Posts tagged as:

Reactive Attachment Disorder

Make this Your Resource When Your Challenging Child Is Presenting You an Extraordinary Challenge

September 17, 2010

A lot is written about Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and how devastating it can be. You can find many articles by therapists who most ably describe RAD and the importance of therapy for the child. Many wonderful blogs by parents describing their day-to-day experiences with a child beset by RAD are available. I want this [...]

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Why I Am Here

August 16, 2010

Raising a Challenging Child, a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), can be extremely difficult and, obviously, challenging. All too often parents don’t know what they are facing when their child shows the signs and symptoms of RAD. In all too many cases those parents do not know where to turn for help. They know [...]

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Stop Playing the Reactive Attachment Disorder Blame Game

August 2, 2010

I have not written recently. I have felt stuck. I now know why. There has been a seemingly endless stream of comments on Twitter and elsewhere about the causes of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) which blame birth parents. By the same token others write that RAD is way overblown, that causes of the behavior problems [...]

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3 Effective Steps that Will Prevent Unwanted Visits from Police When Your Challenging Child is Raging

July 19, 2010

This is all about worries of unwanted law enforcement intervention when a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) has raging and violent tantrums which may requires physical restraint for the safety of everyone. Our sweet RADish, healing as she is, still has fits of tantrum and rage. She is known to kick and scream, just [...]

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Developmental Trauma Disorder: A Better Diagnosis for Challenging Children?

July 6, 2010

Back in May I described the proposed new diagnosis of Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD). Whether or not DTD would replace Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is beyond my expertise or, frankly, concern. I do know is that it presents a much clearer picture of my RADish’s difficulties than does RAD. For now RAD and Post Traumatic [...]

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3 More Important Ways for Challenging Children to Process Feelings

June 17, 2010

Challenging Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have big feelings of anger, grief and fear resulting from the first years of their lives. To  heal their hearts these feelings must be addressed. Naturally your attachment therapist will help your child to discover and manage those feelings. Therapy, though, is generally once a week. The rest [...]

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DTD — Something New and Big in the World of Challenging Children

May 26, 2010

DTD is not a condition suffered by alcoholics. It is a new diagnostic description of the emotional disturbances of many challenging children. For years we have been left with the limitations of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Led by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., clinicians have developed a new diagnosis, Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD), to describe [...]

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A Poem for Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder

May 17, 2010

This poem was posted to a Google list for folks who have attended Nancy Thomas Family Camps for families with children who have Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Thank you, James, for permission to post the poem here. Uncle Joe Dedicated To Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder “It would be better for him to be thrown [...]

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Paradox for Oppositional Behavior

May 12, 2010

Molly writes, “When my child is being defiant and I tell them to sit down to rest until they are ready, they will just flat out refuse to do that. So what do I do then?” The defiance on top of defiance. Oppositional behavior and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) often go hand in hand. I [...]

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Mother’s Day for Challenging Children

May 12, 2010

Happy Mother’s Day! A few days late with a purpose. How was Mother’s Day for your child with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)? I intentionally waited until the day after Mother’s Day to send a greeting for two reasons. First, I wanted Mother’s Day to be a day with my family to celebrate and honor the [...]

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