Search Results for: blog a letter to our new neighbors about our rad daughter

Helping Kids Earn Money

With Christmas looming, my 7-year-old daughter’s gift wish list seems to grow by the day. She’s been combing through toy catalogs since October and has dog-eared so many pages I’m afraid that Santa won’t be able to deliver all the goods. In fact, I know Santa won’t be bringing half of the things on her mile-long list. Without blowing her belief in the big guy, I have been gently reminding her that if (more like, when) Santa doesn’t grant all of her wishes, she still has the opportunity to get them by paying for them herself. Currently, she earns a … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Marsha Ward and Her Books

Marsha Ward is our featured author today. If you missed yesterday’s installment of our interview, click here. Journalist, poet, and novelist all wrapped up in one, Marsha has written two novels and has another on the way. Will you tell us about those books? In “The Man from Shenandoah,” Carl Owen returns from the Civil War to find the family farm destroyed, his favorite brother dead, food scarce, and his father determined to leave the Shenandoah Valley to build a cattle empire in Colorado Territory. Crossing the continent, Carl falls in love with his brother’s fiancée while set to wed … Continue reading →

Extended Family’s Attitudes about Skin Color

I know a couple of adoptive families who were interested in adopting from Korea, but said their extended families wouldn’t fully accept a child of color and that wouldn’t be fair to the child. One friend’s father had been a POW in the Korean War and held negative views ever after. Our own families were very supportive of our adopting from Korea. Nonetheless I’ve observed a couple of instances where they are uncomfortable talking about skin color. In another blog I described how my Korean-born daughter always chose the darker chair for herself and the lighter one for her brother, … Continue reading →

The Day My RAD Daughter Got Her Way.

The sad part about watching a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder live life is knowing that things are not as bad as the child seems to respond. I’m sure that all children are different and children with RAD are not all the same, but some of these behaviors are considered classic. It seems that a child with RAD is simply unable to just be happy and trust that life will be fine. It’s as if there is always some quest for something, anything and especially whatever has been controlled or limited. Tell my daughter that in our house we don’t … Continue reading →

Superficially Engaging

It’s been interesting talking with my neighbor about Reactive Attachment Disorder, maybe because during the past four-years I have had to learn everything as I went along. Most of my support system lost track of where we were at with whatever we were trying to do to help our daughter. It’s been nice to have someone new to share with–now that we are used to this reality and not in a state of panic or despair. Reactive attachment disorder is more then the set of Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria RAD is a condition in which a child has difficulty forming … Continue reading →

The Diagnostic Criteria For Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)

My new neighbor called me this afternoon to talk about The Letter, About Our RAD Daughter. We had a short conversation and for as long as it last there is a chance she might be able to understand the situation. It’s so hard to tell people about my daughter’s life in a way they could possibly understand. People don’t want to hear what happens to some children. Some people can’t hear even when they are told about it. Most people can’t imagine. I have learned to be much less dramatic about “How” my little girl became my daughter when she … Continue reading →

A Letter to Our New Neighbors, About Our RAD Daughter.

Dear New Neighbors, I understand you have met our beautiful little girl, and met her, and met her, and met her again. I wasn’t sure “who” would be first and it’s very hard to know how to handle this kind of situation, so this time I waited to see what would happen. As you may know our little girl is very bright, outgoing and friendly. She has the most beautiful smile and would do just about anything you ask of her. Makala, is wonderful and full of love and wants to make others happy. I have been Makala’s mother since … Continue reading →