This blog post was written by Adoption STAR CEO and Founder, Michele Fried.
In addition to National Adoption Month that arrives each November, October’s National Down Syndrome Month is important to Adoption STAR, especially to it’s founder and CEO, Michele Fried. Michele and her husband Chuck have three daughters with Down Syndrome.
When Michele was a child she remembers watching her father, an educator, interact with a young girl with Down Syndrome and was touched by how her father treated Melinda just like everyone else. But there was more… she saw the twinkle in her father’s eyes and the smile he attempted to hide even when Melinda needed to be redirected.
Michele’s young experiences with children with special needs led her into the field of education and gave her a passion to advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities. Michele and Chuck made a decision to include children with disabilities as part of their forever family. Today their nine children range from ages 12 to almost 25 years old.
“While I love to meet families interested in adopting children with disabilities, I find myself cautioning them about being realistic. Babies with special needs grow up to be teenagers with special needs who grow up to be adults with special needs. Their milestones are incredible but their challenges are lifelong and you must be ready and committed.”
Today more than ever families are needed to adopt young children with Down Syndrome, particularly in countries like Hungary and Bulgaria.
In honor of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, please share this post and hopefully it will reach a couple interested in considering the adoption of a child with Down Syndrome!
For more information on the adoption of all children, please call Adoption STAR at 716-639-3900, email [email protected] [email protected] or visit the Adoption STAR website.
