Chapter 2 - Developmental, Neuropsychological, Psychoeducational, and “Dynamic” Assessment of Internationally Adopted Children

Summary

Accurate assessment, starting from an initial screening or a full assessment on arrival (done in the native language of a child), is the first step in a proper understanding of current and upcoming issues of international adoptees. This chapter describes the follow-up comprehensive combined developmental, neuropsychological, and educational assessment of IA children done in the English language after English became the only functional language of the IA child. Dynamic assessment is used to evaluate cognitive modifiability, responsiveness to instruction and guidance, motivation to learn, and other learning-related capacities. Language issues in the assessments and professional qualifications required for different types of evaluation of IA children are presented. The evaluation of trauma consequences in international adoptees is the core of proper assessments of their needs, weaknesses, and resilience capacities. Additionally, experience with this specific population is needed for the detection of psychological symptomatology of DTD and making differential diagnoses in post-orphanage children. Each and every psychological assessment of IA children must result in a realistic/workable, focused, highly individualized plan for IA children rehabilitation and remediation. This chapter contains several samples of exams used in screening, full neuropsychological exams, and dynamic assessment.