Parenting Children & Teens with Reactive Attachment Disorder

How can you know if your RAD teenager needs to be placed in a residential treatment program? Take the self-test below. If your RAD teen has 10 or more of the following symptoms/conditions, then chances are he/she is in serious need of residential treatment for RAD-related issues: 1. "I hate you," attitude 2. "You can't make me," attitude 3. Abrupt Change in Personality 4. Abusive Behavior 5. Academic Problems 6. Alcohol Abuse or Addiction 7. Anxiety 8. Argumentative 9. Attempted or Threats of Suicide 10. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder 11. Authority Problems 12. Avoidant Behavior 13. Bipolar Disorder 14. Blames Others for His/Her Behavior 15. Blames Others for His/Her Mistakes 16. Blatant Disregard of Rules 17. Can't Accept "No" For an Answer 18. Can't Accept Feedback 19. Can't Keep Friends 20. Clinging Behavior 21. Conduct Disorder 22. Cutting 23. Danger to Self or Others 24. Demonstrates Poor Impulse

Parenting a youngster with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is extremely challenging, intense and exhausting, but the rewards are equal to the difficulty of the task. Not all attachment therapists agree on the details of how to parent RAD kids, but most experts agree that “control and limit-setting” should be a primary focus. One thing that many RAD kids have in common is their extreme need to be in control of their environment and of the people in it, especially their moms and dads. When they were young kids in the orphanage or foster care, they didn't have an opportunity to complete the bonding cycle, which is where trust develops. Perhaps the move to their new adoptive home interrupted that cycle, and therefore they don't trust grown-ups to take care of them. In addition, when the grown-ups were in charge, the youngster was abandoned, neglected or possibly hurt. So these very smart kids have figured out that to feel safe, they need to be in control. But this, unfort