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I, like many of you, invest countless hours seeking meaningful solutions to support healing / recovery of my foster/adopted child's unique needs. It has been a frustrating process full of seemingly dead ends while time passes with only limited improvement.....and no simple 'blood test' can diagnose the condition(s) involved.
Given that, I wanted to share something noteworthy that may pose some hope through awareness. The biggest empowerment is that even the 'experts' are still learning and debating symptom based diagnostic conditions, defined criteria, and the 'best' treatments in response to each. It was something I didn't question when I began my journey of seeking help!
Thus, as the caregivers, we SHOULD feel free to seek other solutions if the treatments prescribed by attending professionals aren't resulting in any notable improvements! (assuming we have been adhering to their guidance closely for many months!)
SPECIFIC ITEM TO NOTE: 'Developmental Trauma Disorder' (DTD) is a "new" diagnosis being proposed for official clinical recognition by leaders in the neuro/psych study of early childhood trauma impacts. For nearly 10 yrs they've advocated to have "DTD" officially recognized in the DSM-5 diagnostic manual, with their formal 2013 request rejected pending further studies/data to more fully justify adding a unique 'DTD' diagnosis.
I highly recommend getting informed on this issue; even following some of the principles, as appropriate for your situation, to gauge their effectiveness prior to it being formally 'ordained'. Time is of the essence when trying to heal a child before they reach legal adulthood ! Here are a few resources if you wish to learn more:
This is not intended to 'dismiss' all other diagnoses - some children very well do have ASD, ADHD, etc. However, if your child had known or suspected neglect and/or abuse in early childhood and has since received numerous 'comorbid' diagnoses due to perplexing behaviors and symptoms...... and the various concerns have persisted or worsened (despite your best efforts to 'follow' clinical advice) perhaps its time to step back & reassess underlying causes/issues to focus on a more effective sequence and the 'solutions' used to optimize "healing/recovery".
The 'experts' position appears to be that original attachment disorders (RAD, etc) - caused by trauma (neglect/change in primary caregiver/abuse) occurring before the age of 3, arrests the critical (healthy) brain development that should be occurring at that time, thereby creating a domino effect of various other persistent neuropsych challenges (that are NOT covered by DSM-5's very simple definition of RAD 'symptoms') ranging from various worrisome behaviors to measurable cognitive delays and academic learning disabilities.
I do not consider myself an expert! However, the general premise I have personally gleaned from their advocacy / summarized data findings is that:
1) FIRST - the fundamental Child/caregiver emotional attachment/ personal perception of their safety/security must be greatly improved and sustained - before any other notable progress in the child's healing / developmental 'catch-up' will be feasible.
2) According to their data analysis, the current 'symptom' driven diagnostic approach (official "handbook" DSM-5 used by professionals attending to our children - Neuro-Psych, Developmental Pediatricians, etc) often results in misdiagnosis / RAD being missed altogether and ineffective, potentially even detrimental treatment regimes being prescribed for multiple individual diagnoses instead - ones that inherently overlook the underlying issue that must be first addressed to permit overall healing. A couple examples I've personally experienced in my child adopted at age 3-1/2 from the Foster system.
A) A diagnosis such as Conduct disorder with 'cognitive' talk therapy recommended to 'help', which assumes the child 'wants' help and can be 'reasoned with'.... therefore only worsening a RAD child's fight or flight response and compulsion for control honing their various skills (lying, triangulating, etc.)
B) A diagnosis of "ADHD" that would seem to readily explain the child's 'forgetfulness' and extreme hyperactivity, resulting in prescribed meds that don't seem to make a significant difference in the various behaviors of concern or even cognitive/academic performance....and at times appear to exacerbate other behaviors.
I welcome feedback to keep this issue on the forefront! I wish I had discovered it sooner, so hoping the info will help others & we can collectively advocate / support research to legitimize the needs of these deserving kids!
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I totally agree with ADHD and ODD being overused. My youngest has anxiety. I learned from the predecessor of this site that a certain type of anxiety comes out as aggression and that certain meds can exacerbate it. I had to beg a “professional” to prescribe anti-anxiety meds which helped 100%. Professionals have to be on board with this and be willing to learn. Good luck!
