 | http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/01182005/currents/59777.htm
Adopted children face unique challenges
By Peggy Small-Porter
With international adoptions on the rise in this country, many new parents of
adopted infants and toddlers are facing many of the same issues as all parents
face. They are also learning that they and their children may have some unique
challenges.
Very little valid data exists on the long-term health and well being of
children who have been adopted from institutions. What is known, based on the
thousands of international adoptions over the past few years, is that a large
percentage of children adopted from orphanages exhibit some form of
developmental delay.
Many of the institutions in which children are placed offer less than adequate
care, which results in a variety of physical, cognitive, social and/or
emotional problems. A variety of factors contribute to the risks of
developmental problems including poor medical and nutritional care and the lack
of a strong bonding and attachment with a primary caregiver during critical
formative years.
The good news is that adopted children will progress far better in their new
home than in the orphanage, and most children make tremendous gains in growth
and development during the first years with their adoptive families. Many of
the problems are simply environmental adaptations that go away when the
environment is changed.
Limited studies have shown a correlation between the length of time a child
spends in an institution and the severity of their delays. The less time a
child has been in an orphanage, the greater improvement they tend to show over
time compared to children who are adopted at a later age.
This finding is right in line with the results we see in early intervention
therapies. When children receive the appropriate therapies at an early age,
their progress is more rapid and effective.
In situations where are a child is neurologically impaired however, such as
fetal alcohol exposure, the developmental challenges will be life-long.
Some of the more common issues in internationally adopted children include the
following:
Social-emotional issues — Adopted children can seem to be somewhat
overwhelmed by other children, and tend to withdraw or avoid them. This may
seem surprising for children who have lived most or all of their lives in
groups with other children. Some researchers attribute this behavior to the
belief that in orphanages, children in cribs seldom attempted to interact with
the child in the crib next to theirs, because the other child would usually not
respond.
Medical issues — Institutionalized children are typically much smaller than
their peers due to a variety of factors including lack of prenatal care and
malnourishment. A vast majority also reports to have or have had at least one
medical problem.
Feeding issues — The most common eating problems reported are refusal of
solid food and eating too much. Many institutionalized children have to learn
when to stop eating. Before being adopted, most had never eaten enough to know
what it felt like to be full.
Refusal to chew is another difficulty directly related to orphanage conditions.
Many institutionalized children are not given solid foods until well into their
second year, and as a result have not learned how to chew.
Physical issues — Most infants will rock back and forth on their hands and
knees in preparation for first starting to crawl. Children in orphanages will
engage in this rocking, but then had nowhere to move beyond the length of their
cribs. The rocking would continue as a habit when there was no opportunity to
crawl.
Some researchers theorize that habits like rocking could be attempts by
institutionalized children to stimulate or soothe themselves in an environment
that provided little or no stimulation or comfort.
What parents can do
One of the most important things parents of internationally adopted children
can do is to get connected. Having support and access to a network of
specialists can provide parents with much needed validation and assistance. See
“Local Resources” sidebar.
Providing the appropriate type and amount of stimulation for your child will
differ for each child. Some institutionalized children cannot bear to be
touched or hugged right away. Sometimes a room full of fun toys is
overwhelming. Parents eager to make up for all that their child has missed
while living in an orphanage need to practice patience while the child
acclimates to their new and different world.
Read your child’s cues and provide a wide range of developmental play
activities, which emphasize parent-child involvement. This will help your child
feel connected to a person as opposed to feeling alone and isolated. Gently
stimulate all your child’s senses by using toys with different textures,
colors, noises and music.
As the adoptive home provides gradual and increased stimulation, and as the
child develops ways of letting his or her needs be known to a responsive
parent, troubling types of behaviors naturally decrease and the parents and
children learn to engage in a healthy and loving manner.
Peggy Small-Porter is the executive director at the Richie McFarland
Children’s Center in Stratham. Send her an e-mail at
psmallporter@richiemcfarland.org Seacoast Newspapers and RMCC provide this
column as a public service.
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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
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