4MyBoys

Even though most forms of MODY are autosomal dominant, the penetrance of the gene is incomplete. That means that there does not need to be a family history; having one allele is enough to cause MODY, but in 10-50 percent of people with the gene, there's no diabetes. Also, it's possible that it would be mild enough to go undiagnosed. The way you should think of this is that one gene does cause MODY, and most people with that gene do get MODY, but some people with the MODY gene, for whatever reason, don't get it. So you or your husband could have the gene and either not be expressing it, or have such a mild form of diabetes that it hasn't been diagnosed yet.

MODY is not what is generally referred to on CWD as "monogenic diabetes" despite being monogenic. If your sons do have MODY, that doesn't mean that they can be treated with pills. However, it may have some meaning in terms of knowing what would happen in their futures in terms of blood sugar and in terms of other health risks, risk for other family members, and so forth.

I think the odds are high that your sons do not have type 1 because: two are diagnosed without needing insulin, three are diagnosed, you haven't mentioned that any are antibody positive (if they are, then nevermind), and you've mentioned that there's an inappropriate insulin response to food. All of these things, in my mind, point to MODY.

Hey, good luck with the adoption process!
I hope the classes teach something useful.
Jonah