[2manyks]

gosh - this is RAD, but you can deal with this. find a good book about attachment. my favorite is *adopting the hurt child* or something like that. your childs behaviors are *normal* for her. you do need help though. respite is a great thing. i knew nothing about it until i had been dealing with my dd for 2LONG YEARS! i was doing pretty good until our therapist went on sabatical and she sent us to her replacement. my dd was so absolutely sweet during therapy that the therapist finally pulled me aside and told me I was the one with the problem. you bet i have a problem, ive been parenting A fpr 2 years and now im going bonkers. i left that therapist that day and never went back. she had no idea about dealing with RADkids. i did find a therapist for ME and prozac. i waited too long to find help. now we are building from the bottom up and i hope it works. an attachment therapist is the key, and not just anyone, but someone good. finding that person is a pain in the butt. you will have to probably go through several therapists untill you find a good match for yourself and your child.

lucyjoy - how long have you been parenting rad kids? i cant wait for my reactions to be as good as yours! i am way better then i was 3 years ago, BTW. it was just hell getting here!

one thing that works well for us is when my dd or ds want the attention of everyone and we cant get anything done i have everyone stop what they are doing and make a huge deal about it. *everyone stop what they are doing and look at A. shes got something important to say* then everyone stands in a circle around A (we have a big family too) and then the spotlight is totally on her. she folds from embarrassment and runs away and we get the peace we want - for a minute anyway. the other thing is fits are thrown in the bedroom or on the front porch. that kinda defeats the purpose since no one is there to watch. sometimes i sit on the front porch and tell the kids im busy having a fit and not to disturb me, lol!