Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has asked for a genetic test before being matched for a child. We're considering a child at the moment, whose birth mother has considerable learning disabilities. We understand there may be a risk of ad having some degree of LD but we are considering asking to test for Fragile X, as this may be too much for us to take on with two birth children already.
Genetic screening is a lengthy process - very long waiting lists to be seen, then another long wait for the result. And I imagine even longer in the current Covid climate.
Might be worth trying to find out whether there are other siblings and asking how they’re doing if that’s the case.
But honestly it will take too long so if you’re unsure - and it’s perfectly okay to have doubts - then best to say so. Might be that this just isn’t the right match for you or the child.
When we were waiting for our second child, we had to say no to a couple of links for very similar reasons.
However bear in mind though that if you’re adopting a young child then you may not have the full picture anyway. We now have two out of three diagnosed ASD - not exactly our plan but in reality more manageable than other difficulties.
Good luck
Also bear in mind that even if the test is negative there may still be considerable learning difficulties - for whatever reason - and not everything can be tested for. Has it been specifically linked to fragile X? If so it may be worth asking but is likely to take a long time and if not would they agree to it anyway? There’s always a huge degree of uncertainty and if in doubt it’s best to say no.
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