Hello, First of all, reading this article, I have become bit confident and be assured to write my experience on this subject on the list. Although in my primary view, I got confused whether to write it across, since this does not in any way relate to access technology. As this has to do with the injustice with PWD’ like me and several others like me, who might have faced such kind of derogative remarks by adoption agencies, thinking there might be few helping hand come in light, I am posting here my experience.
I and my wife wished to adopt a child last year hence; we started looking for the specialized adoption agency near to our place of residence as authorized by CARA, the central adoption resource authority supreme authority to facilitate the in-country adoption. We have submitted our application to the said agency and submitted all the documents required by them. While registration, I asked the concern agency whether to comply with any additional formalities to make adoption since we both are PWD’s. Though I have red the eligibility criteria on the Cara website, which nowhere imposes the restriction upon the disabled parents to adopt a child not less than a year, we as disabled couple have been denied to adopt a child less than year by the agency. As per the guidelines issued by CARA to adopt a child, under Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act 2000 the court may allow a child to be given in adoption - Childless couple who is in a continuous stable relationship not less than two years. Which in our case already satisfies this term. To adopt children in the age group of 0-3 years, the maximum composite age of the PAPs should be 90 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years and more than 50 years. Since the composite age of both of us does not exceeds 90 years and individual age is more than 25 years, we should have been provided a child less than 1 year. Another condition is that PAPs should have adequate financial resources to provide a good upbringing to the child; to which they did not find any difficulties. One more important criteria is that PAPs should have good health and should not be suffering from any contagious or terminal disease or any such mental or physical condition which may prevent them from taking care of the child; for which we have already submitted our medical fitness report and the same has been accepted by them. Despite fulfilling the said eligibility criteria, while communicating on their decision on our adoption, the agency informed that we can only show you the child more than one year keeping in mind the disability of both of you. When I tried to find out more for the reasons for their decision, they informed me that this is the finding of our child welfare committee as you being blind would not be in a position to take care of very small child and your wife being physically challenged, would be unable to attend the various daily care of the child such as, cleaning, lifting her etc. I have tried my level best to explain the real situation to them i.e. we as couple does our own work independently and there are so many couples who are despite themselves blind or physically challenged, does take care of their own biological child in a very efficient manner. Also our disability is not to the extent that we can not handle the situation of upbringing our adopted child who would be less than one year. Of course, there would be situation which I may not be able to attend which can be shared by my wife and vice versa. But they were not ready to accept our suggestion. Since we had our strong feelings to adopt a child, we decided to accept this from our heart. But this even does not stop here. Considering our acceptance on their decision, they had showed couple of child. We have seen these child and wished to go for medical test of one of the chosen child. Unfortunately, in the said medical check up, we found that child to be bit slowly in crawling. When I asked the agency about the knowledge on their part on factual details regarding the physical condition of these child, they informed me that they usually do not come across such progress as it is time taking process development of child. Being these child staying with them for longer period i.e. more than a year is in my view sufficient for them to know the child’s progress. But I feel that they seems to have attitude of hiding the actual situation of the child. I have also red somewhere on the CARA’s website that the child’s records such as, admission of the child in the said agency, the mode of their entry etc to be shown to the parents wishing to adopt but this also has been rejected by them with the remarks that you would be getting the final order from the court declaring this to be your child, then why do you want to have access to such records? Going further, the concern agency has placed one child under foster care for two months. This has been communicated with their letter. In the said letter, there are various legal provisions mentioned, on which I could not lay my hands despite the hard effort to browse from my available resources, so I have asked the explanation about these provisions to the agency. Their remark again was very surprising i.e. “why would you like to make PHD in this area? You want the child which is given to you in foster care. That’s it. But being law graduate, I need to know and read such provisions as keen learner. But they didn’t cooperated me with this again. When I asked them about the further procedure since foster care of two months is already over and we wish to adopt this child and requested them to begin the court proceedings at earliest, they informed me that it will only begin after six months as we already have pending adoption in the court. If in my view, if they are unable to cope with the pending adoption, shouldn’t have accepted the new applications. Their said attitude really of irresponsible, baseless and degrading the equal participation and full rights to the disabled persons. I tried to search for the organizations providing the legal advise in such a matters to disabled persons and suggest the further course of action but couldn’t be of much success. Hence, if anyone of you have faced similar problems or know the applicable provisions related to adoption exhaustively, please reply. So far I could come across only one resource dealing with in-country adoption in context of disabled parents, which is located at the site: www.sexualityanddisability.org/reproduction/adopting-a-child.aspx But when I tried to contact on the numbers given by them, I learnt that this number not in use. Looking forward for your kind cooperation in this regard. On 9/29/13, Ekinath Khedekar <[email protected]> wrote: > Brilliant > > > > On 9/29/13, Geetha Shamanna <[email protected]> wrote: >> Avinash, >> >> A couple in Bangalore