My Adoption Life

Have any of my readers or your family members, have it? How would you know? Who are the people throwing all these letters at us?

When you think about it, medical doctors diagnose them, psychiatrists and therapists diagnose them.  There are times when I think these power-people (PP) have no real idea what’s wrong with our children.

How many families get an ADHD diagnosis for problems that are really trauma based? Then, if that diagnosis and the medications used to treat it, don’t work, the PPs try another diagnosis.

Oh, what is that, you ask? It’s PTSD! Now the PPs will give the child something to relieve anxiety. That medication didn’t work, so the PPs will change the diagnosis to GAD and prescribe another, stronger anti-anxiety medication.

Your child has tantrums or rages. What do the PPs call it? ODD!!! I’d say it is odd because there are different medications that are prescribed for it.

What happens when all these medications that are prescribed, don’t treat the real underlying issue? Those of us who are parents of kids with Reactive Attachment Disorder understand that the real issue is trauma-caused RAD.

Medications can help, but they don’t treat the underlying problem very well. Methamphetamines used for ADHD only make true RAD kids’ behaviors even worse. Anti-anxiety meds make the kids tired.

There isn’t really a medication designed to address the issues caused by RAD. The worst part is that talk therapy does NOT work for these kids either.

There is a real need for counselors that do Attachment Therapy all over the country. I mean since families from small towns have the same RAD issues as those in the big cities, Attachment Therapy should be available to everyone.

Here is a list of some of the Alphabet Soup designations that have been given to our kids with RAD.

All the following are abbreviations of diseases and mental health diagnoses:

How many do you recognize?  

ADHD                           AD                                 AS

BPB                               CF                                 CP

DD                                 FASD (FAS, FAE)        FTT                              

GAD                              IBS                                MD

NI                                   OCC                              ODD                             

OI                                  PDD                              PTSD                           

RA                                 RAD                              SB

These are all reasons for families to seek help for their adopted children.

Thanks for reading, I’d love to hear your responses. Please contact me at lamp1685@yahoo.com

N. Ann Lamphere, MSW