ATTACHMENT is the enduring emotional connection between caregiver and child, characterize by the development of trust, security, and the desire for closeness” (Levy, Orlans, 1998). Attachment occurs on a continuum. Identifying where we are in the continuum and acknowledging what we need to do to move our lives into a healthier realm will benefit the entire family. ATTACHMENT DISORDER is commonly used interchangeably with the term Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), a DSM-IV Diagnostic 313.89. In its most simplistic meaning attachment disorder refers to an individual's inability to form a close emotional relationship with appropriately significant individuals in their life. It is a disorder of their ability to truly feel connected to another significant person, and to behave in a caring, empathic, and reciprocal relationship with that person. (Randolph, Liz)
GLOSSARY OF ACROYNMS AND OR TERMS
ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactive
AD -Anxiety Disorder or Attachment Disorder
ADA - American with Disabilities Act
ADOPTEE - A person who joins a family through adoption
ADOPTION - A permanent, legally binding arrangement whereby person other than the birth parents parent a child. When children who will no longer live with their biological parents, become full and permanent legal members of another family.
Extensive list...more
ARTICLES
From Adoption to Solution or Dissolution: Supporting Families During Emotional Stages of Challenging Adoptions, 2/25/06 (By Rebecca Dinkins and Bernadine Janzen, MS, LPC.)
In the adoption of older children and in most special needs adoptions, there is a risk that the placement will not be successful. When this happens, the family goes through a grieving process reminiscent of Kubler-Ross's five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance)...more