From: Harvard University Language Department

Internationally adopted children have a unique experience with language. They begin life learning one language and are then immersed in another. When they are older, adopted children must learn their new language by listening to their parents, in a way that is similar to infant learners. At the Laboratory of Developmental Studies at Harvard University, we want to find out more about the process of language development in internationally adopted preschoolers. In what ways is it like infant language learning and in what ways is it different? We hope that this research will help us understand language development in general and the unique challenges of internationally adopted children.

We are also looking for families who have adopted a child within the last 14 months or plan to adopt soon and who might be interested in participating. If your child was or will be adopted under the age of 16 months or between the ages of 2.5 and 5.5 from Eastern Europe or China, your participation would be extremely helpful.

If you are interested in learning more about the study please go to our website www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds/adoption/ or send an e-mail to langdev@wjh.harvard.edu including your child's current age, age at the time of adoption, and country of birth.

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