Speech–language acquisition in children adopted from China: a longitudinal investigation of two children

The English speech – language development of two toddlers adopted from China by US families was followed longitudinally for several months after their arrival in the US. MX, adopted at 13½ months, exhibited a faster rate of lexical and phonological development than GY, adopted at 20 months. Both girls were also given a thorough speech – language assessment at approximately two years post-adoption. Differences in performance were still apparent, with MX scoring higher than GY on all measures. However, all but one of GY's scores were within normal limits. Age at time of adoption (and correspondingly less time spent in an institution), quality and quantity of prelinguistic vocalizations, and general cognitive abilities are discussed as possible factors contributing to observed differences in rate of early English acquisition and later language skills in preschool.