Medical help for half sister in Brazil?

[Conkerball]

Posting for traffic.

DD’s half sister lives with her mother in Brazil, she’s 11 and lives in a favela. She was diagnosed with ADHD at age two and has been on Ritalin and Prozac since and is now in a special school due to apparent dyslexia… I’m really concerned about this, she’s only seen a small town government doctor and I really think she needs to see a specialist.. How would I go about arranging this? The situation feels really off.

Obviously I would pay for her to see a private specialist but I don’t know where to start

I think you may have to resign to the fact things are done differently in different countries, so your ability to help may be limited.

What is it that feels off? Do you see the half sister often? Are you able to contact her mother?

I just feel that the medication is too much and want her to see a better specialist

Is her father financially supporting them? Surely her overall situation would be improved by not living in a Favela, is that a goal that you and her dad are supporting the mother to achieve?

He’s a complete loser who hasn’t seen our child in 18 years sadly

I don't think you can get involved in this. You're not directly related to her.

Private medical service in LatAm are fairly cheap, BUT for that sort of condition it's long and winded. Do you speak Portuguese? You could try to adopt her (I guess?)

Have you got a relationship with the mother which would let you offer the money to see the specialist? There’s two sides to this - the relationship and the logistical.

I'd stay well out of it to be honest. It your partner is Brazilian then he can get involved. Going private is really normal in Brazil, bit local knowledge of who to go to, and speaking Portuguese, is needed.
Brazilians do seen to make things a big drama and really complicated which is the main reason to stay out of it.

It does raise the question of finances though. Are you married? You may want to protect you and your daughter's financial position as best you can.

Ah. I see update. Definitely stay out of it.

Adopt her? She lives with her own mother

How often do you see her OP? Why are you concerned about the medication?

Erm you keep out and allow her mother to get her the treatment she feels is necessary. It's none of your business.

Her mother has no money at all and has been abandoned by my ex (her ex) partner. I’m financially stable and feel I should help
them in some way.

There is no way her mother can afford to see a private specialist.

You can offer money if you feel you can afford it and want to.

I wouldn't tell her it is for a specific thing though. That's up to her.

You are being dragged into the drama already!

Why can't you or the mother book an appointment, you pay the doctor direct and probably also give her some money if she needs to travel. You probably need to do some investigation into longer term solutions as it may mean you might then need to keep paying for something that you can't afford

Why can't you just give her mum the money for a private specialist? To be honest unless you can afford the amount it would take to get them out of the favela, what will it achieve getting one private appointment? Surely there would need to be follow up?

Honey, I'm not from Brazil but I lived there for a while so, in the nicest possible way, you're being taken for a ride.
Knowing how things work there you story doesn't add up. There aren't special schools for people with dyslexia over there and if there were, it's extremely unlikely that they would be run by the state and, therefore, free and available to those from favelas. Also, Brazil isn't big on SEN schools, private or otherwise, let alone state ones.
Meds however are mostly free, if people know their way around the system and depending on where they are based. Having said that I just checked (because I speak Portuguese) and Prozac, which is a "black label" drug (tarja preta which means it can only be bought with prescription and that is taken seriously over there) isn't available for children, only for adults, so it's extremely unlikely this kid's on this drug.
Again, respectfully, you are being taken for a ride and I don't necessarily mean money. Keep your eyes open.

Forgot to add, favelas are a "city" thing not exactly a "small town" thing. You'd have poorer neighbourhoods but not favelas. Also, it's not hard to see a "free" doctor over there. Specialists are harder but a kid on Prozac and Ritalin is unlikely not to have seen one.
Last thing: google tells me Ritalin and Prozac have moderate effects when used together, so it's unlikely that would happen when we're talking about a kid.
You probably think I'm exagerating and she's adorable but Brazilian scams are a whole different ball game and they take no prisoners. You aren't their family, you're a stranger...

This OP.
Especially as you're from a wealthy country. You're ripe for picking.
Stay out of it

Have you ever even met these people?

What @Oceanus said, regrettably, @Conkerball!

A kid growing up in a favela is disadvantaged beyond the normal meaning of that word in the UK. Very few of the children finish foundational school - there's really good adult education provision for this reason.

Potential workarounds, such as a residential school, don't really exist because every family from lower-middle-class upwards has staff (who probably live in the favelas). Even if you were to pay the fees for a private school, where in-house psych and SEN provision are usual, the child's home circumstances would make it difficult to impossible for her to take part fully: again, because of the lack of a support system. I'm also not sure how a kid coming home in the uniform of an expensive school would fare socially (for want of a better word) within her environment.

I'm very sorry to hear that your quasi-step-daughter's in this situation. In your position I would want to try and help her, too. I did help a lot of favela children while I was living there, but it's an undertaking of compromise and limitations.

If you stay in touch until she's 16, there might be some ways you could help her into a trustworthy apprenticeship or similar - but that would also be very hard from a distance, without local contacts.

Follow some of the links from here if you want to explore more: https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/brazil/family/schooling-education/special-needs

OP, you seem to know very little about how things are run in Brazil... This is my final piece of knowledge to share: Brazil has one of the best legal procedures when it comes to chasing a parent for child maintenance (I do mean that, it's way better than in the UK). Either he pays or he goes to jail (period). Is he out of the country? No problem, they'll wait till he sets foot on Brazilian soil and off he goes in handcuffs.
Sooner or later he'd have been caught and made to pay, there's no escape, even for the rich and powerful. If they owe CM they can sleep it off in jail until the money "materialises" or they can prove there isn't any but moving to the other side of the country isn't enough not to pay over there. The police catch criminals and people who don't pay for their kids because it's a crime over there (how's that to put rich countries to shame?!).
I reckon the OP isn't coming back as they've seen the light but maybe sb else will dodge a bullet in the future!

I'm confused about how you even became aware of this half sister. You say that your ex hasn't seen your DD in 18 years so presumably she's almost an adult and you were an earlier relationship. If he's not bothering to maintain contact with her, how have you become aware of this relationship and half sister, who passed your details to them or vice versa? How well do you know this woman and her daughter, have you met them, do you see them regularly on FaceTime? Do you all speak Portuguese, how is all this information being relayed to you?