Extra support makes world of a difference post-adoption

AMERICAN YouTuber Myka Stauffer was living the dream: a beautiful home and family.

In 2017, Myka and her husband James, who now have four birth children, adopted two-year-old Huxley from China. Myka’s YouTube figures soared thanks to entertaining footage of him adjusting to life in America and finding his feet in his new family. That is until he no longer appeared in her video diary earlier this year.

When questioned, the Stauffers issued a video explaining that they felt unable to cater to Huxley’s increasingly demanding special needs. So, he now lives with another family.

The backlash was fierce, with the Stauffers accused of discarding Huxley when he became too much for them to handle.

The couple’s lawyers told People magazine that the decision was difficult and but made “to provide Huxley with the best possible treatment and care.

“Over time, the team of medical professionals advised our clients it might be best for Huxley to be placed with another family.”

While we do not know the details of what happened with the Stauffers, their experience highlights the difficulties that can happen with intercountry adoption. Since 2014, the Adoption Authority of Ireland has advised prospective parents that children in need of intercountry adoption are now older or have medical problems.

Are parents prepared for the challenges associated with this? More importantly, are they given necessary supports once they bring their adopted children home to Ireland?

Following a ruling in 2010, Irish people can only adopt from countries that have signed up to the Hague Convention. Currently, this includes Bulgaria, China, Haiti, India, the Philippines, Poland, Thailand, the US, the UK, and Vietnam. A total of 707 children were adopted from those countries in the period between 2010 and January of this year.

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