Looking for my child: pre-adoption tapes and observations

Newsletter #20 for Internationally Adopting Parents
June 11, 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

Bgcenter accepts files and videos which cannot be
transmitted via email
due to large size or
delivered via regular mail
(while you are abroad):
call the center for instructions
on uploading your files for professional analysis

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

Looking For My Child:
Pre-adoption Tapes and Observations

Natalia Likhtik, Licensed Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
A Child at Play
The world of childhood is quite different from our adult world. It is not simply a smaller version of it. It is a different world, and you have to learn to understand it. You have to learn to "read" child's behavior. Every parent needs these skills, but parents adopting internationally may need them more then others, since you will not have the advantage of understanding your child's native language.

Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Pre-adoption Videotape Evaluation: Possibilities and Limitations
With the advent of digital technology: video cameras, camcorders, and even telephones with camera capabilities, creating a digital video of a child in the orphanage is entirely within reach of a visiting parent, who, being very personally involved and interested, can create a larger and more objective video file of a prospective child. Such data may be helpful in the initial screening of this child, but it should be gathered according to certain guidelines (not randomly) to be useful for further professional assessment.

Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Sample Psychological Report Based on Videotapes Analysis
The usefulness and scope of a professional conclusion based on a videotape is limited and solely based on information explicitly presented on the videotape. Of course, there is no substitution for a thorough “hands-on” psychological and developmental evaluation, but videotape could make a valuable contribution in our understanding of the child’s current functioning and to point to possible difficulties in school.