[Momagainihope]

We are considering adopting an older child (5 or 6 yrs) from Kazahkstan. I know very little about AD or RAD. This child will be from an orphanage. Do most of these kids have some form of attachment disorder?

[latinresearch]

yes institutionalized children can have RAD cause their life circunstances but not necesarily all of institutionalized children have this disorder. If you need to know more ABOUT RAD visit www.attach.org. This page offers information about books, teraphies and a lot of other information about RAD
You can find information about adoption in the place that you
my best wishes

[DianeS]

Attachment problems are not caused by the type of building a child lives in, or whether the people who provide care are the child's parents or not.

It is caused by the child learning at a VERY early age (usually less than 3 years old), that the world is unfriendly and that their needs will not be met. There isn't anyone around reliable enough for the child to bond to as a caregiver. Sometimes it can happen when there is someone the child trusts and bonds to, but that person leaves abruptly--sometimes this happens multiple times.

Now, it is true that that situation happens much more frequently in an orphanage setting than a small home. The staff may be overworked. There may not be enough staff members to attend to all the children in a timely manner. Bottles may be propped instead of held (leaving the child no "person" to connect the feeding with). There may be a high turnover among staff members. And so on.

But on the other hand, a child could be in an orphanage but have no attachment problems. Perhaps the child was with a loving family for the first years. Perhaps the orphanage is well-staffed, and all children receive adequate care. Perhaps all staff members have been educated in how to make it easy for a child to trust them. Perhaps the staff has a low turnover, and most children remember at least one member who provided care from the very beginning.

I continuously hear and read that the early life of the child has a lot more to do with their later attachment abilities than the child's current situation.

A thought: The care the children receive is likely to be similar througout the orphanage, so find people who have already adopted from the same orphanage and talk about thier struggles with their children and learn if attachment problems was one of them.

Last but not least, research attachment disorders in adopted children anyway. Even though you may do your best to find a child without this, there is no guarantee of anything, as you know. You may unknowingly adopt a child who has this issue anyway. The good news is that it isn't supposed to be too hard to heal a younger child with this (and age 5-6 is typically seen as young in attachment therapy), as long as you recognize it quickly and act immediately. So do your research about it just in case.

Good luck!

[SB8]

I agree that it is not the building that the child is currently in that determines the disorder.

It is important to learn as much as you can about the previous 5 or 6 years. Was the child with parents and the parent's just past away? This was the case with one of the adoptive families we know. How long was the child in the institution? Where were they before that? If they were removed from the home, why? If the child had a loving relationship pre-institution the issue may not be as severe as if they were abused or neglected pre-institution.

The fact is that the older the child is, the more at risk he is of having/developing issues.

[lucyjoy]

If they were in an institution for all of their lives, they'll likely have attachment problems. However, they are young enough that with adjustments in parenting and attachment based therapy, even if they are RAD, they can likely heal in 12 to 18 months.
It's best, in my opinion, for a parent to stay at home for the first six months, rock their child daily, and spend time on the floor playing and interacting with their child.