Post by Heather on Sept 3, 2013 14:32:01 GMT -5
First off...it's nice to have some sort of support system in Canada.I'm from Ontario and RAD is extremely uncommon among the general population ( outside foster/adoption), so there's no much support/info about this disorder.I'm a step mother to a 19 year old diagnosed RAD ( inhibited type).He was diagnosed 14 years ago by a pediatric psychologist ( Dr Joynt)..she basically gave us very little hope that he'd have a decent future.She actually apologized prior to diagnosing him.My stepson was severely neglected and physically abused by bio mom, bio dad ( my husband) wasn't involved due to the mother being difficult and his actual denial that the child was his.D's family has intergenerational RAD ( great grandmother had symptoms and all the way down to D's littlest sister has symptoms)....the psychologist that diagnosed him has stated that the whole family is detached.Has anyone else experienced intergenerational RAD ( whole family is on the RAD spectrum)..D's mom is RAD, along with D's grandmother?Anyhow as it stands D is 19 and is living in a foster home 2 hrs away.His mother lost him for the second time when he was 6 due to abandonment...he's been a crown ward for nearly 13 years.We tried to keep him in our home when he turned 16 but due to his disruptive behavior and family dynamics I placed him back into FC.His symptoms as a child were; hoarding/gorging food, violence, manipulation, hyperactivity, abnormal speech patterns...i could carry on with symptoms.He was expelled from 2 private daycares prior to him being expelled from the Catholic school board at the ripe old age of 5...they deemed him a "playground hazard", they told me not to put him back on the bus.Anyhow, I've known D since the age of 2 and a half and lost contact with him when he returned to his mother at 5 ( we lost contact as a result of my husband walking away from the situation).Now, D is 19...just graduated high school last year, he can't keep any employment, he's mildly mentally challenged and CAS may discharge him because he's not attending post secondary.I would really appreciate any input or chat with any step parent that has been exposed or is parenting a RAD child.What were your experiences with the bio parents..what are the dynamics? Does your partner acknowledge his/her child's disorder? My husband struggled to parent D ( therapeutic parenting wasn't an option for him).