Siblings

You can never truly understand a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.  I don’t know what it’s like to be adopted, or to be given up at birth, and I don’t know what it’s like to have reactive attachment disorder (RAD). I know what it’s like to be an adoptive parent, and I know what it’s like to be a parent of a child with RAD, but I don’t understand what goes on in her head when she is raging out of control. I take Bunny to therapy once a week, I’ve taken Elle to RAD camp, and I am an AWESOME RAD mom, but as much as I say the right things and parent in a strong and… [more]

A reader posted a very good and very perplexing question yesterday. She is a therapist, working with a young teen girl whose brother is struggling with Reactive Attachment Disorder. The therapist asks, “How can I help her deal with the anger, confusion and fear?” I can’t tell you how much I wish there was a clear, concise, effective answer to this question. However, I know of no magic bullet for this. I have had conversations with my adult children about their memories and their views of life in our home when they were elementary, middle and high school aged kids. Both Kyle and Stephanie say pretty much the same thing. They didn’t realize how abnormal our lives were until they were older and had the… [more]