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RAD, or indeed any attachment issues, sound awful to read about, and were on the short list of conditions/disabilities that I thought I would never be able to handle. Well, as fate would have it, I fell totally in love with my foster daughter (soon to be adopted) before I realized the truth of what the above posters have said. The fact that they are in foster care almost guarantees that these kids have attachment stuff. If they had a healthy attachment to their birth family, being removed from home and sent to live with strangers is an incredible trauma. Add to that all the reasons they were removed, neglect, abuse, etc. and it is amazing these kids have any attachment or even sanity at all. Of course my LittleGirl has attachment issues - how could she not? But that is not who she is - LittleGirl is smart, funny, musical, graceful, artistic, and beautiful. RAD symptoms in her are an overlay, a part of her right now, but I hope this stage might pass. Like caring for a kid with stomach flu, I can hate the symptoms, be tired of cleaning up the puke, be exhausted, unappreciated and still love the kid. No, I am not equating RAD to the flu. But the analogy works for me - you can hate the symptoms, and still love the child.
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