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How Reactive Attachment Disorder Impacts the Whole Family, Not Just the Child
Reactive attachment disorder touches everyone, not just the traumatized child. Everyone in the family needs support.

Micaela Myers
May 12, 20215 min read
16,725 views
14 comments


RAD Advocates, from then to now: The full circle of raising kids with reactive attachment disorder
It all began with a mom, Googling. Amy VanTine desperately needed help for her adopted daughter with reactive attachment disorder (RAD)....
Nichole Noonan
May 4, 20212 min read
654 views
0 comments


Drumroll, please….we have a new look!
As of today, RAD Advocates has a new logo and tagline with a website redesign on the way. While our look has changed, rest assured that...
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Mar 22, 20213 min read
68 views
0 comments


How a Child's Early Trauma Can Separate Their Parents' Relationship
Post updated in May of 2023 It’s a common story: A couple decides to share their love with a child. If the child enters the family...

Carrie O'Toole
Feb 9, 20215 min read
2,857 views
2 comments


The reality of reactive attachment disorder parenting: When (not if) CPS investigates
It’s not often a matter of if, but when. The reality of reactive attachment parenting is that child protective services (CPS) will...

Amy VanTine
Feb 1, 20215 min read
1,183 views
0 comments


Why Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder Feel Safer at Institutions Than at Home
I remember our first visit to see our child at a residential treatment center (RTC). We entered through the double set of locked doors...
Anonymous
Jan 27, 20214 min read
1,577 views
0 comments


7 New Year's Resolutions You Actually Need to Put on Your List as a Parent of a Kid with RAD
In 2023, be the hero you deserve as you raise a child with reactive attachment disorder. But, as you do, be kind to that hero.

Heather Houze
Jan 18, 20215 min read
594 views
0 comments


When a parent needs to call the police on her child with reactive attachment disorder
“What do you want me to do for you?” the police officer said. I will never forget the perplexed look on the young officer’s face when I...

Heather Houze
Jan 13, 20217 min read
526 views
0 comments


The one thing my son needs most that I can't give him in any new year
The decorations are back in their boxes. Gifts exchanged. Another year behind us. But as other people look toward the future, I’m...

Heather Houze
Jan 6, 20212 min read
51 views
0 comments


A woman's dreams of adoption and a fight for her family's safety
It seemed to happen in an instant. From the time the caseworker called to the time the boys arrived, Anna and Tom had one week to prepare...

Amy VanTine
Dec 29, 20206 min read
181 views
0 comments


Why parenting a child with reactive attachment disorder requires far more than coffee with a friend
I’ve always known it’s a good idea to have a little time away from my kids. And it’s great to go on dates with my husband from time to...

Amy VanTine
Dec 9, 20205 min read
2,699 views
0 comments


The pizza cutter mantra: How to give more calm than chaos to those raising a child with RAD
My mom and I have an inside joke—don’t touch the pizza cutter. Back when my adopted daughter with reactive attachment disorder (RAD)...
Stacey Hansen
Dec 2, 20204 min read
361 views
0 comments


6 tricky reactive attachment disorder symptoms one mom initially missed in her son
Reactive attachment disorder is tricky to recognize. The symptoms don't always line up with a doctor's prognosis or another child with RAD.

Heather Houze
Nov 25, 20206 min read
8,376 views
0 comments


8 things you need to know before you adopt a child
Like any expectant parents, adoptive moms and dads worry that they don’t know enough. They wonder what they need to learn to take care of...
Gina Heumann
Nov 18, 20207 min read
563 views
0 comments


How a Mom of a Child with Reactive Attachment Disorder Develops "Trauma Brain" Too
Here at RAD Advocates, we still talk about our "trauma brains" even years after raising kids with reactive attachment disorder. It's real.

Chris Prange-Morgan, MA, MSW
Nov 11, 20205 min read
5,677 views
1 comment


Why Parenting a Child With Reactive Attachment Disorder Isn't the Same as Parenting Other Kids
Early in our childrearing lives, I became a stay-at-home mom. My husband Jon supported our family financially while I handled most of the...

Heather Houze
Nov 4, 20203 min read
389 views
0 comments


The Most Important Things to Know and Do if Your Child with RAD is in Residential Treatment
Carol was in a complete state of panic when I answered the phone. Her son Ty, a child with reactive attachment disorder (RAD), had been...

Amy VanTine
Oct 27, 20204 min read
1,661 views
0 comments


A mom's heart-wrenching journey through RAD and the decision to send her daughter to live elsewhere
My husband and I had been foster parents for three years the day we got the phone call. The woman on the phone was from the U.S....
Anonymous
Oct 20, 20206 min read
633 views
0 comments


Reactive Attachment Disorder Parenting Resource Round-Up: 34 Sources to Survive the Difficult Path
While helpful resources are still bleak with regard to reactive attachment disorder parenting, it's come a long way. Here's what we found.

Heather Houze
Oct 14, 20207 min read
1,999 views
1 comment


An Open Letter to Clinicians about "Unstable" Moms of Kids with Reactive Attachment Disorder
Dear Mental Health Colleague, A mother called me in tears yesterday. Her story was one of hundreds I’ve heard over nearly 40 years in the...
Forrest Lien, LCSW
Oct 6, 20206 min read
6,974 views
0 comments
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