed classes in school. The baby came into care because of a domestic violence call. Mom tried to work her plan, but doesn't understand that she must go to work everyday, or feed the baby on time, or change the diaper, etc. She just can't keep up with those things. She has the IQ to work a regular job, just not the ability to maintain the schedule. We know very little yet about bioDad, except that his IQ is within the lower normal range, but not low enough for Spec. Ed. The baby just turned two and we have had her since she was 18 months. She shows not signs of any type of mental deficit what so ever. She is completely on target for her age on all the tests she has been given. For you, the background of schizophrenia is the part I would want to know more about and is it true schizophrenia( being diagnosed by Dr) and what type of treatment has been done with those affected in the family. Are they males or females and at what age was onset. At onset, where the people given treatment right away or was it ignored. Definitely get as much medical info about the family as possible and talk with a dr familiar with those issues.

Our kids have similar histories. So far, all of them are within the normal range of IQ and have no signs of mental illness. Some do have learning disabilities, but that doesn't stop them from making honor roll. SOMETIMES, low IQ and mental illness can be triggered by the environment. The behaviors are learned and mimiced more than genetic.

All three of our children have similar medical histories. They are all developing normally. The older two are entering 1st grade and are at or above grade level. They are actually very fast learners. Just very...active! I think lovemy6 said it best, environment is a HUGE contributor to IQ and mental health. It has been scientifically proven that childrens' brains develop differently when in a neglectful environment. As for schizophrenia, I have 4 of them in my family! Drug abuse seemed to agravate the severity of the illness in 3of them. My grandmother was not diagnosed until 60 yrs old when she had a mental break. She raised 6 children by herself! (her kids remember a few instances growing up that were, well, strange. But, all 6 of her kids are healthy and happy adults and were never abused) So, the illness is just not as scary to me because these people are my family. When they are on their meds they are very likeable ,normal people (and extremely intelligent). You will really never know what issues could surface later on in life. My husband and I have always joked that if we had a biological child, they would be more likely to have mental illness than any of our adopted kids! You could also adopt a child with NO history of mental illness or low IQ and THEY could end up being mentally ill and learning disabled! Just my opinion. You and your wife have to do what you feel at peace with. Advice is great, but listen to your own hearts.

I am so happy to have found this post! My baby's biomom has mental illness; she self-reported to be bipolar, but another source reported her to be schizophrenic. I knew about the bipolar; the news about the schizohprenia was very upsetting. Of course, neither diagnosis has documented proof of being accurate. And her drug addiction complicates matters. Its difficult to know what came first- the addiction or the mental illness, and, its difficult to stay compliant with your meds when your are high on drugs! I've done the research...there are identical twin studies where both twins DO NOT develop schizophrenia, so a purely genetic link cannot be established; yes, a genetic link raises your risk of developing the illnesses, from about 1% of the population to between 10-20%; I agree with lovemy6 and myforeverkids3- environment can be a big factor in IQ and mental health. On an interesting aside: my baby had his 18 month check-up and I was chatting with the doc, sharing what I learned about his birthmom. A bit later in the conversation, he asks how the baby behaves. I replied "good!", and the doc says, "well, that is good, because it seems he will be quite a handful in the future!". :eek: WHAT???? Do you have a magic ball to see into the futute, there, doc? As my sister said, when I relayed this conversation to her later, "can we kick him just ONCE in the b*lls?". Lets just say I will NOT be seeing THAT doctor again! My baby's genetics are what they are; I love him and would not trade him for the world. He is the most precious gift I have ever received. God brought him to me. I would rather have information about this so I can be proactice, rather than reactive. But, this does not mean I don't worry about him and his future. But, what mom doesn't worry about there kid? Best of luck with your decision!

You will learn to cope with whatever issues your child has. We adopted a sibling group of 6 through the state. We were not told of all the mental health issues with the parents. I think mostly b/c they didn't know the extent of it. They assumed their issues were just low IQ and it turns out Schezophrenia is on both sides. So far we have 2 with it and are on our seats about a third. I will not tell you our life is easy or what we saw for our future. It is tough, it is what it is. I wouldn't trade them for all the wining lottery tickets in the world. I talk about how we cope and what works for us on my blog. [URL="http://tudusamom.blogspot.com/2009/06/warning-patches-letting-me-know-she-is.html"]This one shows a small portion of a minor episode looks like.[/URL] Her behavior and symptoms are increasing to a very scary level. I recently had to take her for a CAT scan b/c she bangs her head so hard. She tries to cut herself, she feels people care always out to get her, she has her own rules that we all MUST follow, she is triggered by many unknown things due to PTSD, and she has these episodes for minor infractions. That is just this child, my other isdifferent. His hallucinations are terrifying to him and the rest of the family. He thinks people aretouching him and grabbing him. I adore them both. When they aren't psychotic, they are sweet and caring towards me. They are fun and entertaining. They are a joy. I can't say I would choose to parent a child with this illness, I can say I would choose to parent my children.

For you, the background of schizophrenia is the part I would want to know more about and is it true schizophrenia( being diagnosed by Dr) and what type of treatment has been done with those affected in the family. Are they males or females and at what age was onset. At onset, where the people given treatment right away or was it ignored. [url=http://www.brainhealthandpuzzles.com/history_of_IQ.html]Brainhealthandpuzzles - History of IQ[/url]