adopted a blind girl some years ago. The couple is >> not >> blind, but they made a conscious decision to adopt the girl and provided >> her >> everything money and parental affection could buy. This girl, Shalini >> Mennon, is now 16, and has grown up into a bright and confident young >> lady. >> She left Bangalore earlier this year to study Economics and mathematics >> at >> Amherst, one of the top schools for mathematics in the US. >> >> There is another couple in the US that I know of who adopted a blind girl >> from India. The Hallidays chose to adopt two blind children instead of >> having children of their own. Mrs. Halliday is herself blind, and has a >> Ph.d >> in mathematics. >> >> Geetha >> -----Original Message----- >> From: AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] On >> Behalf >> Of avinash shahi >> Sent: 28 September 2013 18:44 >> To: jnuvision; accessindia >> Subject: [AI] Blind couple adopt blind orphans - Chicago Tribune >> >> Many may have read this true story in the past but who didn't, can read >> now. >> Do you know any couple in India like this one discussed in the piece? >> Do inform, please. >> http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-05-11/news/ct-met-blind-adopting-bli >> nd-20110511_1_cta-bus-rupa-lessons >> Love is blind inside the two-story brick house on Mulligan Avenue. And >> that >> is why the microwave buttons are marked with Braille. The clocks in the >> home >> all announce the time. And at 7:15 a.m., everyone is listening carefully >> for >> the school bus. >> >> Ten-year-old Rupa is the first to hear it. "Oh, the bus is here!" she >> calls. >> Her mother rushes to the front window, listening for confirmation before >> calling out: "That's it!" >> >> Rupa grabs her white cane. Six-year-old Aihua reaches down and, guided by >> touch alone, pulls on a pair of rubber rain boots. Then Paula Sprecher >> hustles them outside. With each step of this hectic school-day morning, >> the >> 49-year-old mother of two helps her daughters find their way in a world >> that >> neither she nor they can see. >> >> Sprecher and her husband, Alan, have been legally blind since birth. >> And though Alan had some doubts about fatherhood - would they have enough >> to >> offer a child? - the couple took a leap of faith in 2008 and adopted Rupa >> from India. In January, they brought home Aihua from China. >> >> Both girls are blind, too - Rupa can detect some light, while Aihua has >> no >> vision at all. And that is fine with the Sprechers, who describe each of >> their daughters as "a gift." >> >> "My husband and I, we grew up without sight," Paula explains. "This is so >> normal to us. We knew there were children out there who were probably >> given >> up (because they were blind), and we wanted to provide a home for someone >> like us, for someone we thought we could help." >> >> Helping the girls, the Sprechers know, means pushing them into the world. >> And so they teach their daughters how to ride the CTA bus (listen >> carefully >> for each stop, they say), how to identify coins by their size and weight >> ("This is a dime!" says Aihua, correctly), how to sort the laundry (pin >> your >> socks together before you put them in the wash). >> >> The Sprechers have come to realize that, in the long arc of life, success >> rests on a foundation of a thousand little lessons. And so, day by day, >> inside the cozy house with the blue shutters, lessons about dimes and >> socks >> become lessons about confidence and independence. Though she is still >> learning English, Aihua declares with perfect pronunciation: "I can do >> it!" >> It's a phrase that makes her parents smile. >> >> "They're going to be functioning in the world someday," says Paula. >> "We try to teach the kids a routine and let go a little more and more." >> >> Canes, cues >> >> Letting go isn't always so easy. >> >> At Farnsworth Elementary School, both girls are mainstreamed in regular >> classes and receive help from a classroom aide and instruction in >> Braille. >> Sprecher is a teacher who works with the blind at the school, and so she >> is >> never far away. >> >> But on a recent morning, when she popped her head into the music room to >> check on Aihua, she couldn't see that that her daughter - who has only >> been >> in school for three months and, because of the language barrier, can't >> understand much of what's happening around her - was in the back of the >> classroom, looking a little scared and hiding her face between her knees >> >> >> -- >> Avinash Shahi >> M.Phil Research Scholar >> Centre for The Study of Law and Governance Jawaharlal Nehru University >> New >> Delhi India >> >> Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility >> of >> mobile phones / Tabs on: >> http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessind >> ia.org.in >> >> >> Search for old postings at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> >> To unsubscribe send a message to >> [email protected] >> with the subject unsubscribe. >> >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, >> please >> visit the list home page at >> http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in >> >> >> Disclaimer: >> 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of >> the >> person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; >> >> 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the >> mails >> sent through this mailing list.. >> >> >> Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility >> of >> mobile phones / Tabs on: >> http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in >> >> >> Search for old postings at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> >> To unsubscribe send a message to >> [email protected] >> with the subject unsubscribe. >> >> To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, >> please >> visit the list home page at >> http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in >> >> >> Disclaimer: >> 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of >> the >> person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; >> >> 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the >> mails >> sent through this mailing list.. >> > > > -- > > "Security is a superstition. Avoiding danger is no safer than outright > exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." > "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply > becomes a part of us." > - Ms. Helen Keller > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > -- Regards, Mukesh jain Email: [email protected] [email protected] mailing list run by me (info page): http://mail.mukeshjain.org/mailman/listinfo website: www.mukeshjain.org Skype: mukeshjain211 Mob: 09977165123 "Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight. " Helen Keller Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
