Language Acq in adopted children

[kpollock at memphis.edu]

----- Original Message -----
From: Coreda at aol.com
Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2001 1:34 pm
Subject: Language Acq in adopted children

>> I would appreciate any input that you all can offer.  Also, I
>> would like any
>> leads on researchers who are currently addressing the issue of
>> language
>> change in children adopted from non-English speaking countries.
>> Thank you.
>> Cynthia Core
>

I responded to Cynthia earlier privately, but also thought that I
should share this with the entire group.  I am also the mother of an
adopted daughter from China, and am currently involved in a series of
studies addressing speech-language acquisition in children adopted from
China.  The goals of these studies are to obtain normative information
on speech-language acquisition (taking into account factors such as age
at time of adoption and number of months post-placement), identify risk
factors that may predict later language outcome, and determine the
overall incidence, nature, and extent of speech-language problems that
persist beyond the early years following placement.  The first three
studies are currently underway; the fourth is still in the planning
stages.  Here's an overview of the studies.

1.  A nationwide longitudinal survey of speech-language acquisition in
children between 9 and 42 months of age who have been home less than
one year.  Parents are being asked to complete a survey every three
months until their child reaches three years of age.

2.  A local longitudinal study (in the Memphis, TN area) of children
from 9 to 30 months of age at time of placement, beginning in the third
month home and continuing until three years of age.  Data includes a
combination of measures based on standardized tests, parent interviews,
and direct observation.

3.  A two-site (Philadelphia and Memphis) cross-sectional study of
children from 3 to 8 years of age who have been home more than one
year.  This study is being done in collaboration with Jenny Roberts,
Rena Krakow, and Paul Wang at Temple University. We are administering a
full battery of tests measuring articulation/phonology, receptive and
expressive language, cognition, preliteracy skills, and hearing.

4.  A nationwide survey of children over three years of age who have
been home at least two years.  The purpose will be to obtain
information from a much larger group of children than in study 3, using
a parent questionnaire (under development now).

The Temple group (Roberts, Krakow, & Wang) also have some other
projects in the works.  I'll let them post about those themselves, so
as not to misrepresent their research.

It is far too early to comment on the results of any of these studies,
but I think it is safe to say that many of the children we have seen so
far are doing exceptionally well, despite frequent early delays in many
areas (presumably due to lack of stimulation/interacton in the
orphanages).

Karen Pollock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Associate Professor
School of Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
The University of Memphis