Cv2019
November 27, 2019 20:19
I am partially sighted. My first social worker was very concerned that I would lost my child hahaha. I had to stop my adoption process because I was in treatment for macular degeneration. My husband and i were in this process for 3 years until adoption panel. We had 3 social workers. We were approved and 4 months later we accept to foster for adopt a new born girl. Dont be intimidated for the social workers. They are going to doubt you until they see you are capable. I can say it was very difficult to care for my daughter until she was 3 months old. She had NAS and was difficult to feed and to sleep. She is 11 months old now and doing well. I was thinking about give up adoption because it was very stressful. My husband said he'll be there and he was. I have to say I am very glad I decided to go ahead. In fact only one social worker doubt about me. I believe it will be good for you to read about children with NAS and FAS because you have to be prepared for the adption process. You need a strong support network, be prepared to show you have many friends and family to support you and everything will be fine. Good luck.
PaintedLady
December 3, 2019 07:05
My husband is disabled and there have been many questions along the way. There has been additional medical information sought from my husband’s GP. But there seems to be no issues. My few bits of advice would be to try and get in as much childcare experience as you can. This will enable you to prove to your social worker of your abilities, work out things you struggle with and this should help you to find ways to combat it and take it back to your social worker. Be confident in yourself. You know your abilities better than any social worker/medical advisor so stand your ground. Make sure you have an amazing support network around you and make sure there is always someone on hand if you need them. Do your own risk assessment. What if you can’t do this? What would you do? It all shows determination and that you have thought about it. Plus you are proving that you take it seriously and are thinking about how you can meet the needs of a child. The best piece of advice I can give is to find an agency that understands you. One that wants to work with you and not against you. I hope this helps
PaintedLady
December 7, 2019 18:05
We didn’t really have to find an agency that suited us from the disability side as the adoption process is pretty much the same with every agency. The medical side of things is dealt with you GP/specialist and the agency’s medical advisor. The medical advisor will be in charge of collecting all the information and any additional information that they may need to make a decision. I hope this is some sort of help
3girlstogether
February 8, 2020 08:27
I am an adopter who has become disabled. It is a shame that some SWs have such a limited opinion of people with disabilities. I have been dealt with very badly by post adoption 'support' unfortunately. It sounds like you are doing all the right things to prepare yourself. Personally I think going with someone like Barnardos or another VA rather than an LA may be more helpful. Others may disagree though.