Language Development and Delay in Internationally Adoped Infants and Toddlers

Abstract

When children change cultures through adoption, they experience a transition from a birth first language to a new adoptive first language. Because adoptive families rarely speak the birth language, use of that language arrests at the time of adoption and undergoes attrition while the child learns the new adopted language. During this process, internationally adopted children have limited abilities in both languages. This makes it difficult to determine which children require speech and language services, and which will learn the new language spontaneously over time. This article reviews information on arrested language development in bilingual children and applies it to the internationally adopted child. The influence of cross-linguistic patterns of transfer and interference in infants and toddlers is explored, along with the medical and developmental risks associated with children adopted from orphanages. The primary goal of this article is to help professionals understand post-adoption language learning issues affecting internationally adopted children, as well as the impact of preadoption history on those developmental processes.

Speech and language development in six infants adopted from China

“…In addition, institutionalized children are likely to exhibit delays in their original language. The language learning process for internationally adopted children may be more accurately termed second first language acquisition (Roberts, Pollock, Krakow, Price, Fulmer & Wang, 2005) or new adopted first language acquisition (Glennen, 2002).…”

Examining the primary school experiences of intercountry adoptees : perspectives of adoptive parents and children

“…Furthermore, research has begun to highlight the outcomes of institutionalisation on children's cognitive and language development as well as other educational issues including school performance (Gindis, 2005;Glennen, 2002Glennen, , 2006Glennen, , 2007Meese, 2002;van Ijzendoorn, Juffer, & Poelhuis, 2005).…”

“…Terms such as "Institutionalised Autism" (Gindis, 2008), also referred to as "institutionally induced autism" (Federici, 1998), "quasiautism" (Rutter, Colvert et al, 2007), "acquired institutional autism" (Miller, 2004), "post-institutional autistic syndrome" (Hoksbergen, Ter Laak, Rijk, Dijkum, & Stoutjesdijk, 2005), have been used to describe the "autistic-like" behaviours of a significant minority of children adopted from Romanian or other severely depriving orphanages or institutions. The cumulative cognitive deficit (CCD) of sudden native language attrition and English language acquisition and the impact this has on the behavioural and learning outcomes of intercountry adoptees has also been investigated (Gindis, 2005;Glennen, 2002). Such studies inform adoption research and the work of adoption specialists and service providers within the ICA professional community.…”

“…It is important for parents and teachers to have an understanding of the impact of language and cognitive development, particularly in relation to the institutionalised and/or older-placed adoptee. This has been a focus of empirical studies and clinical experience overseas for more than a decade (Dalen, 2002(Dalen, , 2007Dalen & Rygvold, 2006;Gindis, 2005Gindis, , 2008Glennen, 2002Glennen, , 2007Glennen, , 2008Glennen & Masters, 2002;Glennen, Roberts & Scott, 2011;Hoksbergen & Ter Laak, 2007;Juffer & van Ijzendoorn, 2009;.…”

“…73; see also Dalen, 2002;Dalen & Rygvold, 2006;Gauthier & Genesee, 2011;Jean-Baptiste, 2012;Judge, 2004;. One of the reasons for this is that intercountry adoptees are often mistakenly considered to be "bilingual" (able to use functional skills in more than one language) or "ESL" (English as a second language) learners which may lead to inaccurate remedial action in schools to support them in acquiring their new adoptive language (Glennen, 2002;Glennen & Masters, 2002;Gindis, 2005). According to Sleeter and Grant (2009), "… all bilingual education models assume that the language and culture a child learns at home can promote normal and healthy language acquisition, psychological development and communication competence" (p. 56).…”