An Indiana couple adopts five kids with special needs, making them parents to 11 children. The duo explained the reason why they chose children with disabilities to join their family.
The more, the merrier
Paul and Ashley Kellogg have not closed the doors yet into having more kids in the future. After they have welcomed six biological children, they adopted five more who have special needs. Ashley told PEOPLE (the TV Show!) that she feels like her heart will always be open to having more kids.
Their 11-year-old daughter, Myra, was born with cerebral palsy. She is both non-ambulatory and non-verbal. It made her parents realize that they have the parenting skills needed to care for children with disabilities.
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Parenting skills and perspective
Ashley told the outlet that while they have thought of adopting more kids, she noted that they did not think of special needs. However, after the couple has realized that they have the skills and possibly have a different perspective than others, they decided they could add more to their family.
The duo has adopted five more kids over the years. They took in two, ten-year-old Frannie and one-year-old Theodore, who has Down syndrome, where two have dyslexia, and four of them have a visual impairment.
The couple also welcomed eight-year-old Finton, who has albinism, and seven-year-old Bryant, who has speech delays and a seizure disorder.
Kids and their benefits
The Kellogg's noted that the children had enriched their lives. Other than that, they also said that the new additions have also improved the lives of their other children. Ashley explained that they saw a lot of benefits that the new siblings have to their older children.
She explained that typical kids had developed compassion for others. The mom-of-11 also noticed that her children have seen others with any type of ability or limitation to be equal to them. She believes that it has influenced the lives of their other siblings as they are growing up.
Paul also said that while families usually adopt neuro-typical children or those without special needs, he believes that one could benefit from the special kids. He explained that they could add wonderful things to the family that one never knew was missing.
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The Indiana couple has adopted seven-year-old Micah and baby Theo through Special Angels Adoption Agency. It is the only agency in the nation that exclusively works with kids with special needs.
The agency's medical director, Jennifer Kelly, told the outlet that people should know that it is a viable option. She explained that her daughter's birth parents have heard from others lots of times that no one would want to adopt her daughter.
She noted that she would not want any birth parents to hear that again. Ashley echoed what Kelly believes in, saying that at the end of the day, every child deserves a family.
