Adoption is a roller coaster of emotions, there’s no way around it and there’s no way to adequately prepare for it. Having a good support system is key, and listening to the advice of others who have adopted is important. Each family is unique and each adoption is unique. Ultimately you need to do what’s best for your family with the new child’s needs at the forefront of your mind.
The transition for an infant who is adopted is very similar to the transition a family undergoes when a new baby is born. If you are adopting an older child, it’s a little more complicated. Below are some tips from the Child Information Gateway.
Preparing Your Home
By this time, you have doubtlessly given a great deal of thought to, and likely have even begun to prepare, the space in your home where your new child will sleep. While having a space prepared and move-in ready can communicate a message of warm welcome to them, depending on the age of the child, you might want to include them in the selection of some items, or at least find out about things like their favorite colors and incorporate them into the space.
This is also the time to make any necessary modifications to your home to so it’s accessible to your child if they have mobility or sensory challenges.
Arranging for Medical Needs and Treatment
If you live in the same community as the child you are adopting, you will need to consider if it’s in their best interest to continue with their current physician, dentist, and other medical and treatment providers or move them to providers with whom your family has established relationships. This will be an important thing to discuss with your child’s caseworker. Of course, if your home is geographically distant from the child’s current placement, you will want to identify providers close to you and have the child’s caseworker arrange for transfer of the appropriate records.
Making Plans for School and Extra Curricular Activities
Be sure that you know about and have access to the child’s most recent Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) if they have one, and make sure their caseworker arranges for transfer of school records. If your child is moving from one community to another, you will also need to work with their caseworker and yours in identifying and arranging for placement into a school and educational program that will meet the child’s needs.
Don’t forget about talking with the child and their caseworker about any special interests they might have and activities such as scouting, sports, or music they are already involved in or would like to be involved in. Helping the child make social connections early on in the adoptive placement will help them begin to feel like a member of your family and the larger community. If written information about the child’s activities and interests was not fully provided in their profile, pre-placement visits might be a good time to explore their interests with them, their caseworker, and foster parents.
Military Families Adopt 