The Gift of Perseverance

This is the second in a series of messages from the people that we serve. This was written in response to the documentary that aired recently on 20/20. Thank you for reading: The Gift of Perseverance.

I’m a 17 year old girl who was diagnosed with RAD around age 7. It’s a very hard thing to deal with in parent’s lives and in the kids who have been diagnosed. I’ve been struggling with it and I’m almost done with services, therapy because I’ve been overcoming RAD.

Now, RAD isn’t something that goes away, it never does. People with RAD have to work extra hard in everything they do especially relationships… You can’t change a RAD child but you can help them overcome it at a distance away, their goanna have to want to change and you can’t make them want to it’s something they have to want to do on their own. If you are constantly close to them it’s going to make the child lash out and push you away because they are scared of being too close to people from previous things in their lives.

My adoptive parents have been married for 27 years and it really tested how strong their marriage was by having a RAD child come into the picture. I used to hurt my parents on purpose when they got too close, comforted me or anything of that sort because I was scared of yet more rejection. I used to turn my mom and dad on each other because if I was miserable and scared they had to be too.

My mother went to bed every night crying herself to sleep. But that was years ago, I have a stable loving family who I can get close too, to some extent without lashing them and hurting them there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will be forever before you get to see the light. But if you keep working and parents understand how to cope with a RAD child it will be beneficial in everyone’s lives. A lot of people don’t know much about RAD and we need to get the word out.

At Inspiring Change, LLC,  trained mental health professionals can help you or a child that you love to deal more effectively with symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder…If you would like to make changes in yourself or your family, please contact us through this web site. You may use the contact form below, or use our ASK AN EXPERT page. We will get back to you immediately. Thank You!

Susan Roop, Amy Swigart and Susan Johnson are trained mental health professionals who help families to deal with childhood developmental trauma. For adoptive or biological families with children or adolescents who may be experiencing difficulty attaching with caregivers, we understand the anguish that comes from realizing that ‘love is not enough’. Contact us today so that we may help you and your family members connect with one another for a more enriched and stress-free life.