Bringing a baby with a disability into the family
Produced by: Christine Ramos
Meet five-month-old Jackson Keinick, who has Down syndrome.
Anne and Randy adopted him last year.
For some couples, the process of adopting can take years, but for the Keinicks, the process took six months.
The Keinicks turned to private agency Adoption by Choice.
Anne says they made the choice they did because, though she says she uses the term loosely, “You had a bit more control over the process than you do with the government.”
The couple attempted to have a baby naturally for two years without success; they turned to adopting as an option.
The Keinicks were the only couple within the private adoption sector willing to accept a child who was both of African descent and also diagnosed with Down syndrome.
But for Anne and Randy, the decision to adopt a child with a disability wasn’t a problem.
“He has an angelic quality to him,” Anne says. “It’s a strange thing but it’s a very peaceful, very beautiful healing quality. I think he’s just a real blessing.”
Coming soon: To know more about adopting children with disabilities, stay tuned for the full story in the Calgary Journal March print edition.
cramos@cjournal.ca