America ReFramed

Hayden & Her Family

By May May Tchao

Elizabeth and Jud Curry always knew they wanted a large family. Despite already raising multiple children, their ambitious altruism pushes them to do more. Over the course of several years they adopt five children, all with special needs, from Vietnam and China. One of those adoptees is Hayden, a young girl born with linear nevus sebaceous syndrome, a disorder that affects her appearance and cognitive abilities. Jud and Elizabeth face the difficulties and isolation of raising adopted children with special needs. Hayden and her siblings likewise must make sense of their new family and their place in it. Through the lens of both adoptive parents and their children, Hayden & Her Family tells an empowering and honest story of adoption.