This week is National Adoption Week, which aims to celebrate modern adoption by highlighting some of the many different families who have been brought together through the adoption process.
We spoke to a couple who adopted siblings with additional needs, and a family who have experienced the adoption process twice
Steven and Matt were married in 2015 and always knew that they wanted to adopt children.
Steven said:
“After our marriage it seemed like the next natural step.
“Adoption had always been our preferred route because we knew that there were so many children who needed a family.”
The couple have adopted twice and chose the fostering for adoption route with their second adoption, which means first fostering a child who is very likely to soon become eligible for adoption.
Steven said:
“The two adoption processes weren’t massively different.
“There are some advantages to the fostering for adoption route as you’re more likely to be able to adopt a baby or young child, if that’s what you want to do, and the process can often be quicker than a standard adoption.”
The couple had a two-year gap in between each of their adoptions.
Steven said:
“We’d always planned to adopt more than one child and after two years we knew we were ready to adopt again.
“We’d worked hard to prepare our first little boy for the arrival of our second, but that is something that can be challenging when adopting a second child as there wasn’t the option of involving him in the pregnancy as there could have been with a biological child.
“We’d often spoken about the fact that he would soon have a new brother, but it still must have been surprising to him when our younger little boy arrived.
“Our younger one was also 13 months old when we adopted him, so he was interested in playing with our older little boy’s toys, which is an issue you wouldn’t have with the arrival of a new baby.”
A couple of years later, the two boys now have a close relationship.
Steven added:
“Now they’ve very much bonded and think of each other and refer to each other as brothers.
“They have similar interests, they both love being outdoors and being active.”
Rosie and Dave adopted two little girls with additional needs two years ago. They will be sharing their story on video through our social media channels (external link) during National Adoption Week (18-24 October).
Rosie said:
“We’d always imagined we would adopt younger children, so we were surprised to be drawn to the girls as they were both over 4 years old. We knew we needed to take our time, because this was something different to what we’d planned, but there was something special about them.
“Adopting children with additional needs isn’t as scary as you might think. You do have to adapt to challenges, but all parents do, and ‘normal’ is just whatever is normal for you.”
The theme for National Adoption Week this year, is ‘Modern Adoption’.
Steven said:
“For me, ‘Modern Adoption’ means everyone being open to different types of families, both parents and children.
“As a family, we don’t necessarily look like everyone else’s expectation of what a family might be, so that could be called modern, but it’s also really good.
“Throughout the adoption process, the fact that we were two men wasn’t really spoken about, we were never made to feel different, the focus is all about matching the right child with the right family.
“If you’re considering adoption, be open to the different possibilities and then just go for it and approach an organisation like Together for Adoption and find out more.”
If you’re thinking about adoption and want to know more, contact our team by completing our online enquiry form or call 01942 487272.
You can also find out about the adoption process at our monthly virtual information sessions.
Posted on Monday 18th October 2021