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Hernanz Lobo A, Berzosa Sánchez A, Escolano L, Pérez Muñoz S, Gerig N, Sainz T, Mellado Peña MJ, García López Hortelano M. International Adoption of Children with Special Needs in Spain. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:children10040690. [PMID: 37189939 DOI: 10.3390/children10040690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
International adoption has declined in recent years, although the adoption of children with special needs has arisen. We aim to describe our experience in the international adoption of children with special needs and to analyze the concordance between the pathologies included in pre-adoption reports and the diagnosis made upon arrival. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study including internationally adopted children with special needs evaluated at a reference Spanish unit between 2016 and 2019. Epidemiological and clinical variables were collected from medical records, and pre-adoption reports were compared to established diagnoses following their evaluation and complementary tests. Fifty-seven children were included: 36.8% females, a median age of 27 months [IQR:17-39], mostly coming from China (63.2%) and Vietnam (31.6%). The main pathologies described in the pre-adoption reports were congenital surgical malformations (40.3%), hematological (22.6%), and neurological (24.6%). The initial diagnosis that motivated the international adoption via special needs was confirmed in 79% of the children. After evaluation, 14% were diagnosed with weight and growth delay, and 17.5% with microcephaly, not previously reported. Infectious diseases were also prevalent (29.8%). According to our series, the pre-adoption reports of children with special needs appear accurate, with a low rate of new diagnoses. Pre-existing conditions were confirmed in almost 80% of cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Hernanz Lobo
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department, Gregorio Marañón University Hospital, 28007 Madrid, Spain
- Gregorio Marañón Research Health Institute (IiSGM), Translational Research in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (RITIP), 28007 Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFECC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Medicine Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Arantxa Berzosa Sánchez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFECC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Medicine Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pediatrics, Clínico San Carlos Hospital, Clínico San Carlos Research Health Institute (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lucía Escolano
- Department of Pediatrics, La Paz University Hospital, 28046 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Pérez Muñoz
- Department of Pediatrics, Torrejon Hospital, 28850 Madrid, Spain
| | - Nathalia Gerig
- Department of Pediatrics, La Paz University Hospital, 28046 Madrid, Spain
| | - Talía Sainz
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFECC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Paediatrics, La Paz University Hospital, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
- La Paz Hospital and La Paz Research Institute (IdiPAZ), Translational Research in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (RITIP), 28046 Madrid, Spain
- Medicine Faculty, Autónoma University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - María Jose Mellado Peña
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFECC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Paediatrics, La Paz University Hospital, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
- La Paz Hospital and La Paz Research Institute (IdiPAZ), Translational Research in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (RITIP), 28046 Madrid, Spain
- Medicine Faculty, Autónoma University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Milagros García López Hortelano
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFECC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pediatrics, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Paediatrics, La Paz University Hospital, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
- La Paz Hospital and La Paz Research Institute (IdiPAZ), Translational Research in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (RITIP), 28046 Madrid, Spain
- Medicine Faculty, Autónoma University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Hwa-Froelich DA, Matsuo H. Pragmatic Language Performance of Children Adopted Internationally. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2019; 28:501-514. [PMID: 31136229 DOI: 10.1044/2018_ajslp-18-0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Pragmatic language is important for social communication across all settings. Children adopted internationally (CAI) may be at risk of poorer pragmatic language because of adverse early care, delayed adopted language development, and less ability to inhibit. The purpose of this study was to compare pragmatic language performance of CAI from Asian and Eastern European countries with a nonadopted group of children who were of the same age and from similar socioeconomic backgrounds as well as explore the relationship among emotion identification, false belief understanding, and inhibition variables with pragmatic language performance. Method Using a quasi-experimental design, 35 four-year-old CAI (20 Asian, 15 Eastern European) and 33 children who were not adopted were included in this study. The children's pragmatic language, general language, and social communication (emotion identification of facial expressions, false belief understanding, inhibition) were measured. Comparisons by region of origin and adoption experience were completed. We conducted split-half correlation analyses and entered significant correlation variables into simple and backward regression models. Results Pragmatic language performance differed by adoption experience. The adopted and nonadopted groups demonstrated different correlation patterns. Language performance explained most of the pragmatic language variance. Discussion Because CAI perform less well than their nonadopted peers on pragmatic communication measures and different variables are related to their pragmatic performance, speech-language pathologists may need to adapt assessment and intervention practices for this population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hisako Matsuo
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Saint Louis University, MO
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