“SHE WAS A CONSCIOUS DECISION I HAD MADE”

I am a Singaporean living in New Zealand. We have a daughter Rachel*, whom we adopted 17 years ago. The move here was a much-needed break for me from my professional career, which took my family and I to China (where we made the decision to adopt) and the US as well.

Rachel was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a child, although she is high functioning. That was one of the reasons why we decided to move to the US and then New Zealand. It was from a long-term perspective for Rachel, so she could have access to options and opportunities that were accommodating of her differences and learning challenges – which can be difficult in a large school, large classroom and exam-based system such as the one in Singapore.

I've always had a desire