[RavenSong]

Julie, I think this is an excellent subject. As you know, my son had a very problematic childhood and adolescence...in and out of psychiatric hospitals, group homes, residential treatment centers, and foster homes. I've often wondered what exactly went wrong...

As a teenager and young adult, he displayed a lot of the same behaviors attributed to attachment disorders. But the thing that confuses me about that possibility is that I surrendered him to adoption when he was just 5 days old. Can a newborn infant suffer from RAD?? I had a normal pregnancy with him...no drugs or medications. I got plenty of exercise, went on long walks every day, and made sure I took my prenatal vitamins. I had a normal, if somewhat short, labor and delivery. I did receive a general anesthetic, but according to the delivery records, it was only administered after he had already crowned. (I think the doctor didn't want me to hear him cry in the delivery room ~ he was of the "old school" of thought about bmoms not seeing or holding their babies.

Now, my son did go into a form of "cradle care", only they called it pre-placement foster care in those days. He was placed in the adoptive home when he was 30 days old. Can that short of a time period lead to attachment disorders?

One thing I've always wondered about is this. From what I've heard, he was a very happy toddler. His childhood pictures show him smiling and laughing all the time, up until the birth of his brother (aparents' biological child). DS was 4 y/o when his brother was born. He was sent away to stay with family members for about a month after little brother was born. When he returned home, subsequent childhood photos show him with an absolutely panicked look in his eyes for the next year or so. And then the photographs start showing a very depressed-looking child with a wary look in his eyes.

I do know his mom has told me that she never felt that he really bonded with her as an infant, only with his dad. Do some infants who are separated from their first mothers have trouble bonding with their new moms?? Is this an issue addressed by the Primal Wound theory put forth by Nancy Verrier?

It's an interesting question...why do some adoptees seemingly thrive in their new families, while other's seem to flounder?