[Archive]

Originally Posted By Lee

HI
Looking for some advise. Trying to decide to adopt a baby who's birth mother has schitzophrania as far as I know birth father doesn't have it. They say child has a 12% chance of getting the disease.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Elena

When I met my husband I found out that his father had this ilness. I was concerned about any children we might have. He told me that this is not an ilness that is passed on frequently.

We have a 6 year old son who seems to be normal so far. I don't know about the future.

My husband says that there is not enough study done about this condition. He definitely doesn't show any signs and he is already 42 (today is his birthday).

I suggest you read as much as you can find on the internet or at your local library before embarking on such a long commitment.

I wish you all the luck in the world.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By jamie

yes, you adopt this child. just because the mother has a mental illness doesn't mean the chil will. mental illnesses can run in the family, but the child could be one of the few how does get the illness. i mysef have schizoaffective disorder; that doesn't mean my children will.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Joanna

Hi, Just to give you the opposite side of the coin and some food for thought. We adopted a 7 week old baby boy whose birthmom has that dx. and his unknown birthfather is also mentally ill(thet were in the same residence). My son was dx. ADHD with a mood disorder(poss. Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. Lofe is very difficult here but I do love my son. Please educate yourself well.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By A loving Aunt

If you have to ASK then the answer is NO. If you are not ready and willing to HAPPILY accept anything God sends then you are NOT ready to be a parent. Go get a fish.

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Heather

I think you should because i know what schizophrenia is i have it and maybe what this baby needs is a loving mother.
Taylor17us64055@yahoo.com

[Swanson]

If there is a chance the child may have this and you are not comfortable with this, that is your answer. Most times this will not kick in till teen years. You can read up on it but if you are not comfortable with the idea it may happen, then you should not start a process unless you are willing to see this all the way through. Not everyone can handle this , and it's best not to try if you already feel uncomfortable.

[Dr. Art]

Swanson's reply really hits the nail on the head. Yes, there is about a 10% chance of a child developing schizophrenia if BOTH parents have it....the likelihood in the general population is about 1%. The real issue is how you would feel having such a child. If you are not prepared, you do need to rethink. Any child can develop mental illness or a serious medical conditon. That is the chance we all take as parents, whether we birth, adopt, or foster our children.

Regards

[Brannah]

hi
just a quick reply could u send me some photos of australian babies up for adoption i nsw

[weas123]

I think it is great to get all the information you can before making a decision. We are just about to adopt the foster baby we have had in our home since his birth. His mother is bipolar and schitzofrenic (not sure of spelling). It does make us concerned, but we love this child so much that we would take him under any circumstances. You never know if the mental illness is truly chemical or if it could have been brought on by drugs, sexual abuse, etc. My husband is a mental health therapist so we are not naive to what the future may hold. But as we have discussed many times, we never know with our biological children. We just love them, enjoy them, and do the best we can. Good luck with your decision.

[Dr. Art]

Very good points made here.

Regards

[Dreamsofchild]

Hello., I am Terrie my son whom came to us at age 3 was an adorable little guy whom called everyone mom and dad, he would hug anyone, everyone thought this was adorable. Sadly is also means that Yes he does have serious attachm,ent issues and the things we found about his birthmom and the birthsiblings in other placements was that we were not given full information when we took this little child whom is now a tall handsome young man with dark hair, he also has mental illness he is psychotic, has PTSD, ADHD, OCD, and several other diagnoses that go into the what I have heard called the alphabet soup diagnosis since our son like so many others has lots of initials after his name. We do Love our son, today is back in treatment having been home a whole month, he just cannot do well out side the living structure of a group home setting, He is also very Bright creative but the other side he is Angry moody and not always pleasant to be around. I hope that anyone thinking of adopting a child with any kind of mental illness in the birthfamily would really look into it and yes it may not show up till teen years its gotten worse as he gets older. Not better. And yes it has been very hard on us his family. We are his family and we will always be their for him. but difficult children are not for everyone the stress is unbelievable.
Take care
Take care
Terrie

[Dr. Art]

Your situation is very sad. It really underscores the importance of getting the right evaluation and treatment. Attachment disorders do not respond to traditional or usual forms of treatment such as family therapy, play therapy, RTC's or group homes. The only treatment with evidence of effectivness is Dyadic Developmental Pscychotherapy, an attachment-based treatment/parenting approach.

Regards

[ladyjubilee]

Dr Art,

Do attachment disorders have the characteristics of creativity and moodiness that mood disoders have? What about heredity?

[Dr. Art]

Children with RAD often have superficial moods. They do not have the pervasive unhappiness of a child with Bipolar Disorder.

There is no genetic dimension to RAD. It is a psychological and interpersonal disorder created by a history of abuse, neglect, or maltreatment.

Regards