by Vicki Meyer

Created on: February 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 05, 2009

Reactive attachment disorder, a term that confirms the pain that a child has seen so early on in life. RAD is caused by neglect or abuse in early childhood. When a child's needs are not met, the child grows to never learn to trust or rely on the primary caregiver (Potter and Perry, 2006). RAD is more serious in the child whose parents did not meet their needs in the first two to three years of life. This toddler will grow into a human being with little to no impulse control, a lack of conscience, displays serious aggression, and is completely irresponsible (Hoksbergen and ter Laak, 2000).

Adoptive parents are often discouraged by the RAD child, feeling as though they have somehow failed, but at the same time, afraid to ask for help for fear of having the child removed from their care. RAD is surprisingly prevalent in adopted children, although parents are often not aware of this fact until their child begins to display the serious effects of the disorder, and it is diagnosed as simply behavioural problems which are left untreated.

Treatment however, is of the utmost importance when raising a child with RAD. Without proper treatment, the child may grow to become a sociopathic, narcissistic, or antisocial adult (Lehman and Jegtvig, 2004). It is crucial for the parents to be aware of the possibility of their child developing RAD, and to be educated on signs and symptoms, and different possible treatment methods to better prepare them for the adventure ahead.

Children with RAD tend to be labelled as disagreeable or misbehaved; they do not relate well to other children, tend to be very withdrawn, have little to no conscience, and enjoy injuring themselves/others. Children with RAD typically end up in foster care, or being adopted. About 1% of children will be diagnosed with RAD, however the odds increase to 10% for adopted children (Lehman and Jegtvig, 2004). Parents of these children experience a very strenuous task of raising a seemingly impossible child (Hoksbergen and ter Laak, 2000). The children are not comforted by their primary care giver(s), but seek reassurance from complete strangers (Oosterman and Schuengel, 2000).

The level of foster parent/adopted parent sensitivity does not affect the ability of the child to feel secure in their environment, even if the child has remained in that environment for majority of their life (Oosterman and Schuengel, 2000). This can be a very frustrating phenomenon for parents, for no matter their best intentions, their child

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