International Adoption Info

Newsletter #140 for Internationally Adopting Parents
January 31, 2011
PAL Center Inc.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Initial screening
of your internationally adopted child
in the Spanish Language
is now available both at
the Phoenix &
New York
BGCenter offices!

Psychologists
Dr. Boris Gindis &
Carol Napier

team up
to offer two decades of expertise in the assessment of international adoptees and knowledge of the native language and culture of your Spanish speaking child.

The initial psychological screening
in the native language
gives you an insight of your adopted child's current developmental and psycho-educational needs.

It will help determine the appropriate school placement and services and insure that remedial programming will be started as early as possible for your child.

For information
Call the BGCenter
at 845-694-849

You receive this newsletter
as a former client or correspondent
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.

Copyright@2006-2011
 

Latest Articles
from the
International Adoption Articles Directory
New Articles

Educational Classification for Your Internationally Adopted child: How Important Is It?

B. Gindis, Ph.D.

I wrote articles and spoke about school issues of internationally adopted children many times because schooling is the major activity of a child between 5 and 18: it affects all other aspects of their psychological functioning. Success or failure at school are critical not only for the future achievements of a child, they are a validation (or a lack of it) of self worth, the basis for a peer group selection and acceptance in it. School activities are on the background of emotional and behavioral stability in the family. No wonder that parents of IA children do everything they can to get help at school for their struggling children, and this, unfortunately, is not a straightforward process.

In order to secure a set of consistent and effective remedial services and an appropriate educational environment for your child in school, you have to obtain an "educational classification" for your child. What is the meaning of the notion of educational classification? First and foremost: it is a designation of educational handicapping condition and a description of the specific educational needs of your child.

There is a difference between “educational classification” and “medical diagnosis.”

A medical diagnosis is made by a medical doctor or a licensed psychologist. It is a determination of physical and/or mental health condition that must be listed in professional documents, such as DSM-lV-TR. An example of such diagnosis could be: Autism, Anxiety, ADHD, etc. In some cases diagnosis is a life-long condition (e.g.: autism), in some it can be a temporary condition (e.g.: articulation disorder).

An educational classification is a determination of current educational needs and could be changed as required. In my practice, I had cases when within several years I had to amend classification due to child’s changing needs for remediation or when the initial goals were achieved. It is important to know that educational classifications are limited in number (13 all in all) and are listed in the major educational law called IDEA. These classifications are broad in scope, are rather vaguely defined, and are assigned by your school-based educational personnel.
In my experience, most often used educational classifications given to IA children are:
  • Learning Disabled (LD)
  • Speech/Language Impaired (SLI)
  • Other Health Impaired (OHI)
  • Emotionally Disturbed (ED)
    • More articles and references on educational classification from Dr. Gindis
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