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Originally Posted by excited2adoptsoon
I'm trying to determine what is considered "special needs". Originally I was told my newborn was special needs because she was born testing positive to meth. So should I be fighting to have my baby considered special needs when the adoption is being finalized?
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I know people have responded, but I am not sure the really have addresed your question 100%.
There are two classifications for special needs. One is for truly special needs, i.e. down syndrone, blind, etc. What you are referring to, I believe, is the "special needs" classification for AAP (after adoption assistance) and for the tax credit.
Not all children are considered special needs for aap and tax credit who are in foster care. They need to either have a condition at birth (example, heart trouble, drug exposure, etc) and/or have adverse parental background with history of mental issues and/or abuse, and/or be placed as part of a sibling set. Who might not get it? Someone who took in their sister's kid might not get it if their sister's kid was healthy and sister not mentally challenged (as a brief example).
Your question: should we fight for it?
We didn't have to. They just sent us the forms to sign at the end. We could opt to "defer" which means not take it unless we needed it later, or we could just take it right away. Our SW did not in any way try to talk us out of getting it now. The for AAP was history of bi-polar in the family. They did not mention exposure. I questioned this. They said explosure was on another form (which it was) but they did not need that to qualify her because of the other reason. So, even though she is as happy as a clam and thiving like a weed, we were given the "special needs" label for AAP and the tax credit without any need to "fight" for it. Further, should issues come up down the road (AHAD, Bi-Polar), we can request more assistance.
Now, keep in mind AAP is funded differently than your foster stipend, although the amount will probably be the same. In past years, AAP amounts have fluxuated w/ budgets. As such, when we recently finalized, the SW reminded us (just like they did in training) that AAP is not guaranteed until 18. Further, due to current budget crisis, they expect AAP will be targeted. What does this mean? They could look at case by case if you really really need it (i.e. income level and health of child).
Lastly, from what I researched, a lot of the exposure problems to meth are manifested at birth: low birth weight, heart trouble, preterm birth, addiction. Your child may have had all, one or none of these. What can't be known or seen is the tendency toward ADD and/or ADHD when the child is older.
This is a side note. I have a kid in class who diplays ADHD behaviors ten-fold. He is being raised my grandparents. When I inquired about possible ADHD, they said, "yah, he probably has this; he is a crack baby." I was horrified that they were so callous in their response. They refered to him again as a crack baby in another conversation when I mention how his spelling suggests their could be a concern (tranferring problems, reversing letters, etc).
People can be sooo insensitive. Though this kid might have ADHD and some processing issues, he reads well, tests
advanced on the state tests and is verbally bright and analytical.
So, don't let labels stop your baby from growing up respectfully.