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Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) Typically, RAD comes about when a child does not form an early childhood bond with a parent or other caregiver. Sometimes this lack of bond arises from abuse, neglect or abandonment experienced by children between the ages of six months and three years. A lack of caregiver responsiveness or a frequent change in caregivers may also contribute to the development of RAD.
According to the
Mayo Clinic, the main criteria for the diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder include:
- Disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relationships beginning before age five.
- Failure to respond to or initiate social interactions, or being inappropriately friendly and familiar with strangers.
- Failure of early care to meet the baby's or child's emotional needs for comfort and affection, failure of early care to attend to the child's physical needs, or repeated changes in the primary caregiver.
The staff of the Mayo Clinic warn that not all experts agree on the signs and symptoms of reactive attachment disorder. Some attachment therapists use checklists with numerous nonspecific signs and symptoms that go well beyond what the American Psychiatric Association includes in its definition of the disorder. Be cautious when trying to interpret checklists that include such symptoms as lack of eye contact, rage, aggression, lying, stealing, hoarding food, an apparent lack of a conscience, nonstop chatter, and a desire to wield control. These nonspecific symptoms are difficult to apply to any one diagnosis.
If you're a parent or caregiver whose baby or child has reactive attachment disorder, it's easy to become angry, frustrated and distressed. You may feel like your child doesn't love you — or that it's hard to like your child sometimes. You may find it helpful to:
- Join a support group to connect with others facing the same issues.
- Find respite care so that you can periodically have downtime if caring for your child is particularly troublesome.
- Be willing to call for emergency help if your child becomes violent.
- Continue friendships and social engagements.
- Practice stress management skills.
- Acknowledge that the strong or ambivalent feelings you may have about your child are natural.
- Take time for yourself through hobbies or exercise.
It is important to find a therapist who is trained to diagnos and treat RAD. Learn about the techniques the therapists will use with you and the child. Ask for recommendations from other parents of children with RAD.