Children with broken hearts and wounded minds have special needs. When children have had early separation, abuse, neglect, or medical interventions, they are at high risk for attachment disorders.

Let me give you an example: If you had child “A” with diabetes and child “B” standing next to him that...

1. Do take care of yourself.
2. Do expect respect.
3. Do provide external controls until child develops internal controls.
4. When you speak, keep it short and sweet.
5. ‘Soft and huggable’ moms can better help their kids to be ‘soft and huggable’.
6. Do remember what it was like to be a kid.
7. Kids need to
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Children with severe reactive attachment disorder (RAD) have had their hearts so broken, that, in order to heal, they need an emotional ‘heart transplant’. The mother is the ‘donor’. You cannot give more than your heart to give a child life. This is a physically, and emotionally, exhausting undertak...

The time I spend on my knees is one of the most powerful parenting interventions I have ever found. For years, as my children left for school in the morning, I would hug them and send them off with “Have a good day!” As I would close the door behind them, I would whisper a prayer for them, from my h...

S’mores, Campfire Singing, Crafts…Do you have Great Childhood Memories of Camp? I do. I also remember many children crying on the bus as we pulled away from the parking lot full of waving parents. How about if camp included the parents and was designed to pull together parent and child into a closer...

“What?!” “Huh?” “Yeah!”? Or, how about: “Excuse me, please.” “Yes, Mom.” “Yes, Ma’am.” “Yes, Dad.” “Yes, Sir.”? The attitude behind the words reflects the heart and the relationship between the individuals. When working or interacting with a child suffering from RAD, it is vital that respect be take...

Grandparents Are Important

Grandparents can be a powerful force on the healing team! Their support and encouragement can lift a heart and spur a weary parent on to tackling another day helping to heal a wounded child. Grandparents’ message of love should be clearly focused on the parents – as the m...

I found myself leaning forward at the wheel squinting into the gaps left in the ice on my windshield by the worn out wipers. With my heart pounding in fear at each icy curve of the mountain highway, I glanced over at my son. His sixteen year old, six foot tall lanky body was leaning rigidly forward....

By Sarah Owens, LPC

One day, in a therapy session with a mom and a rather precocious 8 year old, we were discussing the six jobs of children. The child, practically a genius, had the jobs memorized before the end of the session. Mom was duly impressed that this child could actually comply with this...

by Christina Thibodeau

It’s sunset. My son, husband, dog, and I are sitting on the floor in our den filled with plants. We humans are holding hands, a candle in a bowl in the center of our circle. We’re sending messages of love and hopes for peace, to our son’s birth mother who passed away recently...

4 Steps to Success

When your heart is pounding as you face the days  with children “stuck at home” you know it is much more challenging with a child with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) ADHD, ASD, or ODD.  You may want a plan to make it through. I like to find the silver lining and make it shine...

Sharon, a weary mom, shared that she had been told to “Choose her battles,” so she had not confronted her daughter about her lying, stealing and disrespect! It had now escalated to neighbors, shops and even the church. She shared that she was told to only pick the battles she could win. Her daughter...