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| By Katelyn Gendron Reminder Assistant Editor Marybeth Riberdy is a 21st century Agawam mother her time carefully managed and joyfully monopolized by her family. In an interview with Reminder Publications, Riberdy had to be asked questions via cellular phone (using hands-free technology) while driving to pick up one of her four children from an extracurricular activity. Riberdy is a mother of four adopted children from Russia. Several years ago she and her husband became foster parents to a fifth child from Russia, one that opened them up to another side of the adoption process: Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Defining RAD The Attachment Institute of New England a clinic that specializes in RAD treatment in Worcester, Mass. describes attachment as "necessary for an infant's survival because they promote caretaking from parents. Attachment develops as a result of the cycle that occurs when an infant expresses a need and someone in the environment satisfies that need." According to the institute, attachment disorders are consequences of "when [the] needs [of the infant] are repeatedly not met [and] the infant cannot develop trust. Instead, a negative blueprint of the world is developed that can have serious consequences on the child's social, emotional and physical development." Dr. Suzanne Allen, a licensed clinical psychologist at The Attachment Institute of New England, said RAD can occur in both biological and adopted children and is a subdivision of complex trauma. "When they [the children] learn that they can't trust adults to take care of them [because of abandonment, illness or other trauma] they realize they have to take care of themselves," Allen explained. She added that because of their aversion to trust the children must always control every situation in their lives in order to maintain control and avoid being hurt. Allen said children diagnosed with RAD exhibit all of their negative and sometimes violent behaviors toward the primary caretaker most often the mother. However, the children are exceedingly nice to all others they interact with on a daily basis. Living with RAD Riberdy said she and her husband had adopted their four children as young as one-year-old and as old as 10 and none of them have RAD. She said they were completely unaware and unprepared for their foster child's disease. "This kind of blind-sighted us," she said. She explained that her foster daughter recognized her as the primary caretaker, therefore becoming the brunt of her negative behaviors. "What they've done is they displace what the adults have done [to hurt them] and take the blame on themselves," Riberdy said, adding that her foster daughter refused close emotional relationships with family members for fear of becoming abandoned or hurt. Riberdy said she, her husband and foster daughter sought treatment at The Attachment Institute of New England. However, she explained that they were unable to provide their foster daughter with the help necessary for her betterment. "This was one of the most incredibly difficult times in my life," she said. Riberdy added that she and her husband decided to give up their foster daughter to ensure that she would gain the help she needed and deserved. She is currently being adopted by a family outside of Massachusetts, Riberdy said. RAD Workshop Those struggling with children diagnosed with RAD are invited to attend a free RAD workshop at the Westfield Evangelical Free Church, 568 Southwick Rd., Westfield on Feb. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. Pre-registration is required and may be e-mailed to redeemingfamilies@comcast.net. Pamela Sweeney of Worcester, Mass. is a mother of an adopted child diagnosed with RAD. Sweeney, who will be speaking at the workshop, said she will be providing the audience with information and definitions of RAD, how to identify symptoms and how to develop coping mechanisms. She explained that she is a mother of five, ages 20 to 14. Sweeney explained that her adopted 14-year-old son developed RAD as a byproduct of being abandoned by his mother after giving birth in Russia. "He was born without limbs and his mother was very young and scared," Sweeney explained. "It's much more of a stigma in Russia to have a child with a disability." Sweeney said he has been an integral and welcomed member of her family for the past seven years. She explained that during the workshop she will not be an advocate for any particular therapies but will instead share her own coping mechanisms. Treatment Allen said patients at The Attachment Institute of New England are treated through an outpatient program of 10 to 14 two-hour sessions with their primary caretakers. Allen explained that the form of therapy most often used is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a practice aimed at stimulating both sides of the brain in order to release the trauma. She said the practice usually sees between 20 and 25 families per week. "What we have learned is that kids who develop RAD are kids with above-average intelligence and are more sensitive and aggressive than normal [children]," Allen explained. "But when [these] kids learn to trust they become more fully functioning members of the family." For more information about RAD treatment go to www.attachmentnewengland.com. For more information about the RAD Workshop call Jenifer Russell, a member of Redeeming Families at 572-9817. |