Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder:: A Quilting Method Approach for Restoring the Damaged Years

Children with Reactive

Attachment Disorder

A Quilting Method Approach for

Restoring the Damaged Years

Ojoma Edeh Herr

AuthorHouse™ LLC

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2013 by Ojoma Edeh Herr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7157-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7158-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911648

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Foreword

Chapter One: The Reality of RAD

Chapter Two: Understand the Real Damage

Chapter Three: Behaviors of the Child with RAD

Chapter Four: The Quilting Method: A New Look at the Behaviors of Children with RAD

Chapter Five: Another Piece for Restoration: Communication between Parents and Teachers of Children with RAD

References

Dedication

As always, my sincere thanks to my husband, Lyall Edeh Herr and my wonderful two sons, Jonathan Edeh Herr and Andrew Edeh Herr for their support of me, especially when I had to squeeze in one more project.

I would like to thank John Ward, Chair of the Educational Foundations Department for reading over this manuscript for me. Thank you John!

Cindy Ridley is the person I want to be when I grow up. Thank you Cindy for getting me started on the right path.

Preface

Some parents (biological, adoptive and foster) and most of us in the field of special education, psychology, social work, etc know some children who steal both major and minor items for no apparent reason to the adults. We know children who lie for the sake of lying even when it does not appear that they are gaining anything from lying. We know children who damage property and other important items just because they feel like doing it. Some of us may even know children who urinate everywhere, either in the house or outside. How about other children who may smear feces in the bathroom for no reason at all? Do you know some children who like to sabotage events or situations? Do you know some children who embarrass or humiliate their caregivers? How about children who harass guests in either your home or the homes of their caregivers? Do you know children who exhibit self abusive behaviors? Have you ever wondered why some children hack into others’ computers? These are a few of behaviors of children with Reactive Attachment Disorder, known as RAD.

This book is mainly intended for parents (biological, adoptive, and foster) who are working with children who are diagnosed as having Reactive Attachment Disorders or those who are undiagnosed but show symptoms of having Reactive Attachment Disorders. The focus of this book is on the reactive attachment disorder behaviors and how the quilting method approach helps in restoring the damaged years.

Foreword

Show me and I will learn. It was 2002, when I walked into Dr. Ojoma Edeh Herr’s office. A timid and shy student, I rarely entered a professor’s office to inquire about assignments, nor the course’s content. Dr. Herr’s straight-forward approach and determination to motivate each college student to seek the highest level of his/her potential was a unique approach that was not commonly seen of university professors, and often created anxiety within the students who did not yet know the woman behind the name. Through this meeting, I developed a respect for Ojoma, her dedication to the field of special education and her genuine concern about helping others to develop lifelong traits that would better themselves and society as a whole. During your first interaction with Ojoma, she will enlighten you about past theories and current educational practices in special education. Her plethora of knowledge stimulates others to explore ways in which they themselves can help individuals who may be facing various challenges. Meanwhile, her love and compassion for all children across the world is clearly visible. Ojoma is willing to go the extra mile to show others how to better themselves so that they may learn from the experience. While reading the preface of Dr. Herr’s book, I made an immediate connection between the description of a child who has Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and a former student of mine, Hassan.

As a teacher, I have had limited interactions with professionals in the public school system who are familiar with RAD and can provide methods to best serve these students and their families. This book provides background information about RAD, while supporting parents and teachers with structured methods that can help to provide for the needs of the children who have RAD. Teachers are often flooded with information, studies and strategies to support other disabilities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism and Specific Learning Disabilities. Rarely, if ever, are we provided with structurally sound information and supports for students who display behaviors connected to RAD; this book provides the formation of dialogue to take place between, what I call, the stool. A stool, which sits in my classroom, has 3 legs that I correlate to representing the parent, the child and the teacher. Without one of these legs, the stool is not structurally sound. Ojoma’s book addresses how each part of the stool needs to, and can, work together to help a child to grow through the Quilting Method Approach. Teachers are supplied with the expertise of