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Keep in Touch
Sign up for our emails and get into the Pathways forums — parents and caregivers, friends and family, and professionals each have their own — plus our blog, video interviews, and the free resource library.
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Find Support
Are you a caregiver in need of advocacy and support? Become a RAD Advocates member.
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What Is Developmental Trauma Disorder/Reactive Attachment Disorder?
Developmental trauma disorder (DTD), often diagnosed as reactive attachment disorder (RAD), develops when trauma affects a child's brain during the earliest years of life. Although it's more common among children with histories of foster or institutional care, DTD can affect children and families from many different backgrounds.
Children with DTD or RAD often remain in a constant state of fight, flight, or freeze, even after the original trauma has ended.
Caring for a child with RAD can be overwhelming and, at times, unsafe. Many primary caregivers struggle to find effective treatment, support, and resources while working to keep everyone in the family safe.
Our Latest Posts
Real stories and practical guidance from caregivers and advocates navigating RAD and developmental trauma. Explore our latest posts below.
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How We Support Families and Professionals
RAD Advocates exists to make sure families are not navigating this alone, and that the professionals around them truly understand what they are facing.
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Educate
As a member, you get access to monthly events, expert-led sessions, and courses like the Empowered Parenting Course — all designed by people who truly understand what your family is facing.
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Support
We walk alongside families through some of the hardest moments, including court hearings, investigations, and complicated systems. We work with parents to communicate their needs, develop family safety plans, and connect with the appropriate treatment and support.
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Advocate
We advocate for families during meetings with clinicians, educators, and human services, helping ensure their voices are heard and their needs are understood so every member of the family receives appropriate support.
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Professional Education
Explore our on-demand course and live training opportunities, designed to give you real, applicable tools for working with children and families impacted by developmental trauma.
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Bridging the Gap
Developmental trauma is among the most misunderstood and undertreated conditions in the field — not because clinicians don't care, but because many graduate programs provide limited education about the impact of early trauma. RAD Advocates exists to bridge that gap.
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Family-Vetted Training
Our education is not just clinician-designed — it's family-vetted. We believe effective clinician training begins with understanding the experiences, challenges, and needs of the families they support.
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What's Coming Up
Exclusive virtual events for RAD Advocates members navigating developmental trauma.
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Members only
After the Storm: Life and Family Beyond Active RAD Parenting
Virtual (Zoom)
The questions that come once you are no longer legally responsible for your child with RAD — and the ones nobody else will answer.
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Members only
Surviving Celebrations: Preparing for the Holidays with RAD
Virtual (Zoom)
Preparing for holiday stressors, adjusting expectations, and building celebrations around safety rather than tradition.
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Members only
Healing Through Breathwork: Self-Care Session
Virtual (Zoom)
A 90-minute breathwork session you can join from home. Bring an eye mask, a blanket, headphones, and somewhere to lie down.
Event details
About Us
Guiding From Experience. Leading for Change.
RAD Advocates was founded in 2017 by Amy VanTine, a former child welfare professional whose own adopted daughter's reactive attachment disorder (RAD) pushed her family into crisis — with little support available. After connecting with other struggling caregivers worldwide, Amy and two fellow parents built RAD Advocates: a grassroots 501 (c) (3) nonprofit led primarily by people with lived experience raising children with RAD.
Today, we support families in crisis, train clinicians, educate communities, and advocate for family protections — all rooted in firsthand experience.
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Self-Guided Membership
Access to exclusive member events, practical tools, and a community of caregivers who understand what you are living through, all at your own pace. One-on-one advocacy is not included but can be added through our personalized support memberships.
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Personalized Support Membership
Four options, each pairing you with an advocate for one-on-one time, family safety planning, and priority support.
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Membership
Our memberships connect you with parents who understand — because they've been there. Self-guided membership gives you the resource library, the courses, and the community to work through at your own pace. Personalized support adds an advocate of your own. There is no order to work through — start wherever you actually are, and every level begins with a free consultation to find the right fit.
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The NavRAD Experience
Navigating reactive attachment disorder, or NavRAD, is a biennial guided experience for primary caregivers raising children from traumatic backgrounds. The experience is built around connection, education, and practical planning for the road ahead.
The next NavRAD is planned for 2028. Join our mailing list to receive updates as registration information becomes available.
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