Lauren with her son adopted from Hong Kong on the day the adoption was finalized in court.
There is no denying the stress and challenges that often accompany living life with a disability or chronic illness. As a mom to a child with significant special needs, I am keenly aware of those daily challenges. With the support of family, however, many children born with special needs go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. But for children around the globe who live in orphanages and lack access to a family unit and good medical care, being born with special needs most often means a life-long sentence of institutionalization and neglect. My son was almost one such statistic.
In 2011, my family and I traveled to Hong Kong, China to adopt a four-year old child with autism and significant cognitive delay. After living in two different orphanages, international adoption was his last option before being sent to a mental institution to live out the remainder of his life.
UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 143 million orphaned children around the globe. There are no hard statistics on how many of those are special needs children.
Reece’s Rainbow, an organization that supports adoption of children with Down Syndrome and special needs, states that it has helped to place over 500 special needs children with families since 2006. Many organizations now advocate for the adoption of HIV+ children in Africa, where the number of such orphans is staggering. In China, it has currently been estimated that nearly 50% of adoptions can be labeled as special needs adoptions. In the US, it is estimated that 40-60% of children available for adoption through foster care have special needs, whether they be physical or emotional due to childhood trauma and multiple placements. Although there are no solid statistics of a global number, it is evident that there are many children with special needs around the world who are in need of families and support.
It should also be noted that UNICEF estimates that 90-95% of those 143 million global orphans are over the age of 5. As many adoption professionals would agree, any child who has lived for 5 years or more in an orphanage or unstable environment can be classified as a special needs child.
In fact, it is known from extensive research that for every three months in an orphanage, a child will lose one month of development. Inadequate care, lack of nutrition, little stimulation and too few caregivers are just some of the many reasons that living in an orphanage is far from optimal for a developing child. Research by adoption professionals has demonstrated that the developing brain is certainly affected by an environment of constant stress and neglect.
So if we consider that many children who are abandoned or relinquished around the globe were born with special needs, and that many of the current orphans world-wide could be considered special needs based on extended time in orphanages, we would find that the plight of the special needs orphan is extensive. Unfortunately, special needs children, especially older ones, can be hard to place with adoptive families. Many adoptive families wish to adopt a young, healthy child and may doubt that they could properly care for an older or special needs child.
Sadly, those of us in the international adoption community have heard the countless first-hand reports of orphanage volunteers and adoptive parents who have witnessed the complete lack of care of orphans who have aged out of the orphanage and are now living in mental institutions. Photos and personal stories sometimes grace the blogs of adoption advocates and can be profoundly disturbing and heartbreaking to read about. It is hard to imagine any child living in such awful conditions.
I could never do what you do,” is usually the first response from people who hear our adoption story. I am here to tell you that there is nothing particularly special about me. You could certainly do what I do. I have no special parenting skills, nor do I have any special training in regards to children with special needs. I also acknowledge, however, that adoption (especially a special needs adoption) is certainly not for everyone.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways that anyone can help with the plight of the special needs orphan. Many of the foundations and agencies that advocate for HIV+ and special needs orphans also have child sponsorship programs. Other organizations offer people the chance to help financially support the adoption process for special needs children.
Also, there are volunteer opportunities in orphanages that are specifically geared for caring for special needs children. If you truly wish to make a difference in the life of a special needs orphan, there are many ways to contribute besides adoption. I hope that in the future, you will consider lending your time or resources to helping these vulnerable children of the world.
This is an original post for World Mom’s Blog written by Lauren Beihoffer. Lauren is a lover of nature, an avid hiker and mama to two boys adopted from across the globe—one who happens to have autism. She is passionate about special needs adoption and the great outdoors.
You can find Lauren blogging about all of her adventures at http://hikebloglove.com where she hopes to inspire others to get outdoors and explore. She fiercely believes that adventure is for all.
Photo credit to the author.
Great post! Thanks for sharing your story and for pointing out that financial support and volunteers are needed, too. There are many ways to help.
Thanks! You are so right about that. I think people often aren’t sure or perhaps even aware about how to help. It’s important to know that anyone can, and just a little bit of help can make a huge impact!
-Lauren
Great post! Thanks for sharing your story and for pointing out that financial support and volunteers are needed, too. There are many ways to help.
Thanks! You are so right about that. I think people often aren’t sure or perhaps even aware about how to help. It’s important to know that anyone can, and just a little bit of help can make a huge impact!
-Lauren
What a beautiful post Lauren! It is amazing how many children with special needs are out there in the world and the opportunity they can receive by someone like you who welcomes them into their family. I also agree that there are many other ways you can help support these children through providing additional funding, education and care for them. Heartbreaking yet hopeful too.
Thanks Nicole! I am so glad that I can help spread awareness about this issue. There are so many ways people can help. I hope that more will consider donating their time and resources.
