Adoption

There are many couples in North America who are willing to adopt a child with Ds. In fact, there is such a demand that it is typically not difficult to find homes for infants with Ds. In the US, there is a real movement on to adopt children from Eastern Europe where infants with Ds are put in orphanages and at age 5 moved to mental institutions. This blog is just one example of many I have found of families who adopt one or more such children. There are charities and agencies devoted to this cause. Many of the families who adopt a child from overseas do so because they have a child of their own with Ds and cannot bear the thought of other children shut away in such awful institutions. Clearly there are many caring individuals who are trying to make a difference.

It is upsetting to think that it was not so long ago that Canadian society tended to shut away people with Ds in institutions. I saw a documentary at the CDSS conference I attended in Halifax the year Malcolm was born. It was about historical abuse of intellectually disabled people at institutions in Canada. It was so upsetting that I had to leave before it was over (and I wasn't the only one). It really drove home the fact that segregation of people who are different is not the answer. Most people are not likely to go to the extent of welcoming a child with Ds into their families through adoption but hopefully most people are willing to let children and adults with Ds into their schools, work places and neighbourhoods. I think we all have a collective responsibility to make sure that some of the most vulnerable people in our society will never again be shunted aside and subjected to such a horrible existence.

Malcolm is lucky that he will benefit so much from changing perceptions about people with intellectual disabilities. We have had very few negative experiences when we introduce Malcolm to people or talk about him with others. Supports and attitudes in the medical community, daycares and schools are all so much better than ever before and significant progress is being made on employment and housing or assisted living for adults. The future has never been so bright and hopefully it will just get brighter as he grows up.

Mary Ellen