Supporting Development in Internationally Adopted Children
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In addition to her work as Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Saint Louis University, Dr. Hwa-Froelich is the founder of the International Adoption Clinic (IAC). The IAC is a developmental clinic specializing in providing intervention services for internationally adopted children and their families. The clinic is an outgrowth of her longitudinal research documenting postadoption English language acquisition, as well as memory, social, and emotional development of internationally adopted children. She has also studied the influence of culture, poverty, maternal-child interactions, maternal mental health, and disrupted development on children's learning.
Dr. Hwa-Froelich holds a master's degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas, a graduate endorsement in early childhood special education from the University of Colorado, and a doctorate in communication disorders and sciences from Wichita State University in Kansas. She has published and presented extensively on the topic of international adoption development, child development, and the effects of cultural and linguistic diversity on communication development and disorders.
A recipient of the Angel in Adoption Award from the U.S. Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Dr. Hwa-Froelich also received the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Clinical Achievement from the American Speech-Language- Hearing Foundation, the Diversity Champion Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Outstanding Clinician of the Year Award. She formerly served as the editor for Perspectives of Communication Disorders in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations for ASHA's Special Interest Division 14 and is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and Division of Early Childhood.
Carol Westby, Ph.D., has published and presented nationally and internationally on play, theory of mind, language-literacy relationships, ADHD, narrative/expository development and facilitation, screen time, children and families who have experienced trauma, and issues in assessment and intervention with culturally/linguistically diverse populations She, has received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Award for Contributions to Multicultural Affairs, and is Board Certified in Child Language and Language Disorders. Dr. Westby has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Geneva College and the University of Iowa's Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.
Sarah E. Harris, O.T.D., OTR/L, Pediatric occupational therapist, Howard Park Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Ms. Harris, a licensed and registered pediatric occupational therapist, lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. Working with adopted children and their families continues to be the most rewarding aspect of her practice. She has participated in multiple international aide trips and most recently spent 10 months working in Eastern Ukrainian orphanages as a Fulbright Fellow. In addition to her work as a therapist, Ms. Harris currently serves as secretary on the Creighton University Alumni Advisory Board.
Jennifer S. Ladage, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Saint Louis University, 1465 S. Grand, St. Louis, MO 63104
In addition to her work as Assistant Professor, Dr. Ladage serves as director of the F.A.C.E.S. Clinic at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, a clinic she founded in 1999 to address the medical needs of internationally adopted children. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AAP's Council on Foster Care, Adoption, and Kinship Care. Dr. Ladage is the mother of three internationally adopted children.
Samantha L. Wilson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Child Development Center-International Adoption Clinic, Post Offi ce Box 1997, MS 744, Milwaukee, WI 53201
Dr. Wilson is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and serves as the staff psychologist within the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. In this position, she provides immediate postadoption support as well as psychoeducational assessment and therapeutic intervention for internationally adopted children and their families. Dr. Wilson has published numerous articles on the subjects of adoption, institutional care, attachment, and early child development.