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Hello all -
Dh and i have always wanted to adopt and are now looking into doing so....
Dh was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 10 years ago. he was never hospitalized for it and never had major issues.
he is stable, educated, off medication and has a letter from his doctor saying that there is no reason for him not to be approved as an adoptive parent.
he has had a stable job for years and you would never know that he has this history if you spent a million hours with him....
for you professionals who do homestudies, would you feel that this would be a barrier to us being approved? any advice? thoughts? experience???
anxious to know what our chances are.....
julia
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I am sure there might be different reactions depending on the person doing the homestudy---as you must be aware by now---some people have negative reactions period!
I also think the "kind" of adoption you wish to achieve will also play a part---if you are wanting a newborn the birthmother often is the final one to decide vs. adoption through the state where caseworkers decide....
That having been said--My Dh and my biofather are both bipolar. We adopted through the state. My DH is medicated (and with true bipolar this might be an issue since most people with real bi-polar do need to continue with medications) I also have suffered since childhood with depression.
During our homestudy we were asked to undergo some additional mental health evealuations and testing---and under our circumstances we accepted this additional request with a happy attitude.
In the end when it came time for the STATE scocial workers to decide which of three families would adopt our two siblings we were chosen based on several reasons....but one of the bigs ones is that our children's biological mother has mental health issues that may or may not be genetic---we were seen as parents who would identify quickly any reasons to be concerned---seek help quickly knowing it cannot be ignored---and be compassionate understanding parents should our children develop a mental health issue......
Handle your situation with confidence--use the negatives about your life to let you be seen as people who are not judgemental...
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hi,
I think the fact that your DH is not on medication would be a big factor. I do know that bi polar that is not being treated with medication can cause some problems. Its not a temporary illness.
My question is that maybe your DH should get a second opinion, because if he has been off medication and is DX with bipolar, and has had no problems for a while, he might not be bipolar.
I guess the question should be "how long has he been off medication?" IF its been a long time, then he probably isnt even bipolar.
just an idea
dadfor2