What a beautiful post Lauren! It is amazing how many children with special needs are out there in the world and the opportunity they can receive by someone like you who welcomes them into their family. I also agree that there are many other ways you can help support these children through providing additional funding, education and care for them. Heartbreaking yet hopeful too.
Thanks Nicole! I am so glad that I can help spread awareness about this issue. There are so many ways people can help. I hope that more will consider donating their time and resources.
Lauren, I don’t know what to say. I am so, truly inspired by you and your advocacy for orphaned kids. We have to talk and come up with ideas on how World Moms Blog can do more for orphans. I’m thrilled you have joined us as a regular contributor to our Social Good column! I feel really good about this!
Jen 🙂
I’m so happy to be a part of WMB! I would love to brainstorm ways that WMB can help!
Lauren, I don’t know what to say. I am so, truly inspired by you and your advocacy for orphaned kids. We have to talk and come up with ideas on how World Moms Blog can do more for orphans. I’m thrilled you have joined us as a regular contributor to our Social Good column! I feel really good about this!
Jen 🙂
I’m so happy to be a part of WMB! I would love to brainstorm ways that WMB can help!
A very Interesting Article and I am atsonished at how many children there are that need to be Adopted plus ones that have Special Needs… It is good to know that there are ways to be able to support the good works being done around the world to address this issue.. Your right tho, it is heartbreaking to hear some of the tragic stories, every child is so Precious they all deserve to have a loving Family, it is there Human Right….
A very Interesting Article and I am atsonished at how many children there are that need to be Adopted plus ones that have Special Needs… It is good to know that there are ways to be able to support the good works being done around the world to address this issue.. Your right tho, it is heartbreaking to hear some of the tragic stories, every child is so Precious they all deserve to have a loving Family, it is there Human Right….
Lauren — great blog! I, too, am always taken aback when people say they couldn’t do what I do (parent my daughter with developmental trauma issues who spent her first two years in an orphanage). I tell them that moms do what they have to do. But the truth is, there is something particularly special about you — your willingness to learn, research, think and apply what you learn to be a better therapeutic mom. It’s not an easy road — rewarding, but exhausting and sometimes very overwhelming. I’d like to add one more way that people can help – because adopting children with special needs (and many have special needs even if they’re not labeled such, for all the reasons you write above). Supporting adoptive families as they therapeutically parent their children can be a great way to help these vulnerable children. Just bringing a child home and loving them is often not enough. Supporting organizations that help adoptive families find resources, stay strong, get respite and opportunities for self-care is one thing your readers could consider doing. Post-adoption services and supports are generally lacking for families of children with trauma/attachment needs. The Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) is one such organization — parents helping parents who have taken on the challenge of parenting special needs orphans.
Lauren — great blog! I, too, am always taken aback when people say they couldn’t do what I do (parent my daughter with developmental trauma issues who spent her first two years in an orphanage). I tell them that moms do what they have to do. But the truth is, there is something particularly special about you — your willingness to learn, research, think and apply what you learn to be a better therapeutic mom. It’s not an easy road — rewarding, but exhausting and sometimes very overwhelming. I’d like to add one more way that people can help – because adopting children with special needs (and many have special needs even if they’re not labeled such, for all the reasons you write above). Supporting adoptive families as they therapeutically parent their children can be a great way to help these vulnerable children. Just bringing a child home and loving them is often not enough. Supporting organizations that help adoptive families find resources, stay strong, get respite and opportunities for self-care is one thing your readers could consider doing. Post-adoption services and supports are generally lacking for families of children with trauma/attachment needs. The Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) is one such organization — parents helping parents who have taken on the challenge of parenting special needs orphans.
Wonderful post. It is a shame that adoption can be so very expensive. As much as I would love to help a child – I love parenting and would certainly considering extending my home to a child in need – the money stands in my way. I know childless couples who are trying to adopt and wait for years, and have to save up thousands of dollars… so hard.
And there is definitely something special about you. Some people adopt children from overseas because they cannot have their own, but don’t consider the kinds of special needs that a child raised in an orphanage will come with. I know a lady who adopted two young children from South America, who is constantly exhausted and overwhelmed by the children. She told me once that she dreads Fridays and looks forward to Mondays, when the kids go back to school…
40-60% of children available for adoption through foster care have special needs
can you provide where you found this stat?
thank you
Hi Kristen,
I emailed you as well but felt it might be helpful to post the references here for others. These are just a few resources that might be helpful for explaining the estimate of 40-60%:
https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/federal-advocacy/Documents/FosterChildrenandtheHealthCareSystem.pdf
http://www.nacac.org/adoptalk/postadoptpaper.pdf
http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=40&articleid=132§ionid=866
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/specialneeds.pdf#page=1&view=Introduction
http://www.afamilyforeverychild.org/kids/SpecialNeeds.pdf