Five Years Later: Language in School-Age Internationally Adopted Children

Abstract

This study followed a cohort of 46 school-age children adopted from Eastern Europe who were originally studied by Glennen and Masters up through age 2 or 3. Five years later, the children were 6 to 9 years of age. Data on their school-age abilities were collected through surveys of parents and teachers. Parents indicated that 17.4% of the children were receiving classroom accommodations or special education programs and 54.5% had one or more diagnoses. The most common diagnosis was attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), occurring in 25% of the children, primarily boys. Learning disability and speech language impairment were each noted in 11.4% of the children. Language and Social Skill profiles on the Children's Communication Checklist-2 and Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS) indicated that structural and meaning-based language abilities were areas of strength. Measures of pragmatic use of language (i.e., Use of Context, Social Relations, Nonverbal Communication) were relative weaknesses. Behavior profiles on the SSRS indicated higher than average levels of hyperactivity. The profile of Language and Social Skills strengths and weaknesses was similar to patterns observed in children with ADD/ADHD. Age of adoption was not predictive of school-age outcomes on these measures, but the children's expressive vocabulary when they were 2 to 3 years of age predicted SSRS outcomes for Social Skills and Problem Behaviors.

ADHD-like symptoms and attachment in internationally adopted children

“…12.5% of the general population of Eastern Europe). This percentage is lower than the percentage observed by other authors -25% (Glennen & Bright, 2005), 42% (Beverly et al, 2008) and 46% (Miller et al, 2009) -but it is higher than the prevalence for ADHD in the general population (3-10%).…”

“…Knowing that the prevalence of this disorder is 3-10% in general population, a higher proportion of this label was observed among children adopted from Eastern Europe in these studies: 25% (Glennen & Bright, 2005), 42% (Beverly, McGuinness, & Blanton, 2008) and 46% (Miller, Chan, Tirella, & Perrin, 2009). Unfortunately none of these three studies included a sample of children adopted from other countries, in order to compare the results of children adopted form Eastern Europe countries.…”

Developmental and Behavioral Performance of Internationally Adopted Preschoolers: A Pilot Study

“…However, her detailed language testing revealed that 11.4% of children had speech language impairment at age 6-9 years. Use of context, social relations, and nonverbal communication were relative areas of weakness [59], areas which we did not specifically test. Our findings of nearly universal strong language skills may have reflected the entry criteria for our study, in which children with specific difficulties were excluded.…”

Language Learning and the Internationally Adopted Child

“…It is also notable that the age of adoption is not necessarily predictive of later school age problems. In general, the language of typical IA children catches up with their non-adopted peers by ages 3-4 years and continues to develop at a normal rate throughout their school-age years (Glennen & Bright, 2005). Pollock (2005) found that IA children, regardless of country of origin, acquired their first 50 words at a relatively matched pace.…”

“…While the older children have the advantage of cognitive preparedness, they also have further gains to make in order to catch up with their same age peers. Furthermore, vocabulary skills continue to be strengths for IA children 5 years after adoption (Glennen & Bright, 2005).…”