OK, where shall I start with my review of An Unlit Path? Cindy Bodie blogged about it here. And her stellar review prompted me to get the book off my shelf, where it had lain since I received it last fall, in the midst of the complete and utter chaos of a household move.

I hardly know where to start… and I am so rarely at a loss for words. Deborah captured the roller coaster ride of living with emotionally disturbed children in a way I have not... more

A long time ago I complained to a friend of mine that my schedule for the day was shot, thanks to all the unexpected things that life tends to throw your way. And my friend responded… “That’s what you get for making a schedule!” I have thought of that so many times.

Well, today was one of those days. I have had a box of pictures sitting on my entry way floor for weeks, waiting to be hung on the bare walls. I keep thinking, “Today will be the day.” But thus far, that “today” has not come.

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Part One

The psychologist who called me works in a maximum security prison, and he was interested in finding information that addressed the result of never developing healthy attachments. Follow this link to read more about sociopathy and antisocial behavior.

The article linked above begins with this statement:

People who... more

This must be the week for collateral connections for ADN. I was still on the phone talking to Janet of the Keall Foundation in Canada about the issues of abandonment and attachment, when I received an email from a clinical psychologist at a maximum security prison in the US. The psychologist is quite interested in learning more about early attachments and how disrupted attachments lead to the development of sociopathy and anti-social personality disorders. We spoke for an hour on... more

I concluded my conversation with Janet of the Keall Foundation this morning as we finalized our initial plans for collaboration. I find her insight and perspective fascinating… the same as I enjoy talking to Nancy Ashe about her views as an adult adoptee. (Sidebar here, if you really want an eye-opening perspective on adult attachment issues, go here... more

I recently blogged about the series of articles appearing in the KC Star about mental health issues in children. The articles described the difficulties in finding appropriate school settings for emotionally disturbed children, the difficulties in diagnosing and treating the mental health issues of children, the uncertainty about medications and dosages, the ramifications of residential placement, and a host of other problems associated with mentally ill kids.... more

In Part Four of this series, I ended with Kim, the mother of an emotionally disturbed child, predicting that her daughter’s new teacher, initially all sunshine and smiles and optimism, would soon realize how truly disturbed Kim's charming 7-year-old daughter really was. Kim predicted the teacher's epiphany would take a week, but first Kim had to tolerate this all-too familiar scenario:

With (the teacher) on the floor, Holly is happy.... more

Part One Part Two Part Three

Marcus’s therapist is 25 years old. She worked with Romanian orphans while in college, and was so affected by the experience she subsequently liquidated most of... more

Two more installments of the series on children’s mental health have appeared in the KC Star. The series is specifically about Marcus, a 6 year old with a plethora of diagnoses after his name. Yesterday’s installment opens with Marcus recently placed at Spofford, an RTC here in the KC metro area. On average, slightly less than 50 kids between the ages of 4 and 12 are housed at Spofford, because of mental and emotional problems so severe... more

Part One

One of the folks quoted in the article is Susan Crain Lewis. Thanks to her, I was able to present a seminar on RAD in the late 90’s here in the KC metro area. I have already emailed her, too, hoping to reestablish the wonderful working relationship we had 6 years ago.

I wish I had been able to speak to this reporter before the article was written, but hopefully I can reach out to other... more