Special Needs (Glossary)

Special Needs: In reality, every child, and every parent for that matter, has a very special need for love, acceptance and a feeling of belonging from the other members of its family. When used in the context of adoption, the term "special needs" children generally refers to children that traditionally have been more difficult to place for adoption, because they are older, or have some form of physical, mental, emotional, or developmental challenge, or who are multi-ethnic or biracial children. This definition also includes children that are part of a sibling group that it is expected would do better if they were adopted together.