Actress Heigl Among Growing Ranks Adopting Special Needs Babies

Actress Katherine Heigl’s decision to adopt a baby with special needs puts her among a growing group of parents willing to take in a child with medical issues rather than wait years for a healthy baby.

Earlier this month the Grey’s Anatomy actress and her husband, Josh Kelley, adopted a 10-month-old girl from South Korea named Nancy Leigh, or Naleigh. In announcing the adoption on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Heigl explained that the child has special needs, which made the adoption proceed much quicker than usual.

The couple’s decision is increasingly common, adoption experts say. Waits for adoption from overseas have increased dramatically in recent years, with it now taking four years to adopt a child from China, for example. On the other hand a baby with special needs can come home within four to six months. So more and more families are willing to take in children with conditions ranging from missing limbs to heart disease and cerebral palsy.

While that’s good news for many children out there whose disabilities often mean they’ll wait years for adoption, experts warn that parents must consider the added responsibilities that come with caring for a special needs child, reports the New York Daily News. To read more click here.