A guide to navigating school with a child with reactive attachment disorder in the pandemic
“I hate you!” my daughter yells, throwing her school work on the floor and shoving her school-issued Chromebook across the kitchen table....
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RAD Reflections
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Carrie O'Toole
- Feb 8, 2021
- 5 min
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...
2,372 views2 comments
Amy VanTine
- Jan 31, 2021
- 5 min
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...
751 views0 comments
Anonymous
- Jan 26, 2021
- 4 min
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...
927 views0 comments
Heather Houze
- Jan 17, 2021
- 5 min
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.
572 views0 comments
Heather Houze
- Jan 12, 2021
- 7 min
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...
315 views0 comments
Heather Houze
- Jan 5, 2021
- 2 min
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...
36 views0 comments
Amy VanTine
- Dec 28, 2020
- 6 min
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...
162 views0 comments
Amy J. Brown
- Dec 10, 2020
- 5 min
The Reality of Holidays with Reactive Attachment Disorder & How Parents Can Prepare Into 2024
The holidays are especially difficult for RAD families. Read this mom's tips for how to get through.
1,299 views0 comments
Amy VanTine
- Dec 8, 2020
- 5 min
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...
1,787 views0 comments
Stacey Hansen
- Dec 1, 2020
- 4 min
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)...
272 views0 comments
Heather Houze
- Nov 24, 2020
- 6 min
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.
7,541 views0 comments
Gina Heumann
- Nov 17, 2020
- 7 min
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...
484 views0 comments
Chris Prange-Morgan, MA, MSW
- Nov 10, 2020
- 5 min
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.
5,118 views1 comment
Heather Houze
- Nov 3, 2020
- 3 min
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...
252 views0 comments
Amy VanTine
- Oct 27, 2020
- 4 min
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...
1,003 views0 comments
Anonymous
- Oct 20, 2020
- 6 min
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....
546 views0 comments
Heather Houze
- Oct 14, 2020
- 7 min
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.
1,915 views1 comment
Forrest Lien, LCSW
- Oct 6, 2020
- 6 min
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...
5,926 views0 comments
Cheryl Ruzzo
- Sep 29, 2020
- 8 min
A Hidden Aftermath of Reactive Attachment Disorder: When a Child's Trauma Traumatizes the Family
Simply because a perpetrator is a child does not diminish the effects of abuse. Reactive attachment disorder impacts the whole family.
5,103 views4 comments
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