[DRCSGRANT]

I recently recieved placement of an infant that is 10 days old with a history of mom with schizophrenia. It is likely that this child will become available for adoption and I am interested in adopting him but I am concerned about the possibility of him developing schizophrenia as an adult. Does anyone have experience with long term fostering/adopting a child that had immediate family history of a psychiatric condition...

My family is all in love with him and they all share my concerns and because I know how debilitating schizophrenia can be (if not controlled) I am just a little ignorant about this disease and the research that I have seen says that the incidence of inheritance from parent to child is 13%. This baby is such a gem and so yummy and the mom has not shown up for any court dates or conferences with ACS and also has been noncompliant with all her psychiatric counseling/meds so the ACS worker asked me when I picked him up if I was interested in Adoption. He has an older sibling that was taken at birth and the mom never completed a case plan and was TPR so he was adopted (which is one of the reasons that they feel so confident he will be TPRed eventually) and I am falling in love with this little guy and just want to know what I am getting myself into... Anyone with info or experience in matters like these PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks

[Sunshinemom]

I have no experience with a placement with this disease, but experience with an extended family member who is paranoid schitzophrenic. It's such a DEVESTATING disease and will affect the entire family. From what we've learned there's an 18% chance of a child inheriting this disease, but it won't become apparent until early adulthood. I know that after our experience with this when it came to adoption we were adament about not accepting a child who had a parent with this disease, it's just too big a risk for me.

I can only imagine when you have a beautiful little baby in your life it's hard to think years down the line and wonder...what if...

Good luck to you!

[Hadley2]

I wouldn't dream of giving advice. I thought the risk was higher--25%, but I haven't researched much.

We are fostering and will be adopting our niece. Her mother has been dx schizophrenic but that was later changed to schizoaffective disorder. She has had too many lomg periods of non- and improper treatment. While she can be "better," she is never and never will be fully managed and well unless there's some kind of medical breakthrough in the future.

Frankly, I kind of put my head in the sand about it since learning that there isn't much way to tell in early childhood what the outcome will be.

So far, although FD also has dx for RAD, PTSD and has obvious FAS features and some traits, her RAD is not severe and she is not in the conduct disorder club. She is highly motivated toward social acceptance and self-control. For that I am thankful.

From what I did read, it sounds as if the illness can be triggered or worsened by environmental factors and/or drug use although it can also strike the most innocent and functional without warning.

My goal is to raise fd to be as well-grounded a person a possible. I intend to fight for an AAA that includes RTC if needed down the road (so we won't have to go CHINS and lose our parental rights to get her treatment). I intend to make sure her Medicaid (which doesn't cover RTC in our state) stays in place. As it becomes appropriate, I intend that we will both learn a lot more about mental illness, the signs and symptoms, etc., so that she really understands that it is an illness, she is at risk for it, and it is not shameful.

There isn't much more I can do except to emphasize to her that her mother's condition doesn't make her a bad person--that the most important thing a person with an illness like that needs to do is cooperate with their doctors and psychiatrists and take their meds, etc. I don't want her to hide symptoms out of shame and worsen because she doesn't get proper treatment.

Like I said, I try not to think about it too much because if I look at her through that filter, especially knowing her mother as well as I do, it is incredibly sad and disabling to my bonding with her. I feel badly to say that, but it is today's truth.

[tinatyme]

I feel for you and your family because this is a difficult decision for you. I do want to say though that even if there is no family history every child could end up with a mental illness. I don't know the medical/psychiatric history of my children's families so they could very well have a genetic predisposition to one of these inheritances. What I'm saying here is that while you have the burden of this medical knowledge about your fc family; it is also a gift because if you decide to adopt you can educate yourself, know the signs, prepare resources just in case, and overally enjoy and love the child as it grows up. With a 13% chance of inheriting the disorder there is an 87% chance of not.

[julierose24]

I have done a little bit of research on the topic (just online), and this website is very interesting. It basically says that even though it can be passed on - it has a lot to do with bringing the child up in a stable environment. If the child is brought up in a stable, loving environment, he/she is 87% less likely to develop the disease/condition. This is what I am hoping for (I am in the same boat as you), and I plan to ask her pediatrician for a psyciatric referral to discuss what I can do, as a parent, for her.

Schizophrenia.com - Preventing Schizophrenia

read it and let me know what you think.

Julie

[ranoutofnames]

On my fathers side he had two siblings with schizophrenia so you'd think there were would be a strong chance of that showing up, to date none of us grandkids have any mental illness.

My first daughter came from family with a known history of both MI/MR in both the biodad and biomom. I've met a majority of them and they truly are odd ducks. Her only biosister (half) is also MI/MR. My daughter is highly intelligent and not showing any signs of mental illness (of course she's only 6 and a little young for much to show up).

It sounds like you're lucky to know some of the biofamily history (with our second daughter there is no information). I'd personally decide whether you love the little guy enough to be his mommy forever and then be there with him through life no matter what happens... just like you'd do for a biochild.

and by the way .... CONGRATULATIONS on the placement. How wonderful to be there for him from such an early age!

