A resource for parents of internationally adopted children: age 0-6

1. Attachment and Literacy
Development for Internationally
Adopted Children
Ages 0-6 Years
Allacyn Rowe
Child Development and Family Studies
West Virginia University

2. Table of Contents
 Important Note
 What is Attachment?
 Types of Attachment
Security
 Signs of Attachment
Disorders
 8 Tools of Literacy
 Bonding
 0-1
 2-3
 4-6
 Language
 Benefits of
Bilingualism
 Talking To Children
About Adoption
 Helpful Links
 Work Cited
You can click through any part of the power point or jump directly to a page by clicking on the topic.
To return to the table of contents click on the link provided at the bottom of each slide.

3. Important Note
All children are different and depending on a child‟s
background or situation every child is going to come
with different needs. It would be impossible to asses
every child on an individual basis, however this is a
broad overview of attachment difficulties and
techniques for internationally adopted children. It is
important to be sensitive to each child's individual
background that may include, but not limited to, abuse
(physical, emotional, or
sexual), neglect, abandonment, and/or institutional
care.
Back to Table of Contents

4. What is Attachment? (pg.1)
 Attachment is not something that happens, it is a state of
being. Everyone is attached, however depending on the
circumstances, this could be a secure or insecure
attachment.
 All children, adopted or biological, form
attachments, however children that have had unstable
relationships are more likely to be insecurely attached.
 Parents should be aware of child's background, home life
and routine before the adoption to gage where their child is
at.
 Ie. A child who was in institutionalized care may have been
“trained” to go to bed without a fuss. When a child goes to
bed, it may reflect the training they had verses actual secure
attachment during bed time routines.
Back to Table of Contents
(Riley, San Juan, Klinkner&Ramminger, 2008)
(Mikkelson)

5. What is Attachment? (pg.2)
 Attachment security is an ongoing process and can
change depending on the level of care and
responsiveness given.
 Eirk Erikson was the first to touch on attachment through the
importance of trust. Infants trust in their parents and mistrust in
strangers. Erickson‟s theory was later expanded by John Bowlby.
 Bowlby sought to look at the parent-child relationship, how it
developed, and why it was important. He defined this as the
„attachment- relationship‟ and studied the „attachment behavior‟s that
result from that behavior.
 These behaviors include crying, cooing, or reaching for a caregiver.
Through internal working models, infants can soon learn the reactions
of the caregivers and how to elicit a reaction again.
(Gross, 2010)
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6. Types of Attachment Security (pg.1)
 Secure
 Parents respond quickly and effectively to infants cues
 Infants can trust the reaction of parents
 Baby uses parent as a secure base for exploring
 Baby becomes distressed when separated
 Babies are happy and easily soothed after reunion
 Insecure – Avoidant (Type A) & Insecure –
Resistant/Ambivalent (Type C
 Infants are unable to predict the mood or actions of their caregiver and
are unsure of how to respond.
 Infants may be angry or upset upon mothers re-entry to the room or
seem to not care at all.
 This imbalance may be due to over stimulation or a lack of stimulation
at all
Back to Table of Contents

7. Types of Attachment Security (pg.2)
 Disorganized/Disoriented (Type D)
 Infants are unsure of how to respond, and unlike insecure-
resistant, infants respond with a variety of reactions.
 This usually arises in high stress atmospheres like low
income, teen, or single mother households.
Back to Table of Contents

8. Signs of Attachment Disorders(Taken from the Mayo Clinic online website)
In Infancy
 Withdrawn, sad and listless appearance
 Failure to smile
 Lack of the normal tendency to follow
others in the room with the eyes
 Failure to reach out when picked up
 No interest in playing peekaboo or other
interactive games
 No interest in playing with toys
 Engaging in self-soothing behavior, such
as rocking or self-stroking
 Calm when left alone
Toddler +
 Withdrawing from others
 Avoiding or dismissing comforting
comments or gestures
 Acting aggressively toward peers
 Watching others closely but not engaging
in social interaction
 Failing to ask for support or assistance
 Obvious and consistent awkwardness or
discomfort
 Masking feelings of anger or distress
Back to Table of Contents(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011)

9. 8 Tools of Literacy
 Nurture relationships
 Adults valuing and modeling the importance of literacy
 Exposing and providing opportunities to explore the world
 Positive experiences with books, stories, and reading
 Listening and talking
 Listening to rhymes, rhythms, and songs
 Exposing symbols and explaining meaning
 Providing and experiencing print and writing
Back to Table of Contents
(Knapp-Philo, Notari-Syverson, &Stice 2005)

