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Not sure how to approach this. My 6yo came home from Guatemala at 12mos. I don't like to think she could be a candidate for long-term adoption-related problems, because she was so young. However, I don't know that I can rule it out, either.
My dd is definitely wired "differently." She's been diagnosed with having retained primitive reflexes and auditory processing issues, for which she's in therapy. She might have some other "stuff" too. She has a sugar obsession that leads to bad choices, but I'm not sure what to "blame" that on.
The reason for this post is that my dd has unusual reactions to stressful situations. She seems to have various on-off switches most kids don't have. And she doesn't have the "healthy fear" of authority you'd expect. Nor the apparent guilt/remorse you would hope to see. At school, she's been caught doing a couple of naughty things, and her reaction has been basically cold. "Yes, I did it. No, I didn't have a good reason for it." She is cool and calculating, and this allows her to fly under the radar a lot. Her teacher is really upset about this. She expects a kid to get scared and cry and not even dare to attempt certain things (i.e., going into the teacher's desk drawer to swipe candy).
After I learned about this and disciplined her yesterday, she asked, "will my teacher make me leave my school now?"
So this brings up an issue I often wonder about. Though I'm no expert, I would guess that my kid is still only "anxiously attached." I suspect that she subconsciously feels that everything is temporary and could change any second. Somehow I feel that's behind some of the issues she is having. But I don't know what to do about it.
Has anyone here had a similar situation? Or do you have any insight from others you have observed? Do you think it's time for me to look for psychological counseling or something? It is the last thing I'd normally think about, but I am getting more uncomfortable with this situation as my dd gets older. Thoughts?
Go to Attachment.org and click on the Reactive Attachment Disorder tab to the left. See if you think she has those symptoms.
A therapist is always a great resource or option. Can it really hurt at this point???
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