Reactive Attachment Disorder:
What, Why and How to Deal with It.
One of the complications involving bonding among children (especially adoptive children) today involves reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Reactive attachment disorder has no straightforward cure and stems from a variety of factors that greatly impact the child in several negative ways. Unfortunately, many parents who have youngsters with this type of complex disorder do not fully understand what this disorder entails or how to deal with it, and many do not seek guidance and council (webmd.com). This misapprehension can lead to exasperation and anxiety and for both the parents and the youngster with this condition. In order to help the juvenile, parents must recognize why the youngster has the disorder, what the disorder includes, and how the family can cope with it.
From the beginning of a child’s life, he forms an emotional connection with those around him. Four forms of attachment exist: secure, avoidant, disorganized, and ambivalent (TCU Institute of Child Development). Doctors characterize a youngster with a secure attachment by “neediness and dependence and crying when the caretaker …show more content…
Children who have experienced abuse at some point in their life can become abusive toward others in order to make themselves feel better. This creates problems in the family when the juvenile physically or emotionally distresses another family member. Sometimes, a RAD youngster will attempt to construct a rift between the husband and the wife. One mother from chask.org who raised two children with this disorder states about her daughter, “She tried to pit us as mom and dad against each other. She loved and obeyed Daddy. She hated mommy. Her primary care-giver was THE enemy. She loved men in general and somehow, even at an early age, was able to wrap them around her finger
What, Why and How to Deal with It.
One of the complications involving bonding among children (especially adoptive children) today involves reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Reactive attachment disorder has no straightforward cure and stems from a variety of factors that greatly impact the child in several negative ways. Unfortunately, many parents who have youngsters with this type of complex disorder do not fully understand what this disorder entails or how to deal with it, and many do not seek guidance and council (webmd.com). This misapprehension can lead to exasperation and anxiety and for both the parents and the youngster with this condition. In order to help the juvenile, parents must recognize why the youngster has the disorder, what the disorder includes, and how the family can cope with it.
From the beginning of a child’s life, he forms an emotional connection with those around him. Four forms of attachment exist: secure, avoidant, disorganized, and ambivalent (TCU Institute of Child Development). Doctors characterize a youngster with a secure attachment by “neediness and dependence and crying when the caretaker …show more content…
Children who have experienced abuse at some point in their life can become abusive toward others in order to make themselves feel better. This creates problems in the family when the juvenile physically or emotionally distresses another family member. Sometimes, a RAD youngster will attempt to construct a rift between the husband and the wife. One mother from chask.org who raised two children with this disorder states about her daughter, “She tried to pit us as mom and dad against each other. She loved and obeyed Daddy. She hated mommy. Her primary care-giver was THE enemy. She loved men in general and somehow, even at an early age, was able to wrap them around her finger