The Health of Children Adopted From Romania

Johnson, Dana E.; Miller, Laurie C.; Iverson, Sandra; Thomas, William; B, Franchino; Dole, Kathryn; Kiernan, Marybeth T.; Georgieff, Michael; Hostetter, Margaret K.

doi:10.1001/jama.1992.03490240054036

Cited by 175 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Physical growth delays are common in children raised in orphanages, and they increase with age (Johnson et al, 1992;Mason & Narad, 2005;Miller, Kiernan, Mathers, & Klein-Gitelman, 1995). These growth delays are not always related to lack of nutrition in the orphanage.…”

Section: Preadoption Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speech and Language Guidelines for Children Adopted From Abroad at Older Ages

Glennen¹

2009

Topics in Language Disorders

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Children adopted from abroad at older ages have unique speech and language-learning issues. At adoption, the impact of longer stays in orphanages with their associated lack of enrichment, nutrition, and healthcare is more pronounced. After adoption, the children begin school in a new language soon after arriving home. These children quickly lose their birth language before gaining proficiency in the new adopted language, leaving them vulnerable to academic learning difficulties during the transition period. Speech-language pathologists and educators need to understand the typical progression of language learning in this unique group of children so they can determine which children need extra support during the language transition process. This article reviews preadoption issues in older children and provides preliminary information on typical patterns of speech and language acquisition observed during the first year home based on data for a group of children adopted from Eastern Europe between the ages of 2 to 4. It also discusses the impact of age of adoption on language outcomes and provides guidelines for valid assessment of speech and language in this unique population of children.

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Section: Preadoption Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speech and Language Guidelines for Children Adopted From Abroad at Older Ages

Glennen¹

2009

Topics in Language Disorders

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“…Children living in an institutional setting generally experience a lack of adequate nutrition, hygiene, and medical care, a lack of stimulation, and an absence of stable caregivers with whom to form an attachment relationship [4]. Upon arrival in their adoptive family, many of them are therefore in precarious physical and psychological condition [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Their weight, stature, and head circumference are often below the norm for their age, an indication of nutritional and psychosocial deprivation [11], and delays in motor, cognitive, and social development are often reported [8,[12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Adoption Adversity and Self-Reported Behavior Problems in 7 Year-Old International Adoptees

Gagnon-Oosterwaal

Cossette

Smolla

et al. 2012

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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To further investigate the long-term impact of pre-adoption adversity on international adoptees, externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed using a self-report measure at school-age in addition to mothers' reports. The sample consisted of 95 adopted children and their mothers. Children's health and developmental status were assessed soon after arrival in their adoptive family. At age 7, the Dominic Interactive, a self-report measure, was used to evaluate externalizing and internalizing symptoms while mothers completed the CBCL. Children's self-reports were compared to their non-adopted peers'. Adopted children reported more symptoms of specific phobia than their peers. A significant correlation was found between mothers' and children's reports but only for externalizing symptoms. Self-reported symptoms were related to indices of nutritional and psychosocial deprivation at arrival, such as low height/age and weight/height ratios. Our results emphasize the importance of considering international adoptees' perception of their psychological adjustment and the long-term impact of early risk factors.

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“…Developmental, health, cognitive, and psychosocial problems have been reported with Romanian adoptees, particularly for those adopted from institutions and those adopted at an older age (Rutter 1995;Ames 1997;Johnson et al 1992;Chisholm 1998;Beckett et al 2002Beckett et al , 2006.…”

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confidence: 99%

Institutionalization, Romanian Adoptions and Executive Functioning

Groza

Ryan

Thomas³

2008

Child Adolesc Soc Work J

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The impact of a traumatic environment during early childhood is linked to short-term and long-term difficulties in adoptees. This study, utilizing a nonrandom, cross-sectional analysis of 123 children adopted from Romania, focused on executive cognitive functioning. One-third of the sample had not been institutionalized while the other two-thirds had been institutionalized for varying lengths of time from 1 month to more than 3 years, resulting in a ''natural experiment'' that allowed us to compare these two groups. Information from parents and teachers was obtained regarding their perception of the child's executive functioning. Results indicate that, after many years in their adoptive families, 40% of the adoptees had physical challenges and 36% were in at least some special education classes. The best predictor of parental perception of current executive functioning was parent perception of the current parent-child relationship and not preadoptive history.Keywords Executive functioning Á International adoptions Á Preadoptive history Á Institutionalization Á Parent-child relationship As the Romanian government changed in 1989, a surge of about 3,000 Romanian adoptions occurred in the early 1990's to the United States with a total of 10,000

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The Health of Children Adopted From Romania

Abstract: Romanian adoptees are an extraordinarily high-risk pediatric group as a consequences of decades of government-sanctioned child neglect and abuse.

Cited by 175 publications

References 20 publications

Speech and Language Guidelines for Children Adopted From Abroad at Older Ages

Speech and Language Guidelines for Children Adopted From Abroad at Older Ages

Pre-Adoption Adversity and Self-Reported Behavior Problems in 7 Year-Old International Adoptees

Institutionalization, Romanian Adoptions and Executive Functioning

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