28 Tamil Nadu kids with ‘special needs’ await adoption, unlikely to find home in India

Representative image

Representative image

CHENNAI: Underweight babies, those with vision problems and an infant with cleft lip and palate are among 28 children with “special needs” waiting to be adopted in Tamil Nadu. If data from the past is anything to go by, chances of them finding a family in India are slim.

Over the last four years, 88 such children were adopted from Tamil Nadu by couples abroad, while there were no adoptions by families within the country, social defence department data shows.

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The 28 children – all, except one, are below five are currently in 19 special adoption agencies. While 12 are with “developmental delay”, some have reversible health problems like low birth weight (5), eye ailments (3) and cleft lip (1).

Two are “intersex”, with a combination of male and female biological characteristics like chromosomes or genitals, while three have mobility issues.

The adoption process classifies children into those with normal needs and those with special needs. Even those with minor, correctible health issues and conditions that can be easily managed or have no bearing on the quality of life are deemed special needs children. Officials say many of these children just need early medical intervention and support of a family. “The state takes the responsibility to provide rehabilitation and treatment of these babies until a couple evinces interest in adopting them,” said a senior official. “If the child doesn’t show signs of improvement, we take them off the adoption list and put them in a special needs home.”

Couples from the US account for 50% of these adoptions, followed by Italy, Sweden and Spain. NRIs too are more open to adopting such children than couples here. “It takes anywhere between 8 months and a year to adopt these children. The waiting time is lesser as fewer couples want to adopt them,” said an official. Many were abandoned under the state’s cradle baby scheme because of their condition

Indian Council for Child Welfare general secretary Girija Kumar Babu said there are several social and economic reasons why fewer couples from India adopt such children. “You can’t blame them. They have very little support system in our country, including medical,” she said. Many couples are from middle class families. “They may not want a challenged child, thinking of the financial constraints too.”

Doctors say the conditions of many of these children can improve if they are in a family. Dr S Suresh of MediScan, which does extensive research in fetal malformations, says there are varying degrees of disorders and conditions. “We’ve seen disorders in some children improve dramatically just by the determination of some couples. Every child deserves that love,” he said.