Oi Vej

Have any of you ever felt extremely under-qualified to do a job someone has deemed you qualified to do? Such is my life right now. I work with kids that are legitimately diagnoised with everything from ADD, ODD, RAD, Bipolar, Depression, Pathological lying, and just about any other set of intials you can develop, someone probably has. I'd say the most difficult thing to work with is the RAD, or "Reactive Attachment Disorder."

RAD kids were not able to make healthy bonds with adults at a young age or some were so severely abused that they digressed. All of these children's attachments are surface and fleeting, and they will share affection with family, friends, and complete strangers who give the appearance of "friendly" indiscriminately. Doesn't sound so bad? Well, unfortunately for RAD kids, it is. It is quite sad to watch, and if not caught, could be untreatable. From what I've read, it's about one month of treatment and retraining for every year of life for a child to reach a place of substantial healing, and those months are grueling because the issues of pain and abuse/neglect are dealt with without delay.

These children are often manipulative, angry, and have little to no care for the well being of another. (They say Hitler had RAD, but obviously not all with RAD become like Hitler; Helen Keler is another example due to her severely illness and disability)

Since part of the care for someone with RAD is to try and get them to attach to their parental figures, how do you work with a child in "the system" and "in placement" that is never meant to be permanent and where you never really know how long a child will be with you?

I feel slightly under-qualified. But thank God He qualifies me and has healed me from my own junk so that I might be able to love without draining myself, knowing full well that HE is the source of my strength and love.

Pray for the girls, the staff, and their families, if you think about it

-Asher