[bnb]

Right now I am at a stage in life where I am "testing the waters" and looking at options to see what will be possible.

My fiance and I are getting started in life (we are 19) and plan to have children in 5-10 years. I am in college pursuing a psychology degree and planning on grad school. My fiance will be working to support our family and he dreams of eventually starting a small business.

Here is the problem: I have schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness that combines elements of schizophrenia (unmedicated, I experience hallucinations and delusions) with elements of bipolar disorder (unmedicated, I go through periods of mania and depression). Other than that we are both completely healthy. I have been treated (through meds, counseling, and healthy lifestyle choices) for the past year and recently have returned to normal levels of stability, which I expect to continue. We are both extremely well-informed and proactive in treating my disorder and he is completely supportive of me. I am doing well enough now that I am taking steps to become an advocate for the mentally ill (through speaking to the media and establishing an education/advocacy program here at my college), and I intend to use my psychology degree to become a counselor for people with severe mental illness.

My fiance and I have discussed various combinations of biological and adopted children. I want to know if adoption is something we should keep on the radar and eventually pursue, or if we would be automatically rejected as adoptive parents on the basis of my illness.

Thank you in advance for your help

[DianeS]

You will not be automatically disqualified because of mental illness, as long as you are effectively treating it, and you choose to adopt from a country that understands mental illnesses and their treatments.

So you could adopt from the USA, for instance, but you might not be able to adopt from a 3rd world country like Guatemala. (I don't actually know Guat's rules, that's just an example of the "type" of country that has rejected applicants with mental illness in the past - an underdeveloped country with minimal medical care for mentally ill citizens.)

By 5 or 10 years from now, more countries may understand it, and your options would expand. Your diagnosis narrows your options somewhat, but doesn't eliminate them. Any good agency should be able to tell you if your diagnosis would keep you from being able to adopt from the country of your choice - before you pay them anything.

Most applicants for adoption of any type need to be able to submit a statement from their doctor testifying that the patient is expected to have a normal life span and has no barriers to being able to parent a child. As long as you continue with your treatment, and stay current with your doctor, having him sign such a statement should be no problem at all.

In fact, your own medical history and choice of profession may open doors for you that others won't choose to go through. After all, you wouldn't be scared of a child whose birth family has a history of similar disorders. Whether you choose to adopt a child with that family history or not is a personal choice, of course. But it may not have occurred to you that many adoptive parents refuse to consider children with that family history, and anything one person is willing to accept that another isn't, broadens the choices for that accepting family. Waiting lists for "special needs" children are always shorter than the lists for "healthy" children.

Good luck!