Reply to Would you adopt a child with Down Syndrome?

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Reply to "Would you adopt a child with Down Syndrome?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Down Syndrome can be comorbid with autism. Serious heart defects affect 50% of those born with Down Syndrome who also have a much greater chance of being diagnosed with leukemia than people without Down Syndrome. There is no guarantee, despite high-quality therapy and educational programming, that any person with Down Syndrome will become functionally independent, and whatever s/he has achieved in the realm of functional ability will likely diminish because people with Down Syndrome have a high probability of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's somewhere between age 40 and 50 (and I haven't even touched upon the "minor" issues that can come with Down Syndrome, such as thyroid and intestinal problems, celiac disease, issues with sight and hearing, low muscle tone, etc.).

In this light, there is a very good chance that the OP's financial, emotional and psychological resources will necessarily be centred upon meeting the needs of the child with Down Syndrome if she adopts him/her. And while some people with Down Syndrome are cheery and loving, it is a myth that all people with Down Syndrome are sweetness and light in disposition. Some become depressed in adolescence and adulthood as they become aware of their limitations and the fact that what is achievable for ppl. without Down Syndrome will never be achievable for them. Many have serious behavioral issues which understandably interfere with their ability to create and sustain meaningful relationships with other people. Those people with Down Syndrome who appear in the media are rare in the sense that they represent the 1% of people with their condition who are both extremely high-functioning and relatively healthy. Therefore, it is statistically likely that adopting a child with Down Syndrome will bring unending stress without any compensating factors not only into the OP's life but more pertinently into her existing child's life. I speak from personal experience in observing that parents with severely disabled children tend to identify with the latter to the point that their outlook loses all perspective--such that they have very little empathy for or willingness to meet the needs of their non-disabled children who consequently suffer from anxiety and depression as a result of experiencing the stress of living in a family where their sibling's needs dictate the psychological and emotional atmosphere of family life, as well as its routines and limitations.

In short: the OP owes her existing child a happy, stable upbringing and the opportunity to make his/her own life choices. Adopting a child with Down Syndrome will disrupt her existing child's life, destabilizing his/her emotional and psychological security and, unless the family is wealthy, also jeopardize the latter's ability to choose his/her own adult path. As another poster has said, "it is selfish to consider adopting a SN child without seriously thinking through the impact of that adoption on the child that you have."  [b]+1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 re: that perspective[/b][/quote]

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