Special Needs Adoption

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We strongly believe that all children are unique, amazing and loveable!

Sara Deaterla

We help adoption agencies or families who wish to place a special needs baby or toddler and sometimes older children for adoption, find experienced and loving adoptive families. No matter what the special need, we can help you find the very best family.

Our support services are completely free to everyone in the adoption triad. We are a licensed custodial adoption agency and an special needs advocacy group. We provide a way for special needs babies and adoptive families who are willing, thrilled, and highly experienced to parent children with challenges to find each other. We will help connect you to families that are homestudy and adoption ready for a special needs baby or toddler and sometimes older children. Every month, we help several special needs babies and toddlers find their forever families! Our families want to adopt special needs children because they have seen the blessing that these children can be and they have the knowledge and experience to handle their unique needs.

Sara Deaterla is my sister. She started by adopting her own children with special needs with her husband Mike. She has two grown children of her own and 3 grandchildren if you count the one one the way. Their first adopted child is Savannah who is 8 now. Savannah was born in Viet Nam. They traveled to Viet Nam to get her. I have to say that Sara, doesn't let Savannah forget her roots. She takes to area Vietnamese events and Savannah dresses in Vietnamese garb. Savannah's special needs are not as severe as some can be. Mike wrote a book about this adoption and can be purchased on Amazon. Just follow the link:

Special Needs: Adoption Journey of an Older Couple This is a very informative book about overseas adoption.

Their second child is Christian who is now 7. Christian is an African American child from Cleveland, Ohio. Christian was born with a drug addition at only 2o6 weeks and only weighed 1.9 lbs.  He is as sharp as a tack even though he is legally blind.

Their third child is Marlee. Marlee is of Filipino decent. Marlee has what is known as Tuberous Sclerosis.  This is a rare multi-system genetic disease that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. It usually affects the central nervous system and results in a combination of symptoms including seizures, developmental delay, behavior problems, skin abnormalities, and kidney disease. Marlee has already had at least 7 brain surgeries to stop the seizures and she is only 5.

I have a friend that suffers from this disease, but fortunately, hers appears on her skin and she needs to only have it removed. I'm told the Marlee's mother had the same type as my friend.

Special Angel Adoption Agency is an arm of The Marlee Factor Foundation. This foundation was started as a non-profit program to assist those families that have special needs children. They provide gas cards to assist parents to be able to keep their child's doctor's appointments for example. This name came to be a few years ago when it was fully expected that Marlee was going to succumb to this disease. It was the "Marlee Factor" coined by the hospital chaplain that helped her to turn the corner and live. She is thriving. She was never supposed to walk. She climbs. She was never supposed to do a lot of things she's doing now. She's learning to sign to communicate.

Marlee Factor Foundation If you aren't interested in adoption, please consider donating to this foundation. Right now it is local only. But it is there intent to serve outside their community eventually.

Thank you for letting me share. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day.