10. Bonding
 Bonding with children is not a science and many techniques
are already activities one would normally do with a child.
 While some parents instantly connect with their child, others
are waiting to fall in love with their child and/or fear their
child may never love them.
 Those feelings are normal and okay, it might take time but it
WILL happen.
 A child who has had an unstable background may be wary
to trust new adults in their lives.
 The following slides are different activities and techniques
that will help form that secure attachment with your child
depending on the age of their adoption.
Back to Table of Contents

11. Bonding ages 0-1
 Holding your baby
 Other countries have different practices and beliefs on
childrearing. If a baby is uncomfortable being held, try looking
up how the baby might have been held in their home country
 Make direct eye contact with your baby
 Feed your baby
 Talk, sing, and make direct eye contact during feedings
 Sing, read, and talk to your baby
 Respond to your baby‟s verbal and nonverbal expressions
 If your baby babbles, respond back
 Responding to your baby‟s cries
 This shows baby that when they are distressed you will be
there for them and they can learn to expect you
Back to Table of Contents

12. Bonding ages 2-3
 Reading to your child
 Cuddle your child
 Tell child your love them
 Take your child on errands with you
 When ever it is possible to take child with you, do.
 Establish hello and goodbye routines
 If you must leave your child establish a special routine for
partings and greetings
 Feed your child
 Even if they are old enough to self-feed, feed them anyways.
This shows that you are there to care and take care of them
Back to Table of Contents

13. Bonding ages 4-6 pg. 1
*Important note: As children get older their past is more likely to
affect their behavior. Parents and caregivers need to be
extra sensitive to previous events/ living conditions
 Be sensitive to your child‟s home country‟s belief on making
eye contact
 Take your child on errands with you
 Read, talk, and listen to your child
 Establish goodbye and bedtime routines
 Dress your child or pick out their clothes
 Even if a child is old enough to perform this task alone, children
may feel overwhelmed with too many choices.
Back to Table of Contents

14. Bonding ages 4-6 pg.2
 Tell your child you love them
 Hug your child
 Be sensitive to child's comfort level on direct touch
 Brush your child‟s hair
 This is a form of safe touching
 Lotion your child‟s hands or feet
 This could be especially helpful for children of a different
race (particularly dark skinned children).
 This is a form of safe touching
Back to Table of Contents
*Note: if a child is at any point uncomfortable with any form of touch do not
force it. Write down the encounter and speak with physiologist or
pediatrician next visit
("Bonding," 2008)

15. Language (pg.1)
 The first few years of life are a critical period of language
development.
 Babies brains are able to adapt to any language but as they
grow their brains start to only differentiate and recognize the
main language spoken.
 Parents may wonder if there child will continue to speak their
home language after they enter a English enriched
environment.
 The answer to that is no. Language is a “use it or lose it”
process. If a child is not exposed to their home language
frequently they may lose the ability to speak or understand that
language all together
 On the flip side a child will pick up the language (most likely
English) very quickly.
Back to Table of Contents

16. Language (pg.2)
 To help a child acclimate to the new environment, it may be
helpful to have a translator present before, during, and upon
arrival in America.
 While transitioning from one language to another it is
common for children to “cross over languages” (referred to
as code-switching) when they are still learning the names for
different objects.
 Labeling different objects in the home with pictures will help
all children in the home ( biological, adopted, English
speaking or not) learn the names for those objects
 Consider adding the child's home language equivalent (if
possible) as well.
(Guttierrez-Clellen, 1999; Kohnert et al., 2005)
Back to Table of Contents

17. Language (pg. 3)
 Reading and talking to your child is a great way for
them to pick up the language
 Asking them questions to help expand on their thoughts
or help them come up with the words they are trying to
think of
 Guided participation, even if they are older, helps them
learn the names of different things they are looking at.
 This could be done at the store, in the car, really anytime
they are unsure of the words
 Remember to be patient and give them time to think and
respond.
Back to Table of Contents

18. Benefits of Bilingualism (pg.1)
Some parents may want their child to only speak English
for different reasons. Maybe they fear their child will not
acclimate into American culture or may be picked on for
being different, but there are many benefits to being
bilingual.
 These benefits help children (according to “Infant and Toddler Language and
Literacy Course Module 4: Listening and Talking”)
 maintain their connections with multiple cultural and
linguistic communities.
 feel at ease with diverse communication styles and social
rules.
 develop skills that help them focus their attention on
relevant information.
(Bialystok, 2001; Hakuta, & Pease-Alvarez, 1992; Wong-Fillmore, 1991) Back to Table of Contents

