The Adoption System Isn’t Fair
As Seen in Huffington Post I can’t stand the waiting! I don’t know if I can handle another failed referral. What if they change their minds? What if I don’t get picked?…
Category
Special Needs Adoption
Special Needs Adoption
Playing to Your Strengths - The First Step in Adoption
Were you raised in a multi-ethnic family or neighborhood? Do you have lots of friends and family who would crush people that made an issue out of race? Maybe you had a…
Adopting a Child with Down Syndrome: Winning in Vegas
Our family was so wrong. We thought that adopting a child with Down syndrome would be about what we could do for him. The error of thinking like that was one of the first of…
You Lucky Dogs
The other morning I was doing my cursory search for anything new on the subjects I tend to write about; e.g. adoption, parenting, special needs, etc. My search revealed an article from…
My Valentine
Twenty-six years ago I was engaged to one of the most beautiful girls I had ever known. It was no secret she was out of my league. In fact, the only reason…
Whoosh! There Went my New Year's Resolution.
Jack and Emily Simmons The road to hell, good intentions… blah blah blah. I had a lot of things I needed maintain, even get ahead on over the next several months because…
Rare and Precious Moments when Intellectual Disabilities Fade
Annie just before her Junior Prom I hadn’t realized that the song had been on continuous repeat for the better part of an hour. I had been reliving a perfect moment in…
Mental Illness Is Like Other Illness
Amy and I have three biological children and six adopted ones in our family. Parenting that many children should clue you in on the fact that there is some mental illness in the home, if…
Down Syndrome doesn't Mean Something's Wrong
Down syndrome doesn't mean something's wrong. Jack is now eighteen. We adopted him when he was just one-month old. As with a large percentage of other children born with Down syndrome,…
The Family and Me
I’m John Simmons and this is my family. On the back row we have Steve, Emily and Cory. Middle row: Holly, Amy, me, Sarah and Annie. The front row has Mike, Celeste,…