RAD; Not My Kid

When an adoptive parent hears the words Reactive Attachment Disorder we cringe.

If we hear RAD associated with our child we feel like a knife has pierced our heart.

When AJ’s kindergarten teacher mentioned RAD to me last week my heart sank…NOT MY KID, I thought. He’s attached to us. It took him two years but he is, I know it. In my gut I know it.

But, he is so socially disorganized that sometimes I think he does have some attachment issues. We have always been aware that he could have attachment issues. It took him so long to attach, so long to relax, and so long to finally feel safe (which, according to experts, is about a year per year in an institution). But we thought that he was over all of that.

He gives us eye contact, genuine emotion and affection, and does not lie to us. However, his hyperactivity, impulsivity, cruelty to the dog and other kids, argumentative behavior, need to control, and aggression lead me to think that perhaps there are some issues.

On the other hand, some of those issues are part of who he is neurologically and some of those things are because of his institutionalization, making a RAD diagnosis so difficult to determine.

There are many doctors and scientists out there who disagree with the definition of RAD stating that it is ambiguous and that there are so many overlapping diagnoses that can often be applied that often times it is misdiagnosed.

Nonetheless, it makes me wonder just enough to check it out for myself…Radish or not I will make sure he is okay.