Adoption stereotypes don't add up.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Ajit Maan and Kitty Piercy For The Register-Guard

Sometimes people hesitate to build their families through adoption because they fear that adopted children, particularly children who have spent time in orphanages, might experience developmental, linguistic or academic delays - delays that may last into adulthood, or make adopted children difficult to parent. People with such concerns should meet Nick Hiatt.

Certainly children who are not parented by their birth families face unique challenges, as do their adoptive parents, but their level of success will depend upon how success is measured. "On-target" developmental models are not the most accurate predictor of talent, of compassion, or of concerned citizenship. And in some cases, like the case of Nick Hiatt, those early hurdles actually contribute to the development of empathy and function as an impetus to act on behalf of others.

Lane County is blessed to be the home of local, national and international adoptees. In celebration of National Adoption Awareness Month, and in honor of the contributions of adoptees living in Lane County, Adoptive Families of Lane County annually awards the Maan Family Humanitarian Service Scholarship to one deserving high-school age adoptee. In this time of continuing natural and human-made violence, it is heart-warming to encounter young people with such genuine regard for the welfare of others.

Each of the young adults nominated for this year's award has contributed to the well-being of our community. Collectively they have volunteered many hours to local relief agencies, including FOOD for Lane County, the Lane Memorial Blood Bank, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Rose Children's Theater, Camp Harlow and the First Place Family Shelter.

One of the nominees collected hats and mittens for foster children and worked to raise medical vouchers for those in need. Another raised funds for the victims of the south Asian tsunami and then for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The recipient of this year's scholarship is Nick Hiatt, a senior at North Eugene High School. In addition to being an outstanding student and musician, Nick is an outstanding citizen.

The first months of Nick's life were spent in an orphanage, and he had the sorts of developmental delays that are sometimes associated with orphanage life. From that tenuous beginning Nick has become a high achiever in every regard, including scholastically, and is a vibrant advocate for people, particularly children, in need.

Nick volunteers his time to tutor children in music and math at Kelley Middle School and River Road Elementary School. He is a volunteer at Camp Harlow, he raised funds for disaster relief and regularly gives blood. One of his teachers said Nick is "the best citizen I know." Nick is in advanced placement history and calculus and honors English and social studies.

As adoptive parents we strive to help our children create connections between the circumstances of their adoptions and their unique abilities to contribute to their communities as adults. Nick's parents and teachers have been successful indeed.

Ajit Maan is an adoptive mother of two and president of the board of directors of Adoptive Families of Lane County. Kitty Piercy is an adoptive mother of two and mayor of Eugene. Piercy will present the Maan Family Humanitarian Service Scholarship to Nick Hiatt at the fourth annual AFLC Adoption Conference on Nov. 12 at the Eugene Water & Electric Board Training Center in Eugene. For more information call 344-1599.