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Jesse Snedeker, Ph.D.
is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Dr. Snedeker and her
students conduct research on language development, language comprehension and
language production. She is currently studying early language acquisition in
internationally adopted preschoolers (30m - 6 years). This project has two
goals. First, this research will provide valuable information about the
typical course of development in this population. Second, by examining the
stages of language development in older children, the researchers hope to
learn more about the roles of maturation and experience in language
development. For more information about the study, go to:
http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds/adoption/
- Dana Johnson, MD, PhD
is director of the International Adoption Clinic at the University of
Minnesota. His research interests are the health status of international
adoptees on arrival and short and long-term effects of institutional care on
physical growth and cognitive development. He is also dad to an
internationally adopted daughter.
International Adoption Clinic - The University of Minnesota
- Hospital and Clinic
- Box 211
- 420 Delaware Street SE
- Minneapolis, MN 55455
- For information call:
- Dana Johnson, MD, PhD
- (612) 626 2928
- To view a document authored by Dr. Johnson entitled "Adopting an
Institutionalized Child: What are the Risks?", please
Click Here!
- Dr. Jane Aronson
is a researcher and clinician at Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, New
York. To read her abstract entitled "Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and
Fetal Alcohol Effect in Pre-adoption Evaluations of Children in Russian
Orphanages", Click Here!
- Christian Solidarity International
is an organization who investigated the orphanages of the Soviet Union with
regards to their living conditions and allegations of abuse. To read a
synopsis of their report entitled Trajectories of Despair (which
provides some answers to the ubiquitous "oligophrenia" diagnosis seen in
referrals to potential adoptive parents), Click Here!
For additional information, please visit Christian Solidarity International
- Elinor Ames, PhD
is a developmental psychologist at Simon Fraser University in British
Columbia, Canada. She and her research team studied 115 Canadian families who
had adopted Romanian children. Some were from orphanages; some came directly
from birth families. This study focused on attachment status, behavior,
intelligence and developmental status. Parental stress was also investigated.
They were evaluated at two points in time: at Time 1 they had been in their
homes approximately 11 months; at Time 2, a median of 39 months. To view the
recommendation from her pioneering study, Click Here!
To view the results on medical, behavior, and social problems,
Click here
To request a copy of this study, please contact
Dr. Elinor Ames
- Barbara Morse, PhD
is assistant research professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Fetal
Alcohol Education Program, Boston University School of Medicine. She has
worked to understand and treat developmentally at-risk children since 1982.
Dr. Morse conducts research and education aimed at identifying women at risk
and prevention and treatment of FAS. Current research includes studies
understanding the factors influencing the diagnosis of FAS, examining specific
developmental disorders in children with FAS/FAE, and understanding attitudes
toward addiction. She has published numerous papers on alcohol related birth
defects and the treatment of alcohol affected children as well as a handbook
for parents of children with FAS.
Fetal Alcohol Education Program, - Boston University School of Medicine
- Hospital and Clinic
- Research Assistant Professor/Program Director
- MED Psychiatry 7 Kent Street
- Boston, MA
- For information call:
- Barbara Morse, PhD
- (617) 739-1424
- e-mail: Barbara Morse, PhD
- Laurie Miller, MD
is director of the International Adoption clinic at the Floating Hospital for
Children, New England Medical Center (one of two clinics specializing in the
evaluation of internationally adopted children). She has extensive experience
as a pediatrician in Egypt, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. She has
authored many articles on the topics of international child health and
international adoption. She is also a member of the International Child Health
subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is chairperson of its
task force on institutionalized children. To have your child evaluated (either
pre-adoptive records/videos or post-adoption) call (617) 636 8388.
- Kathryn Ballou, MSN, RN
is a clinical instructor at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, and a
doctoral student at the University of Kansas. Kathryn became interested in
international adoption issues in 1996 after adopting and subsequently
relinquishing a severely damaged child from Romania. Her experiences as a
parent over the course of the year led her to investigate not only the
problems of internationally adopted children, but the responses of parents. In
her search for a "label" for the experiences and feelings, as well as ways to
assist other parents, she developed a hypothesis: Preparedness and reciprocity
are related to effective parental coping in adoption of international orphans.
Kathryn would also like to investigate the relationship of these concepts with
that of chronic sorrow in these parents.
