Aiden and Jayden first thought about adoption four years ago. As a same sex male couple in their 40’s, they had long ago ruled out the dream of having children of their own, but over the years, with equality and diversity legislation changing the face of society, adoption seemed like a real possibility for them.

After three years of careful consideration, thinking about how it would affect their lives and more importantly how it could affect the lives of the children they might adopt, in September they made an initial telephone call.

Aiden said, “During the three years we had been considering adoption, we had bought and read many books on the subject and on the basis of what we had read, both in these books and also in the media, we geared ourselves up for a hugely complex, very intrusive and impersonal process that may have taken about three years.

“We could not have been more wrong; the process and support were excellent. Just three months after our initial enquiry we were attending our preparation training”.

An adoption social worker supported Aiden and Jayden through the various stages of the process. This included around 10 home visits during which they were interviewed individually and together about every aspect of their lives, their habits and lifestyles, their work and their families, their values and beliefs.

The following September, just one year after Aiden and Jayden made their initial enquiry, they had two children under the age of four living happily with them and their lives had changed beyond all recognition.

Aiden added, “The process was nothing like what we expected or had read about, and the support was second to none. Sure, we have tough days, like most parents, but just being called Daddy every day and the many hugs and kisses we get from our children make it all worthwhile.”