Course SBG2 School
Issues of internationally Adopted Children: Language, Behavior,
and Academic Functioning Instructor
Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Part 1.
Language
Unit
1: How do international adoptees differ from
other English language learners?
International adoptees are not bilingual.
International adoptees have delays and weaknesses
in their first language.
International adoptees learn English in
a different way than "typical" English language
learners.
Unit 2:
Native language loss in an internationally adopted child.
The causes of rapid loss of the native language
by an international adoptee.
The therapeutic value and negative consequences
of a rapid loss of the first language by an international
adoptee.
What are the pros and cons of preserving
the native language?
Parents share thoughts about their experience
with bilingual issues.
Unit 3:
The dynamics of English language acquisition by an internationally
adopted child.
Communicative language fluency and cognitive
language mastery in international adoptees.
The pattern of English language learning
by international adoptees.
Language issues of children adopted at an
early age and still having language-based problems in school.
Unit 4:
English as a Second Language (ESL) academic program.
Is an ESL program beneficial for IA child?
Can an ESL program be helpful to IA children?
ESL and remedial services.
Temporary difficulties in second language
learning or a genuine language disorder?
Part
2. Behavior
Unit 5:
Major causes of school-related emotional/behavior problems
of international adoptees.
Do international adoptees have more behavioral
problems than their peers?
Major causes of behavior problems in international
adoptees from developmental, psychiatric, and socio/cultural
perspective.
Developmental disabilities and institutional
autism.
Unit 6:
Initial adjustment of internationally adopted children
to a new family and school.
Culture and language as mediators of initial
adjustment period.
Initial adjustment period phases.
How to manage behavioral issues during the
initial adjustment period.
Unit 7:
Post-orphanage behavior syndrome: symptoms and remedies.
Components of Post-Orphanage
Behavior.
How to manage Post-Orphanage Behavior of
a child.
Unit 8:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Attachment Disorder
(AD) in school age internationally adopted children.
The specificity of ADHD in international
adoptees.
The specificity of PTSD in international
adoptees.
The specificity of AD in international adoptees.
Part 3.
Academic functioning
Unit
9: The nature of academic issues of internationally
adopted post-institutionalized children.
The nature and roots of possible academic
issues of international adoptees.
Primary and secondary disabilities as the roots of
possible academic issues
Risk factors for academic success and the age of adoption
What does it take an international adoptee to be successful
in school?
Academic readiness of international adoptees.
The issue of school readiness in contemporary American
education
The specificity of readiness issues in international
adoptees
Unit 10:
Cumulative Cognitive Deficit in international adoptees:
how to prevent and compensate.
The symptoms of Cumulative Cognitive Deficit
(CCD) in international adoptees.
Case study: chronic mismatch between the
child's learning capacity and academic placement, teaching
style, and level of instruction.
The essence and specificity of Cumulative
Cognitive Deficit in internationally adopted post-institutionalized
children.
Remediation of Cumulative Cognitive Deficit
in international adoptees.
Unit 11:
School placement and the role of psycho-educational
evaluation of internationally adopted children.
What is the appropriate school placement
for international adoptees?
The initial screening and full psycho-educational
assessment of international adoptees
Who is the right specialist to do a psycho-educational
evaluation of an internationally adopted child?
Tests and procedures used in psycho-educational
evaluations
Unit 12:
Special education and remedial services for internationally
adopted post-institutionalized children in school
The issue of eligibility for special education
placement and services for international adoptees
The process of obtaining special education
services for international adoptees
Existing remedial opportunities for international
adoptees at school
