Abstract

In recent years, many children from Eastern European orphanages have been adopted by families in the United States. When children begin life with their new families, they experience an abrupt language shift in which the learning of their native language halts as the learning of the new language commences. Without the support of their native language, their language-learning experiences differ from those of most children learning English as a second language. To better support these children in their language learning, the language and reading achievement of 44 children adopted from Eastern European orphanages were clinically assessed with standardized tests and natural-language samples to determine the extent and types of problems present in the areas of language (i.e., overall spoken language, receptive language, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics) and reading. Orphanage, adoption, and individual factors that might be associated with language/reading achievement were also explored. As a group, the adopted children performed lower than age expectations on all measures. Language impairments and reading deficits were apparent in about one third of the children, with nearly 14% demonstrating significant deficiencies in both language and reading. Several orphanage and adoption factors were associated with reading outcomes. Recommendations for assessment and intervention are provided.
 

Title of journal, book, etc.

Journal of Early Intervention

Date Published

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

• Hough, S.