Joanna Switzer
I, like many of you, invest countless hours seeking meaningful solutions to support healing / recovery of my foster/adopted child's unique needs. It has been a frustrating process full of seemingly dead ends while time passes with only limited improvement.....and no simple 'blood test' can diagnose the condition(s) involved.
Given that, I wanted to share something noteworthy that may pose some hope through awareness. The biggest empowerment is that even the 'experts' are still learning and debating symptom based diagnostic conditions, defined criteria, and the 'best' treatments in response to each. It was something I didn't question when I began my journey of seeking help!
Thus, as the caregivers, we SHOULD feel free to seek other solutions if the treatments prescribed by attending professionals aren't resulting in any notable improvements! (assuming we have been adhering to their guidance closely for many months!)
SPECIFIC ITEM TO NOTE: 'Developmental Trauma Disorder' (DTD) is a "new" diagnosis being proposed for official clinical recognition by leaders in the neuro/psych study of early childhood trauma impacts. For nearly 10 yrs they've advocated to have "DTD" officially recognized in the DSM-5 diagnostic manual, with their formal 2013 request rejected pending further studies/data to more fully justify adding a unique 'DTD' diagnosis.
I highly recommend getting informed on this issue; even following some of the principles, as appropriate for your situation, to gauge their effectiveness prior to it being formally 'ordained'. Time is of the essence when trying to heal a child before they reach legal adulthood ! Here are a few resources if you wish to learn more:
This is not intended to 'dismiss' all other diagnoses - some children very well do have ASD, ADHD, etc. However, if your child had known or suspected neglect and/or abuse in early childhood and has since received numerous 'comorbid' diagnoses due to perplexing behaviors and symptoms...... and the various concerns have persisted or worsened (despite your best efforts to 'follow' clinical advice) perhaps its time to step back & reassess underlying causes/issues to focus on a more effective sequence and the 'solutions' used to optimize "healing/recovery".
The 'experts' position appears to be that original attachment disorders (RAD, etc) - caused by trauma (neglect/change in primary caregiver/abuse) occurring before the age of 3, arrests the critical (healthy) brain development that should be occurring at that time, thereby creating a domino effect of various other persistent neuropsych challenges (that are NOT covered by DSM-5's very simple definition of RAD 'symptoms') ranging from various worrisome behaviors to measurable cognitive delays and academic learning disabilities.
I do not consider myself an expert! However, the general premise I have personally gleaned from their advocacy / summarized data findings is that:
1) FIRST - the fundamental Child/caregiver emotional attachment/ personal perception of their safety/security must be greatly improved and sustained - before any other notable progress in the child's healing / developmental 'catch-up' will be feasible.
2) According to their data analysis, the current 'symptom' driven diagnostic approach (official "handbook" DSM-5 used by professionals attending to our children - Neuro-Psych, Developmental Pediatricians, etc) often results in misdiagnosis / RAD being missed altogether and ineffective, potentially even detrimental treatment regimes being prescribed for multiple individual diagnoses instead - ones that inherently overlook the underlying issue that must be first addressed to permit overall healing. A couple examples I've personally experienced in my child adopted at age 3-1/2 from the Foster system.
A) A diagnosis such as Conduct disorder with 'cognitive' talk therapy recommended to 'help', which assumes the child 'wants' help and can be 'reasoned with'.... therefore only worsening a RAD child's fight or flight response and compulsion for control honing their various skills (lying, triangulating, etc.)
B) A diagnosis of "ADHD" that would seem to readily explain the child's 'forgetfulness' and extreme hyperactivity, resulting in prescribed meds that don't seem to make a significant difference in the various behaviors of concern or even cognitive/academic performance....and at times appear to exacerbate other behaviors.
I welcome feedback to keep this issue on the forefront! I wish I had discovered it sooner, so hoping the info will help others & we can collectively advocate / support research to legitimize the needs of these deserving kids!
Like
Share
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