Kathryn A. Ballou, MSN, RN - University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Nursing
- 2220 Holmes
- Kansas City, MO 64108
- 816-235-5609
- e-mail: Kathryn A. Ballou, MSN,
RN
- Dr. Megan Gunnar
at the Child Development Institute at the University of Minnesota is examining
salivary cortisol levels of adoptees from Romania in conjunction with the
study done by Dr. Elinor Ames in British Columbia. Salivary cortisol samples
are being gathered at three points in the day over 3 days to examine the
circadian patterning of cortisol levels in Romanian adoptees. The three time
points are wakeup, noon, and 30 minutes before bedtime. The cortisol data (a
biobehavioral measure of stress) will be examined in relation to the cognitive
and social data that Dr. Ames and her students have collected on these
children. - email Dr. Megan Gunnar .
- To read about Dr. Gunnar's current research project on international
adoption, go to:http://icd.coled.umn.edu/IAP/
- Sharon Glennen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
- is a speech-language pathologist on the faculty of the Communication
Sciences and Disorders Department at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland.
After adopting two toddler-aged children from Russia, she became interested in
the language acquisition process for post-institutionalized orphans who lose
their native language and have to acquire a new first language. Dr. Glennen is
studying language development patterns of children adopted internationally in
hopes of developing professional guidelines for determining "normal" language
development from patterns that signify language delays or disorders. In
collaboration with her colleague, M. Gay Masters, Ph.D., she is currently
studying the language development of children adopted from eastern Europe who
ages 0 to 36 months of age and plans to follow the children longitudinally
through early school-age. The survey can be located on the web site for the
Eastern European Adoption Coalition at http://www.eeadopt.org. For more
information, email Dr. Glennen at
sglennen@towson.edu
- Dr. Harry Chugani,
neuroscientist at Wayne State University, is studying critical periods of
human brain development. His research team uses positron emission tomography
technology in humans complemented by autoradiographic techniques of various
measures (glucose metabolism, protein synthesis, receptors) in various animal
models. They have found that changes in glucose metabolic rates parallel
synaptogenesis and outline a critical period of developmental plasticity. Dr.
Chugani and his team have recently turned their attention to the study of the
effects of an impoverished early environment on brain functional activity as
related to neuropsychological measures. This work was chronicled on the ABC
Turning Point show on Romanian adoptees that aired on January 16, 1997. Dr.
Chugani can be reached at - e-mail: Dr. Harry
Chugani.
- Dr. Sharon Cermak,
professor of Occupational Therapy at Boston University, is conducting a
research project designed to examine the incidence of sensory integration
dysfunction in internationally adopted children from Russia, Romania,
Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. This study will examine the Sensory Integration and
Praxi Tests performance of adoptees who had spent at least 18 months in an
orphanage. These children will be compared to another group of children who
have spent four months or less in an orphanage. Participants in this study
will need to have been in their new adoptive homes for at least one year. This
study will be conducted with families who live in the Northeast. Please
contact Dr. Cermak or Susan Lin at Boston University if you would like to
participate. The phone number is 617 353-7520. - e-mail: Dr. Sharon Cermak.
- Emory University's Divisions Pediatric Endocrinology and Developmental
Pediatrics
Researchers at Emory University's Divisions Pediatric Endocrinology and
Developmental Pediatrics, are conducting a survey to study the growth and
development of children from orphanages. According to their site: "We know
that maternal deprivation, neglect and severe malnutrition in the early lives
of these children put them at greater risk for growth failure and
developmental delays in the early years. However, little is known about
long-term growth and development of these children. Individual reports suggest
that these children experience long-term growth failure, continued
developmental delays and abnormalities related to the onset of puberty. Visit
their website at
http://www.emory.edu/PEDS/ENDO/orphan/
Dr. Josephine Ruggiero
is a Professor of Sociology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.
Dr. Ruggiero is also a social researcher and, along with her husband, the
adoptive parent of a sibling group of three Russian-born children who joined
their family in September of 1994. Dr. Ruggiero has given presentations on
issues in older-child adoptions and related issues at adoption conferences in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island as well as at the national meeting of the
American Sociological Association. She is currently embarking on Phase III-- a
mailed questionnaire survey of a research
project focused on older-child and sibling- group adoptions of children from
Russia, former Russian Republics, and Eastern Europe.
- She has been in contact with the families that
participated in one or both of the previous phases as well as with those who
have contacted her after Phase II was completed. Since some parents have moved,
changed email address, etc. She had lost the opportunity to reach them. So,
she is open to adding other families IF they express interest soon. She expects the
Phase III Q to be ready to go March 2004. Her focus is still
primarily on families who have adopted an older child/children or siblings
from Russia and other EE countries between Jan. 1,1990 - Dec. 31, 2003.
Click here to obtain a copy of
Family research webpage in PDF format
- You can find more information at
http://www.providence.edu/soc/adopt.html. You can contact Dr. Ruggiero by E-mail at
jruggier@ providence.edu.
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