Medical, psychological and specialized assessments on arrival

Newsletter #5 for Internationally Adopting Parents
February 12, 2006
PAL Center Inc.

In this issue

Adoption training courses are convenient and most affordable way
to quickly access a psychological consultation on the issues you
need to address.
Check out the course library,
use the opportunity to speak to the instructors

From the editor

We save you time and select only quality articles related to international adoption issues. As of now we have more than 400 authors, registered for participation in the directory, but only 11 of them provided articles that passed our requirements. For each published article about 12 are declined. We are dedicated to creating a database of adoption information you can trust.

You receive this newsletter as a former client of the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment & Remediation, or a former student of the Bgcenter Online School, or a user of the International Adoption Articles Directory.

Latest Articles
from the
International Adoption Articles Directory

Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW

What is custody?
Who makes the decisions post separation?

Who’s in charge anyways?
Grandparents, parents, children... Who leads who?

From our database:
We are at home! Now what?

Some thoughts on medical, psychological and specialized assessments
on arrival

Initial developmental evaluation of an internationally adopted child: is it important?
Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Unfortunately, psycho-educational and speech and language assessments of a school age child are the exception rather than the rule. Too often, school districts assume a "wait-and-see" attitude, rejecting request for such an evaluation and suggesting "to wait until the child learns more English." In many cases, however, parents cannot afford losing any time without proper assessment and remediation of an internationally adopted child.

What does my child need: neuropsychological or psycho-educational assessment?
Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
When choosing an evaluation for your internationally adopted child, you basically are making a choice between the three brunches of contemporary psychological services: clinical-, school-, and neuro-psychology. It is assumed that all three types of psychological services are provided by doctorate level (having either Ph.D. or Psy. D. titles after their names) licensed child psychologists.

What is OT and what are general OT needs of the internationally adopted child?
Mary-Margaret Windsor, ScD, OTR/L
Children who have experienced physical and social deprivation or trauma often exhibit delays and disruptions in their performance of normal life tasks and activities (occupations). In addition, the circumstances of institutionalization often force the child to develop atypical adaptive responses and behaviors (i.e., gaze aversion, fear, and lack of attachment with adults; attention getting through aggression; antagonism or withdrawal when relating to peers)...

How to choose a pediatrician for your child
George Rogu M.D