What is RADical Parenting?

RAD stands for Reactive Attachment Disorder, and it is a common set of behaviors displayed by (mostly) adopted children.  It could also affect any child who has had attachment interruption issues in early childhood, such as, the mother was in the hospital for several weeks after delivery. 

When normal attachment happens between a child and parent, the child feels safe, loved and secure.  When there is an adoption, even if it is at birth, there is a chance that the child will have some features of RAD.  The most common features of RAD are:

• Poor trust from child to adult
•  Lying
• Stealing
• Manipulative behaviors

The ICD-10 description states:

• markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts (e.g., the child is avoidant or unresponsive to care when offered by caregivers or is indiscriminately affectionate with strangers);^[36]

• the disturbance is not accounted for solely by developmental delay and does not meet the criteria for pervasive developmental disorder;
• onset before five years of age (there is no age specified before five years of age at which RAD cannot be diagnosed);^[36]
• a history of significant neglect;
• an implicit lack of identifiable, preferred attachment figures

In my previous blog post, I wrote out the DSM-IV criteria for RAD.