I have received some excellent and thought-provoking comments about Dora’s brief stay in respite care while I had my surgery. I will answer the questions and respond to the comments in a post in the near future … but this morning I am compelled to address yet another school shooting tragedy. I was actually presenting a luncheon... more

I would guess that anyone reading this blog would know what the word orphan meant. Most of us would state it means a child without parents, although Answers.com clarifies it to mean a child whose parents are dead. Answers.com lists a second definition as a child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted.

Another definition is one that lacks support, supervision, or care.

All of the above definitions are nouns. Answers.com... more

I have received several phone calls or emails this past few days, from parents reading this blog, posting on ATN’s various listserves, or referred to me by individuals. The common theme in their questions for me centers on “Will he heal? Is there hope?”

One dad said, “Life is no fun … all we do is exist. He eats, sleeps and poops—nothing else.” This dad continued his post by describing all the attempts he and his wife have made to engage his son in life. Music lessons, sports, peer-attended social outings, etc. His son is inappropriate, passive-aggressive, disinterested... more

Tonight’s local news featured a more in depth story about the accused killer of Kelsey Smith, a beautiful 18 year old recent high school graduate who was abducted in daylight hours from Target and killed shortly thereafter. I blogged about it here. The accused killer is Edwin... more

In this post I was discussing Foster Cline’s views about the types of individuals who work with abused children. Foster divides therapists and social workers into four categories:

Abusive individuals who appear abusive: This is the most easily identified of the four types of individuals. According... more

I skimmed the recent posts this morning from one of ATN’s listserves, and several interesting things caught my eye. The first was this comment from one of the moms:

What a miserable situation to be in … that of an adoptive parent of a child with RAD and whatever else. Boy would I like to get off the wagon and start over. I just want to yell, "HELP" to someone and have all of our situations fixed. I want these kids "healed" so that they can lead... more

I am sure I would be preaching to the choir if I happened to say I see attachment issues and attachment disorder nearly everywhere I am … and if I don’t see it, it finds me. My friends call me the “RAD Magnet.” Here are some examples:

I have spent a good portion of this past week networking, making and re-establishing connections in preparation for ATN’s second national conference in Excelsior Springs, Missouri this August. One of... more

I have been sick since returning from Colorado. I don’t do sick well … I have way too much to do. But I spent all day yesterday in bed reading a book that was recommended to me by a family I met at Memorial Day weekend Family camp. The book was a NY best seller titled The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Seems I’m reading lots about other peoples’ daughters these days, having just read ... more

I had another post nearly written for tonight. But I have to switch gears. My head is spinning and I have to share this with you.

While we were in Colorado last week, I heard on Colorado news, way up in Estes Park, something about a Kansas girl that was abducted from a Target store in broad daylight last Saturday night. She had graduated from high school two weeks ago. The Target store is in a very nice part of town in this very nice community.... more

Last October I received a book in the mail, and because I had just moved for the second time that year, and because my life was upside down, I put the book on a shelf and forgot about it. That is, until Cindy Bodie blogged about it and I just had to read it. So I did, and then I blogged about it.

The book is An Unlit Path by Deborah Hannah. Those of you interested... more