[hopingtoadoptnWV]

I am starting graduate studies in counseling and I just finished an abnormal psychology class. Schizophrenia is very hereditary, but just as another poster mentioned it has a lot to do with the environment in which that person is raised. If it is a loving stable environment then the risk is low of the schizophrenia being trigged.
Honestly if it were me, I would find out as much as I can about the bios. What form of schizophrenia does bmom have? It is a whole spectrum you know. Any other family members with it? When did it show up in bmom? Generally schizophrenia shows up in adolescence. Then I would pray, a LOT and see if God leads me to adopt this child. Best of luck to you and your family. God Bless!

[sdmama]

I would advise you to read as much as you can on the subject as soon as possible so that you can make an informed decision. I wouldn't count on the odds being in your favor that your child will not develop this illness.

Even if the odds are only 15% that this child develop this illness, you need to make your decision with the assumption that it will affect your life and your family. You can't play the odds. You need to know that you are prepared and willing to parent this child and to parent a schizophrenic adult.

Parents understand that parenting always runs the risk of heartbreak. We can't know what life will bring. We hope for the best. We hope that we can raise healthy, happy and independent adults. But there are no guarantees.

Good luck!

[MamaS]

Ultimately, you will do what your heart tells you to do, so I have no advice about that. BUT, if you go ahead with it, plan for a "worst-case" scenario. Think that in 20 years this child will develop symptons of schizophrenia. What will you do? Your other children will be on their own and you will be near retirement. Make sure you maintain insurance that pays for psychiatric and psychological treatment. Start a trust fund so that he could have residential treatment after you are gone. Find an administrator/executor that you trust and work out a care plan. That way, neither you nor your other children are financially burdened -- and, if the worst doesn't happen, you still have excellent insurance, a good financial plan, and money in a trust fund to use for the grandchildren's college funds or a trip around the world!

[mythreekids]

I am living your situation. We are adopting a sibling group of three who's bio dad has affected schizophrenia and the mom had full blown schizophrenia. None of the children have any symptoms -they are all VERY bright and fully capable kids (ages 9,11,13). I researched it, and decided that they were no more likely to get this disease than they are to get a million other things. There are plenty of physical conditions we don't know about but might be in our genes only to appear later in life. Same goes for psychological conditions. And the good news is that most people with these psychological disorders do just fine with medication. So if we find out that our kids have issues later in life, we will deal with it - just the way we'll deal with cancer or alcoholism or any other challenge that comes in their lives. We took the stance that we can't control it, so why worry about it? Maybe they get it, maybe not. Maybe they get cancer, maybe not. We do the best we can to bring them up in a healthy environment, make them aware of potential issues (skin cancer, drugs, gangs, sex, schizophrenia, other diseases that we don't know about that may run in their family genes, diseases that run in my genes and my husbands genes, etc.) Be educated. Be aware. And then get on with your life. There is too much of the good life waiting for us - we don't waste time worrying about the what if's.
Best of luck to you!

[makarios79]

When I read this post, I immediately thought of a blog that I visit frequently. This family has a daughter who has schizophrenia and her family had a long history of the disease as well. They adopted her as an infant and now she is a teen, and this family refuses to give up on her even though they have been advised to just sign away their rights to her....She now lives in a RTC

I must warn you, this is probably worst case scenario, and it doesn't mean that this will be the outcome of your fs, as we know God is able to stop generational curses and heal all things, but here is the link:

Mega Family Living: When Life Gives You Lemons........

I went to college with a girl who has schizophrenia and when she was off her meds....let's just say IT WAS NOT PRETTY. But she was pretty "normal" when she was.

I don't have any advice, I just wanted to share this blog....You may want to contact this family as they have many years of experience of parenting this child.

[DRCSGRANT]

First off I just want to thank all of you for your posts and the help that you all have offered. I have visited many of the blogs and websites and I have come to feel much better about making this decision. Since my last post my foster son has had to be admitted to the hospital and have surgery for pyloric stenosis which devastated me and also let me know how attached I am to this little baby. To me there is no option he is staying...

I have spoken with my family and friends at length about all the possibilities and they have all agreed that he should stay and be apart of my family if that is God's/ACS will. It surprised me most that my mother, who was totally against me fostering and ESPECIALLY ADOPTING is supportive of my decision and even went as far as to be encouraging explaining to me how many members of my own family have a history of mental illness and how little it has impacted their lives...

I have also found out more information on the birthmom. From what I was told she is a "clinical schizophrenic" and is bipolar. She is not taking her meds and has a significant cognitive delay and according to my caseworker she is UNABLE to care for the child even if she wants to. Her sister is also bipolar but I believe she is the only one in her family with any history of schizophrenia. We have no history on the father since the workers believe that the name she gave is made up. From what I understand she told the law guardian for the baby that she knows she cant take care of the baby but she did request visits and they will start in a week. My caseworker also told me that even if she wants to try to parent the child they are going to ask her psychiatrist to state that she is not capable of doing this especially since she has been very noncompliant with her meds. So they are pretty sure that he will go for adoption, especially since his older brother did eight years ago. We will just have to wait and see... again thanks to everyone for your helpful and informative posts..

Cristal