Copyright © 1998 by Cynthia Teeters. All rights reserved.

I have seen (and I include myself here) that parents see a conversational proficiency develop rather rapidly in our adopted children and mistake that for complete fluency. I can't count the number of times I have heard and read statements like, "And he is fluent in English after only .... months home!"

I also believed that English proficiency would come quicker to a child who had English speaking parents. Total immersion will require more practice in the new language when compared to a family speaking the child's first language. More practice should create more proficiency. Right? Well, no.

The theory of subtractive bilingualism says that if a child has a complete loss of a first language before a second language is securely developed, then this loss negatively impacts the child's ability to acquire language. I liken it to having a stroke where you are instantly incapable of expressing complex thoughts and ideas as fully as you once did. If on the other hand, you retain your first language while you are learning a second, then your cognitive abilities progress at an age-appropriate pace while the new language is acquired. There is little back-sliding in your ability to express complex thoughts during this learning process.

Understanding subtractive bilingualism through research is a challenge because so few children are ever subjected to subtractive bilingualism. They never suffer an immediate and total loss of a first language and are then required to perform in a completely unfamiliar language. International adoptees a re the exception and do experience this exceptional situation.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority of us adoptive parents the task of trying to have our children retain enough of their first language while learning ours is impossible. Such a task requires that one or both parents are true native speakers of the child's first language.

Language is one of the areas most negatively impacted by time spent in a neglectful environment. Often our children have not only language delays but also associative learning disabilities such as CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). The cause of such universal language delays in institutionalized children is not known but is probably additive of the many factors that negatively impact language acquisition. Problems that should be suspect are recurrent ear infections, CAPD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID), forms of ADD, lack of a stimulating environment, and emotional disorders.

Language delays in one language transfer and become language delays in a new language. Such delays are intensified because of subtractive bilingualism and because communication with parents and therapists is much more limited than would be with a native speaking child evidencing a similar language delay.

Theory in second language acquisition holds that for immigrant children with no known delays who begin to acquire a second language when just entering school, it will take 1-2 years to acquire BICS (basic interpersonal communication skills) and 5-7 years for CALP (cognitive-academic language proficiency). With possible language delays in a native language and considering the theory of subtractive bilingualism, I see nothing to suggest that such time periods would not also apply to adoptive families where only English is spoken. I certainly do not feel that we should be expecting a shorter period for complete academic proficiency. The time needed may be much greater.

I suspect that our children who are adopted between the ages of 3 and 9 years maybe the most at risk. Younger children have more time to acquire a new language. Early intervention is available and appears to be very successful in remediating language delays. Even still, if one accepts that it takes 5-7 years to develop CALP, parents of children adopted as infants and young toddlers would be well advised to seek out early intervention and also closely monitor the child's academic language skills for at least the first few years of school.

Children older than about 9 have had an opportunity to acquire cognitive skills in a first language and will be able to transfer those skills. For those older children who have not acquired the needed cognitive skills, the delays will be very recognizable to adults and will likely be part of the child's school performance records given as part of the referral. Remediation can begin immediately after adoption.

Children in the latency period, though, may not be so quickly identified for any type of language delay. Yet, this is a critical time for cognitive development. They are in school and have the academic demands of keeping up with their peers who, for the most part, have benefited from years of nurturing and exposure to stimulating environments. Language acquisition must come in parallel not only to the all-important tasks of learning to read and do mathematics but also to the tasks of learning correct social interaction and how to be a school-aged kid in our culture.

For this age group, it is very important to have at least a qualitative assessment of a child's language skills in his primary language at the time of adoption. Do whatever you can, therefore, to have the child's language assessed as soon as possible - even before coming home. When working with your school it is your right to demand that any assessments be made in the child's primary language. A child's primary language is lost very quickly, though, and it is not unusual for a child to be unable to speak his first language after only 6 months of being adopted. Unfortunately, 6 months does not really give the child enough time for an adequate assessment to be made in his second language. So, it is imperative that adoptive parents do not accept the wait-and-see advice that some schools and other experts may give. Time is of the essence when looking to provide as much catch-up opportunity as possible to a child who has suffered the insult of living in a neglectful environment.

Language proficiency is a key to academic success and must not be overlooked. Teachers may not immediately see language deficiencies in young school age children. I have heard that many students from immigrant families who "graduated" out of ESL years earlier can display serious language problems starting in the 5th grade. Knowing something about the time period for CALP, this is understandable. Unfortunately, starting remediation only after the problem is causing academic failure is not the best solution. It can be a major blow to a child's self-esteem and cause even more academic disappointments.

We adoptive parents must be watching to make sure that our children are gaining the appropriate language skills while in their early school years. To do that we must be using all the resources that we are able to find. This should include demanding and receiving services from our schools and independent therapists and sharing our stories of both success and failure among ourselves.