Adoption can be an uphill climb when the parent or parents have a disability!
Adoption can also be a beautiful event
Click here to listen to Rainey;s interview
Adoption can be scary
Adoption for parents with disabilities can be a complicated task. Negative social stigmas and bias have always created obstacles for people with disabilities. Of all the minority groups, people with disabilities face the most opposition. Several decades ago, adoption for people with special needs was improbable and frustrating. The process involved red tape, long delays, social service workers, and just about every obstacle you could think of. It is a costly process as well. Social service and childcare workers carefully review the and background of prospective parents. In addition, parents with disabilities face a higher risk of losing custody of their children during a divorce. Unfortunately, that fact has not changed.
Adoption is often full of adversity. Never give up!
The good news is that adoption for parents with disabilities has made progress through the years. Finally, there are many agencies standing by willing to assist in this very daunting process. In addition, there are also many social media groups online desirous to offer support and information. Potential adoptive parents end up feeling defeated and abandoned by a system that has prejudged them and their abilities. The Internet has been a great vehicle for people to share their success stories and offer inspiration to others who may feel that their dreams of parenting will never come true.
Perserverence and adoption go together.
There is a great deal of information online to answer questions such as disability payments, housing, education, foster parenting and medical insurance. I personally have known many incredible parents with different disabilities. Their children are happy, healthy, and loved. Sometimes parents with disabilities choose to adopt children with special needs. At other time’s they choose to adopt children who are able-bodied. Love is the common denominator. In the US adoption can take many years to get through the bureaucratic system. The prospective parent may decide to adopt a child from a foreign country when they grow tired of waiting.
Adpotion is not about differences-it’s about love
Love and adoption mean a new family has begun
Adopting a child from a foreign country is exactly what our guest Rainey Ofiero did. This process can be risky because many foreign governments do not carefully regulate the facilities where the orphaned children are housed.
Adoption is not always conducted in the US. It’s global.
This leaves the possibility that the child you adopt maybe very ill or not exactly what you expected. Then what will the new parent do? There is very little recourse once the papers are signed. We have all read about these very sad stories of disappointed adoptive parents faced with the knowledge that the child they adopted is severely disabled. The child may require surgeries and years of special care.
Rainey, a polio survivor, is here to share her success story. She is a fighter and when she makes up her mind to do something, it’s no surprise that she succeeds. Dancing On our Disabilities Radio is pleased to have Rainey Ofiero visiting today.
About Rainey Ofiero-Polio Survivor
Rainey has developed post Polio Syndrome. Just before her third birthday, she was infected by the poliovirus. She battled the initial residual effects and endured many surgeries and years of painful rehabilitation. She learned to walk again using braces and crutches. Little did she know what her future would hold? Rainey had learned to manage the damage caused by polio. Life was an open opportunity. What was next? Marriage, a career, and the white picket fence? Not exactly, Post-Polio Stndrome was waiting in the wings.
Before Rainey developed Post-Polio Syndrome, she adopted two children from India. It is an interesting story about adversity and a happy ending. Adoption is never easy.
Rainey is now a grown woman with two adult daughters. Polio drastically changed her life, however she will never give up. Just like so many polio survivors, she is now confined to a wheelchair once again. Shades of her childhood returned. The situation is even more challenging because of the many other side effects of Post-Polio Syndrome.
Rainey say’s “Life goes on, and I will never let my disability define the woman I am. Among the blessings I’ve received, are my two loved and revered adopted daughters from India, my angels. Family and friends have been there for me, offering support and love.”
The pace has slowed now for Rainey, but she is never without a smile, and laughs out loud everyday while she embraces humor and share’s joy with her thousands of Facebook’s friends in a group she manages called Post-Polio Syndrome. Rainey is truly loved for the inspiration she shares each and every morning with breathtaking photos of birds. I believe the message in every photo is to soar like an eagle, regardless of your physical challenges.
Rainey’s contact information
https://www.facebook.com/rainey.ofiero
Email:[email protected]
