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You should definately be concerned, attachment issues are very common in children adopted from an orphanage especially if adopted after 8 months old and this is because it's about 9 months that a child starts to experience stranger anxiety. The length of time spent in the orphanage and the ratio of care givers to babies also adds to this. Any child in an orphanage is suffering from at the very least severe neglect. If you are considering this you need to educate yourself on what to expect. Attachment issues can last several years or a lifetime. Getting help as early as possible and knowing what to do when you bring your child home is so important. I have two children with attachment issues. Our son came home at 2 1/2 and our daughter at 3 1/2. After 5 years we are still in therapy every other week, 2 1/2 hour sessions. They were both diagnosed with severe reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Our daughter began healing after 2 years home, she is doing much better and has begun attaching. That doesn't mean she is not without issues, socially and emotionally she's behind, she has problems focusing and staying on task. She is in special needs program at school but they are working on mainstreaming her and she's doing well with lot of coaching and guidence throughout the day. With our son we have not had the same success. Although he was younger when he came home, he's not responding to the therapy as well. He's been home for 5 years, and he's still extremely RAD. He is also seeing a psychatrist because he needs medication to control his extreme anger and raging. Living with children with these issues is extremely draining. I would recommend that you read a book that is coming out this month that's very informative for anyone considering adopting a child that is likely to have attachment problems. It's written by one of our thearpists who has worked in this field for many many years. There are accounts from families that live with children with this disorder and will give you a good idea of exactly what it's like to adopt a child with these issues and what it does to the entire family.

The author is Arleta James and the book is called "Brothers and Sisters in Adoption"


I don't know if I'm allowed to post a webpage so if you want it let me know and I'll private message it to you. Or you could easily find it by doing a search on either Arleta James or "Brothers and Sisters in Adoption by Arleta James.

I don't want you to think I'm discouraging you from adopting, I am definately for adoption! I just think that you need to be aware of what you could be dealing with, how to best prepare for the new life that will be joining your family. Best wishes to all of you as you add to your family.