NA - K A - M A Forging Bonds Across Oceans MARCH 2018
HOLI: FESTIVAL OF COLOURS When To Tell Your Child They’re Adopted?
Child Talk: International Adoption and Language
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Table Of Contents
The Festival
Book Of The Month
Family
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International Adoption and a child's first steps, first words are a milestone Language Like that parents eagerly await. Typically, other words
quickly follow, as the child learns the power of speech and masters the rules of language. By age 3 or 4, most children are adept at expressing themselves, are fairly understandable, and need to be reminded that someone else might have something to say. But some children encounter difficulty expressing themselves, calling objects by the wrong name, or saying words that are hard to understand. Others may be unable to make sense of what is said to them. Speech and language skills are critical for young children as they begin to enter the world around them. Even a mild delay in language development may result in tantrums, interfere with learning, sabotage social skills, and undermine selfesteem. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, more than 10 percent of all preschool children have some form of language impairment. Studies show that as many as half the children in foster care have speech or language delays. And, according to Dr. Jane Aronson, a pediatrician specializing in international adoption, the majority of children who previously lived in orphanages have speech and language delays at the time of adoption. The good news is that, with early intervention, the great majority of language-delayed children will be successfully helped in their long-term language development.
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»» Role of early "conversations" One of the most important factors in language development is exposure to meaningful speech during the first three years of life. A baby learns the value of communication in the first few days of life, when her cry brings food and comfort. A child soon recognizes the voice of her parent(s) or caregivers and starts to sort out the building blocks that compose the words of her native language. But some children who join their families through adoption may have missed out on this intimate back-and-forth between child and caregiver. According to Dr. Aronson, "Children raised in institutions miss the eye contact, constant touching, and reciprocal communication needed for brain development at this age." The same is true for children who lived previously in homes with little stimulation or language directed towards the child. Reading and singing to children play an important role in language development, as does holding a child for her bottle. When no one responds to a child's babble, she learns that her voice does not matter, and may not progress in language development.
Expressive language may also be an issue. Some children identify objects by the wrong names, jumble the order of words in a sentence, or have limited vocabulary. Other children may have trouble receiving language: although their hearing is fine, they are unable to make sense of certain words or sentences.
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»» Types of language delays Although many people think of speech as a collection of words, much more is involved in communicating with others. Some children experience problems with the mechanics of speech. Most common are difficulties with articulation, the correct use of the tongue, lips, and jaw to produce the right sounds. Stuttering, lisping, breathiness, and sudden breaks in loudness or pitch may also make a child hard to understand.
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»» Expectations Even children who have language skills in their native tongue can run into problems, says Sharon Glennen, Ph.D., associate professor of Communications Sciences & Disorders at Towson University in Maryland. When faced with an abrupt change of language, internationally adopted children typically relinquish their first language while learning another. As a result, certain developmental and linguistic problems may emerge. Some children will need help adjusting to new sounds, especially if their previous learning environment was inadequate. Others, particularly those adopted after age 3, may experience delay with the abstract thought and cognitive skills needed for academic achievement, says Jeanne DeTemple, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist in Concord, Massachusetts. That's because they are busy re-acquiring language for communication purposes (a task that takes up to three years) at a time when they would otherwise be
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developing reasoning skills.
Fortunately, mild developmental language delays caused by poor orphanage conditions often recede. In recent studies by Glennen and Karen Pollack of the Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology, University of Alberta, the vast majority of preschool-aged children from China and Eastern Europe made good progress in speech and language within two years of adoption.
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For children whose delays are more severe, speech therapy can produce great strides. "Our sons weren't saying any words by their second birthday, though they understood everything we said," recalls Shannon Seymour, the mother of twins adopted abroad as infants. "Now, after ten months of speech therapy, we can't get them to stop talking By Allison Martin
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The Festival Of Colours
Holi is considered as one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of India and it is celebrated in almost every part of the country. It is also sometimes called as the “festival of love� as on this day people get to unite together forgetting all resentments and all types of bad feeling towards each other. The great Indian festival lasts for a day and a night, which starts in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Falgun. It is celebrated with the name Holika Dahan or Choti Holi on first evening of the festival and the following day is called Holi. In different parts of the country it is known with different names.
The vibrancy of colors is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colours is actually a day worth rejoicing. Holi is a famous Hindu festival that is celebrated in every part of India with utmost joy and enthusiasm. The ritual starts by lighting up the bonfire one day before the day of Holi and this process symbolizes the triumph of good over the bad. On the day of Holi people play with colours with their friends and families and in evening they show love and respect to their close ones with Abeer.
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he festival of colours teaches humankind to transcend above the caste and creed. It is a festival to forget old grievances and meeting others with great warmth & high spirit. This festival begins with lightening of bonfire on Holi eve. Next day, people play Holi with different types of colours, abirs and gulals. They greet each other with Shubh Holi i.e. Happy Holi and send warm wishes of the festival. Kids and adults come out of their house and smear each other with bright shades of gulal. Colouful waters are sprinkled on people and kids are found playing with pichkari and water balloons. People exchange sweets, Thandai and snacks among neighbours and friends. Popular Holi sweets are Gujiya, Ladoo, Burfi and Imarti etc. Indian festive celebration is incomplete without delicious sweets. In the midst of these colouring games are savoured the mouth watering holi specialities like gujiya, malpuas, mathri, puran poli, dahi badas etc and downed with glasses full of thandai. In some states there is also a tradition of breaking the pot full of buttermilk which is hung high on the streets. A group of boys form a human pyramid and one of them break the pot. All this while womenfolk throw buckets of colour water on them and sing folk songs.
People exchange sweets and hug each other conveying the warm wishes for Holi. These days there people also participate and organise Holi Meets and enjoy the festival till late in the night. Holi celebrations that starts with the burning of Holika on the eve of Holi thus culminates with the lot of funfilled activity and bonhomie. However, at some places specially Mathura and Barsana Holi celebrations continue for a week as each ma jor temple organise a Holi bash on different day. Lovers of the festival enjoy every moment to the hilt. Holi festival has religious and historical significance in Hindu texts. There was very popular mythological legend about king ‘Hiranyakashyapu’ and his son ‘Prahlad’. The devil king used to hate God esp. Lord Vishnu and threatened people in his kingdom to stop worshipping him. But this King’s own son was a verdant devotee of Lord Vishnu. He denied to obey his father command and this infuriated the king. Hiranyakashyapu instructed his sister ‘Holika’ to pulverize his own son Prahald. Holika had the boon to being immune to fire. She was absolutely sure that she would not get affected by the blazing fire and took seat on the fire with young Prahlad. Lord Vishnu rendered protection of his devotee Prahlad and he was alive but Holika was burnt into death. There of, the festival of Holi signifies the victory of good over evil. By Telegraph Reporters
And after a wild and eventful day, evenings are celebrated in a dignified manner by visiting friends and relatives.
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Works Cited https://www.babycenter.com/0_youradopted-childs-speech-and-languagedevelopment_1374228.bc
https://www.holifestival.org/
https://www.bentousa.com/egg-mold-ricemold/3684-egg-mold-set-with-seaweedcutter-cat-shape-egg-mold-rice-moldarnest-4989082767185.html
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/
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