[Dr. Art]

Dear Lady,

Your point is precisely why you need to have a licensed mental health professional who is also trained in treating adopted and foster children and attachment work do a thorough assessment. Anyone with the background I've suggested should be able to do a comprehensive assessment.

Typically when my group does an assessment we are screening for various mental health issues such as mood disorders, attentional problems, and attachment issues. We also screen for Sensory-Integration issues and various neuro-psychological issues. Frequently we then refer a child on for a full SI evaluation or a neuro-psychologcal eval, etc. based on our comprehensive assessment. Anyone who practices without doing a comprehensive assessment may be missing important issues that can affect treatment.

Again, you should look at the real professional lit as it is clear that for RAD traditional forms of treatment just don't work...but may feel more comfortable trying something else first. About 80% of the families we treat have had over three prior episodes of treatment before they come to us...previous treatment without any positive effect

regards