19. Benefits of Bilingualism (pg.2)
 However, in order to maintain their home language they
need to exposed to that language as well. They will not
use their home language when they learn that others
expect them to use English
 Consider getting books and music in your child‟s home
language (if possible) as well as in English
 Consider learning your child's home language while they
learn English
 Consider hiring a tutor or find a friend that can use their
home language with them
Back to Table of Contents

20. Talking to Children about
Adoption (pg.1)
This is a resource for parents who might be wary to talk to
their children about their adoption in fear of how their
child might react and/or if they are not sure how to
bring up the subject or what to say.
 Every parent should gage what developmental stage
their child is on when deciding when, what, and how
much to say.
 It is important to be honest, but depending on their
age/developmental level, the whole truth does not have
to come all at once.
Back to Table of Contents(Russell, 2000)

21. Talking to Children about
Adoption (pg.2)
 Some parents may rely on their children to ask them
questions, however, even though it is important to
leave the door open, it may not be best to solely rely on
children to bring up the topic.
 Some parents chose the “ripple-stone effect” by
throwing out small comments or questions to gage their
child‟s interest in talking about the subject and go from
there.
 If a child is not interested in talking about the subject, it
is better not to force it, but to wait and gage their
interest at another time
Back to Table of Contents(Russell, 2000)

22. Talking to Children about
Adoption (pg.3)
 If your child is older when you adopt them, talk to them
about their past experiences and what that means.
 Don‟t negate their former life. They might be new to your family
but that does not mean their life “started over”
 Let your child grieve their loss. Even if they came from a rough
home or a terrible situation, acknowledge that and acknowledge
they have losses.
 Read to your child
 There are a lot of different children‟s books about different kinds
of adoption stories. Pick stories that best fit your family (aka
adopted children of a different race or with homosexual parents
or foster care-to-adoption, ect)
Back to Table of Contents(Paddock, 2011)

23. Helpful Links
 http://www.adoption.com/
 http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/
 http://www.adoptinfo.net/
 http://www.buildingyourfamily.com/options/international-
adoption.php
 http://www.creatingafamily.org/adoption-
resources/langdev.html
Back to Table of Contents

24. Work Cited (pg.1)
 Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy and cognition. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
 Bonding [Web log message]. (2008, April 28). Retrieved from
http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/2008/04/bonding.html
 Gross, D. (2011). Infancy: Development from birth to age 3. (2nd ed., pp. 279-280).
Boston, MA: Pearson.
 Gutierrez-Clellen, V. (1999). Language choice in intervention with bilingual children.
AmericanJournal of Speech-Language Pathology, 8, 291–302
 Hakuta, K., & Pease-Alvarez, L. (1992). Enriching our views of bilingualism and bilingual
education. Educational Researcher, 21, 4–6.
 Knapp-Philo, J., Notari-Syverson, A., &Stice, K. (2005). Tools of literacy for infants and toddlers.
In E. Horn & H. Jones (Eds.). Young Exceptional Children monograph Series: Supporting early
literacy development in young children. Young Exceptional Children Monograph Series, 7, 43-
58.
 Kohnert, K., Yim, D., Nett, K., Kan, P. F., & Duran, L. (2005). Intervention with
linguisticallydiverse preschool children: A focus on developing home languages(s).
Language,Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 251–263.
Back to Table of Contents

25. Work Cited (pg.2)
 Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011, July 6). Diseases and conditions: Reactive attachment disorder.
Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/reactive-attachment-
disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20032126
 Mikkelson, K. (n.d.). All through the night: Parents and experts weigh in on the best ways
to get our kids to sleep. Retrieved from
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1074
 Paddock, D. (2011, 01 01). Grief and loss issues for adopted children: Caring adults can
make all the difference in an adoptees life. Retrieved from
http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=331
 Riley, D., San Juan, R. R., Klinkner, J., &Ramminger, A. (2008). Social & emotional
development: Connecting science and practice in early childhood settings. (1st ed., pp.
5-26). St. Paul, MN: Red Leaf Press.
 Russell, B. (2000). Talking to kids about adoption: Is it what you say, how early you say
it, or how often you say it that matters most to your child?. Adoptive Families, Retrieved
from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=173
 Wong-Fillmore, L. (1991). When learning a second language means losing the first.
EarlyChildhood Research Quarterly, 6, 232–346.
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