Food, Culture, and Health of internationally adopted children

Newsletter #52 for Internationally Adopting Parents
March 15, 2007
PAL Center Inc.

In This Issue

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

Group Consultations Calendar

Post-adoption family consultation and counceling

Next Consultation
Language based disabilities
and
their management at school and at home

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.

Latest Articles
from the
International Adoption Articles Directory

Elizabeth Radisson
Nutrition and eating disorders
As children progress into their teen years, they become concerned about their appearance. A child’s body and hormones change during puberty. Many children at this point begin to feel self-conscious about their shape and size and their outlook on life can change for the worse. New social pressures are also introduced into a child’s life with the onset of puberty.

Elizabeth Radisson
The common signs of teen depression
Teen depression may develop in teenagers who have personal, family, and social problems. It is not true that only adults suffer from this problem. Teens can also have this intense mental and emotional problem plaguing them.

Chester Ku-Lea
Set your kids up for cooking success
Gone are the days where all families eat at the dinner table, children grow up cooking alongside their parents and one generation shares family recipes with the next. Life seems to be more hectic than ever and kids don’t often get the chance to develop good cooking habits, which affect their health in the long run. And for some, bad eating results in obesity and other poor health conditions.

From Our Database

Food, Culture, and Health

Alla Gordina, MD, FAAP
Feeding problems in a newly adopted child - a case of a picky eater

Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Dealing with cultural differences of an internationally adopted child

Monica Craft
Bulimia affected teens

Modification of mathematical assignments for struggling internationally adopted students.
Part Two of "Adapting Mathematical Instructions for IA Children."
Part One is published in the previous Newsletter #51

For the internationally adopted children the transitional period at school is essential: their learning process needs to be scaffolded without loosing in the intensity. A child should not be given an unstructured time to "learn about new environment," rather the instructor should make certain adjustments keeping the child involved in all activities. The teacher should:

Reduce the number of problems on a worksheet for independent practice and increase the amount of time for the IA student to complete the assignment.

Move gradually to increasing the number of problems and decreasing the amount of time to complete the assignment.

Color-code the desired function in a computation problem, either ahead of time or during independent practice.

Use graph paper which allows a physical guide for keeping the numbers in alignment, thus decreasing the complexity of the task and allowing to concentrate on the mathematical process.

Model computational problems, demonstrating how to solve a problem while verbalizing the key words associated with each step in its solving.

Ask the child to read the problem carefully focusing on the relevant information and/or significant words needed to obtain the correct answer by identifying aloud or circling the significant words in the problem, and by highlighting the relevant numbers.

Ask the child to perform the steps while verbalizing the key words and looking at the teacher's model.

Ask the child to use a diagram or sketch when appropriate.

Help the child to develop strategies for working through the story by writing an appropriate mathematical sentence.

Teach the child to perform the necessary calculations, evaluating the answer for reasonableness, and writing the answer in appropriate terms.

Train the child to adhere to a pattern while solving math problem:

1. Read and understand the problem.
2. Look for the key questions and recognize important words.
3. Select the appropriate operation.
4. Write the number sentence (equation) and solve it.
5. Check the answer.
6. Correct any errors.

Recommendations for internationally adopted children
compiled by B. Gindis, Ph.D.