Does My Child Have Reactive Attachment Disorder?

Caregivers for children who are affected by Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have a difficult job.  Parents, Foster Parents, and other kinds of caregivers often feel rejected, frustrated, and unable to help children who suffer from RAD.  However, these caring adults are, by far, the most important factor in the treatment of RAD.

What is Reactive Attachment Disorder?

Kids who suffer from RAD have received insufficient care from adult caregivers during infancy and/or early childhood.  They often have been neglected and not received “basic emotional needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection.”  They have often experience “repeated changes of primary caregivers.”  These experiences limit the child’s ability to develop a healthy attachment with any caregiver.  You may notice that children who have had these experiences in infancy and childhood do not seek comfort when they are upset, or they don’t respond as other children would when they are comforted.  They may seem withdrawn, or like they are rarely happy.  You may also notice that they seem unreasonably angry, sad, or scared when interacting with caregivers – even during interactions which would not evoke those emotions from other children.  (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.)  In my experience, children who suffer from RAD seem to reject love and care from anyone who offers it.  As a caregiver, you may feel like this child is always pushing you away.

How is RAD treated?

Children with RAD need caregivers who are relentless in their love for them.  Children with RAD and their families should see a counselor regularly.  Counseling can help children recognize and address unhelpful thought patterns that lead them to interpret caregivers’ actions as threatening and dangerous when they are not.  Counseling can also help caregivers parenting strategies that will help children with RAD feel safe and loved.  But above all, kids with RAD need caregivers who will not, under any circumstances, be pushed away by them, no matter how hard they try. If you think your child has Reactive Attachment Disorder, contact us today. Crosswinds Counseling will work with your family to help your child trust caregivers and help identify helpful parenting strategies.