These days, you can find just about any piece of information you need online. With the press of a single button, you can ask Siri to answer questions that previously required looking in, you know, an actual book. Social networking and using the internet, as well as in-person networking, can be powerful tools if you are an adoptee or an adoptive parent searching for your or your child’s birth family.
Online, a simple search for the phrase “help find birth parents” yields a tremendous number of results. There are multiple online groups and resources for adoptees who are searching for birth family. There you can interact with other adoptees as well as adoption experts who can help guide you to the resources you need. If you know a fair amount of information about your birth family, odds are you may even be able to find them on social networking with no assistance. There are many articles and tips as well on how to establish contact, how to deal with not finding the info you need, or how to deal with your birth family ultimately rejecting your wish to establish contact. Being a part of a group of fellow individuals going through the same thing can be a tremendous source of support in what can be an emotionally fraught process.
Additionally, there are a number of sites that serve as clearing houses for adoption-related information, or that provide information and assistance to adoptees searching for their birth family. Many are free, and some have a nominal cost or different “packages” that are easily accessible to most budgets. Joining online registries can help you find your birth family without having to invest a tremendous amount of time and effort in searching. You may even find, once you register on one of these sites, that you have birth family that is already looking for you.
Additionally, in-person networking resources exist that can help you. Many agencies have support groups for adoptees, and there are also many independent adoptee support groups that meet in person. Meeting face to face with other adoptees can be a tremendously positive experience, particularly if you don’t have many other people in your life who are adoptees. Again, the value of that shared experience can help you create deep connections and get tremendous support if you are initiating the process of search and reunion.
