Ahh...Reactive Attachment Disorder. It didn't mean much to me when the therapist made that diagnosis of my then 8-year-old daughter. After all, I already knew her problems stemmed from the neglect she had suffered as a baby. From being left in soiled diapers, to eating out of garbage cans, even the act of me showing up with the sheriff's deputies to take custody left a huge impression. She missed her mother — who wouldn't? Every little girl wants (and deserves) a mother who will hold them, coo to them, brush their hair. But I figured with a little extra love we'd be alright. Boy was I wrong. RAD is far deeper than that. You can't "fix" RAD with a little extra love and attention (no matter what the adoption agency tells you). You can't "fix" RAD with charts or rewards or any of the other typical parenting methods that work for most people. In fact, if you are parenting a child with RAD, take everything you've ever learned about parenting, turn it upside down and inside out if you hope to keep your sanity. RAD develops in children who suffer intense emotional or physical trauma at a very young age. Not all children who suffer trauma will develop RAD, but a traumatic childhood is the common factor among children with this diagnosis. In a nutshell, the child learns that others are not to be trusted. They are there to cause pain, and if the...

Parent describes the challenges of raising a daughter with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), a condition rooted in early trauma.

Reactive Attachment Disorder

 Ahh...Reactive Attachment Disorder. It didn't mean much to me when the therapist made that diagnosis of my then 8-year-old daughter. After all, I already knew her problems stemmed from the neglect she had suffered as a baby. From being left in soiled diapers, to eating out of garbage cans, even the act of me showing up with the sheriff's deputies to take custody left a huge impression. She missed her mother — who wouldn't? Every little girl wants (and deserves) a mother who will hold them, coo to them, brush their hair. But I figured with a little extra love we'd be alright.   Boy was I wrong. RAD is far deeper than that. You can't "fix" RAD with a little extra love and attention (no matter what the adoption agency tells you). You can't "fix" RAD with charts or rewards or any of the other typical parenting methods that work for most people. In fact, if you are parenting a child with RAD, take everything you've ever learned about parenting, turn it upside down and inside out if you hope to keep your sanity.    RAD develops in children who suffer intense emotional or physical trauma at a very young age. Not all children who suffer trauma will develop RAD, but a traumatic childhood is the common factor among children with this diagnosis. In a nutshell, the child learns that others are not to be trusted. They are there to cause pain, and if the...

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Special Needs
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Reactive Attachment Disorder

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Special Needs Articles

Reactive Attachment Disorder

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Special Needs
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