I have a niece with RAD who was born in the US and placed into foster care at 18 months due to neglect and formally adopted at 4. She is extremely manipulative and has encouraged violence among her younger cousins. Obviously this has caused tension between siblings and how to let our kids interact at family gathering. I won’t let her be alone with my kids. Their safety comes first.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

I'm a child therapist and it would take a lot, I mean a LOT for me to diagnose RAD. It's almost unheard of in America in 2025. I would seriously question any therapist who used this diagnosis. Caveat obviously that I don't know OP's situation, but RAD is exceedingly rare.

Do you never work with adopted kids? Particularly with kids from Eastern European countries? It is rare in most populations but less so in others.

I think you have some really outdated information. There like 1500 international adoptions each year in America, total. Almost none come from Eastern Europe anymore. Not every child from Eastern Europe had RAD, not even close. So even IF a therapist specialized in seeing adopted children, the chances of them seeing an adoptee with RAD are slim to known.

The stereotype of an Eastern European orphan with RAD is just that, a stereotype based on a few sensationalized cases decades ago.

I agree that EE is closed to adoptions at this point. But there are still lots of tweens and beyond in the US today who were adopted from EE. Presumably PP has been practicing for awhile. So whether PP treats adopted kids was a fair question. If she hasn’t ever seen RAD maybe adoption issues are not in PP’s wheelhouse of experience And expertise.

Also, current information about the state of adoptions is irrelevant to the therapy population. Russia closed to adoptions at the end of 2012 and very few adoptees were under the age of three at the time of adoption. Many and maybe most
Kids don’t go into therapy until their tween and teen years. So these kids were only coming into therapy after Covid even though adoption closed a decade earlier.

And as far as RAD being about a few sensationalized cases, even my anecdotal experience says you are wrong. If it’s about a few cases, statistically speaking I shouldn’t know any but I know many. And all of you should know one of my kids because they would be famous, but they are not.

Another issue that hasn’t come up yet is that the population at risk of RAD (adoptees from EE countries - not that they are the only adoptees at risk) are also at risk of FASD and at risk of addiction issues. The combination of these issues is so complicated. It’s so difficult for some families.

And PP is right. Puberty is a kick off to some very difficult times. I started an online group for families with adopted kids who needed support and the stories sometimes overwhelm me even though my stories are huge in and of themselves. PP I hope your friend’s family finds the resources they need.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

I'm a child therapist and it would take a lot, I mean a LOT for me to diagnose RAD. It's almost unheard of in America in 2025. I would seriously question any therapist who used this diagnosis. Caveat obviously that I don't know OP's situation, but RAD is exceedingly rare.

Do you never work with adopted kids? Particularly with kids from Eastern European countries? It is rare in most populations but less so in others.

I think you have some really outdated information. There like 1500 international adoptions each year in America, total. Almost none come from Eastern Europe anymore. Not every child from Eastern Europe had RAD, not even close. So even IF a therapist specialized in seeing adopted children, the chances of them seeing an adoptee with RAD are slim to known.

The stereotype of an Eastern European orphan with RAD is just that, a stereotype based on a few sensationalized cases decades ago.

That may be the case but there is something that happens to children who are adopted from Eastern Europe when they hit puberty. I’m watching an adopted family member from this region go through this right now. From a normal, albeit moody child, to a totally hostile, emotionally unavailable, and physically harmful teenager. This child has a loving home, all the support in the world, and no explainable reason for this sudden mental shift. It’s very very scary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

I'm a child therapist and it would take a lot, I mean a LOT for me to diagnose RAD. It's almost unheard of in America in 2025. I would seriously question any therapist who used this diagnosis. Caveat obviously that I don't know OP's situation, but RAD is exceedingly rare.

Do you never work with adopted kids? Particularly with kids from Eastern European countries? It is rare in most populations but less so in others.

I think you have some really outdated information. There like 1500 international adoptions each year in America, total. Almost none come from Eastern Europe anymore. Not every child from Eastern Europe had RAD, not even close. So even IF a therapist specialized in seeing adopted children, the chances of them seeing an adoptee with RAD are slim to known.

The stereotype of an Eastern European orphan with RAD is just that, a stereotype based on a few sensationalized cases decades ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

I'm a child therapist and it would take a lot, I mean a LOT for me to diagnose RAD. It's almost unheard of in America in 2025. I would seriously question any therapist who used this diagnosis. Caveat obviously that I don't know OP's situation, but RAD is exceedingly rare.

Do you never work with adopted kids? Particularly with kids from Eastern European countries? It is rare in most populations but less so in others.

Anonymous wrote:OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

I'm a child therapist and it would take a lot, I mean a LOT for me to diagnose RAD. It's almost unheard of in America in 2025. I would seriously question any therapist who used this diagnosis. Caveat obviously that I don't know OP's situation, but RAD is exceedingly rare.

OP ---is your child biological or through adoption? My experience as an adoptive parent is that therapists are far too quick to diagnose RAD when the real source of the challenging behaviors is FASD or other issues. But to answer your question---any child with problemmatic behaviors makes it challenging to be with neurotypical family and friends.

Reactive attachment? That's a really uncommon diagnosis. Did you Get a second opinion?

My son was diagnosed with attachment disorder - not RAD level but still attachment issues. It meant years of therapy. Family saw him as a perfect angel because his issues were only with me and his father. We pulled away more than others because we were just exhausted most of the time.

Anonymous wrote:RAD was one of the diagnoses that was given to one of my kids. Not sure it fits. But yes family pulled away and yes it caused tension. I can’t imagine a situation where it wouldn’t. This is a very
vague question.

It has meaning in some adoption situations but it’s another catch all.

RAD was one of the diagnoses that was given to one of my kids. Not sure it fits. But yes family pulled away and yes it caused tension. I can’t imagine a situation where it wouldn’t. This is a very
vague question.

Why are you asking?

Does the child’s behavior cause tension or to other family members to pull away?