Is it a bad thing to do if you end up having an autistic child and you put it up for adoption at birth?

Flying Monkey #073177

Autism can not be detected at birth, nice try though.

monkeykitty83

It's not actually even possible.

There's no way to know before or at birth if a child has autism. Autism may begin to present signs as early as 14-24 months, but the majority of children with autism do not receive a formal diagnosis until the age of 5-8 years.

So... that couldn't ever really happen.

Placing a child for adoption based on other special needs is not something I would condone or suggest, but is also not something I feel in a position to judge too harshly. I think people should make an effort to parent their own babies if at all possible.

Laurel

If you aren't ready and willing to give an autistic child the specialized care that they need, then adoption is a good option. There are people out there who find a deep personal fulfillment from raising children with special needs. like everyone has said, however, you can't know at birth. Once the child is 3 (the average age for diagnosis) you may very well love that child so incredibly that you wouldn't dream of having anyone else raise him/her. My daughter is one, and if she's autistic I will gladly raise her and love her MORE for it, since she'd need it. My best advice for you? If you don't think you can handle children in general, simply don't have them. If you have them you need to commit to loving them and caring for them no matter what.

Sammy

do u know how hard it is for a child not know there really paremt are. just because he has a special need doesn't mean he wont love u or be a great kid

Jashebe

Usually that doesn't get determined until the child is a few years old. But if you cannot handle having a child with a disability, it's best the child be put up for adoption with someone who can. This should ONLY be done at birth.

Remember, a child can be born completely normal, and become retarded later on, like with an accident, illness, etc. That's what happened with my brother when he was 3 years old. He's 38 now.

cantstopLinnyG

Yeah. But autism is not usually diagnosed until the child is close to 2 years of age.

Ariana

You know autism isnt diagnosed at birth-usually between the ages of 2-4yrs which by the time I dont think you would want to give your child up for adoption.
As for anyother issues that may come up after birth-well it's like another poster said-a moral decision.

Parenting a child with disabilities is really hard-I've seen parents struggle with that and it does take a lot of strength and I wont judge any parent for doing so, at least you'll be giving your child the gift of life. Every person deals with their particular situations the best they can... and Im not one to judge.
I have myself two healthy children so I dont know what I would do in that situation, it's certainly a big moral question.

AdoreHim

It is not possible to be diagnosed at birth with Autism. However there are other health problems or disabilities that can. If I had a child that was diagnosed at birth with something, I could never place the child for adoption, because of that. However, if a mom thinks that she would not be able to raise that child because of the disabilities, it would be worse to keep that child- because it is the child that we must look out for first.

Velvet_Goth

Shame people can't put their parents up for adoption sometimes *rolls eyes*

Carol c

I just think it's pretty sad that you are thinking of this before the child is even born! As everyone else is telling you, you won't even know for some time if a child is autistic.

'Insert name here'

You wouldn't know that your child had autism at birth but like downs syndrome, many children born with that condition may be more of a handful but that is your child...how could you not love it? It can be very rewarding to bring up a special needs child.

Not Adopted

Hmm, a lot of the answers suggest that it is wrong to place a baby based on special needs. But if the baby is perfect, then adoption is promoted as a wonderful thing to do! Interesting.

cowgirl

umm yeah i would think so. just because you dont want to deal with the child? you are the one who chose to have this baby, you have to take care of it no matter what

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