Reference website:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/parenting_bonding_reactive_attachment_disorder.htm
What Is Reactive Attachment Disorder?
When infants and young children do not exhibit a healthy level of attachment with their caregivers or parents as normal infants and children do, they are diagnosed to be suffering from a rare but serious condition referred to as reactive attachment disorder.
Usually, children who have been abused or neglected by their caregivers or parents, or children who are orphans and have been moving from foster home to foster home tend to develop reactive attachment disorder. Children develop reactive attachment disorder because their caregivers or parents do not fulfill their basic needs for affection, comfort and nurturing, and so these children never manage to establish caring, loving attachments with these people.
This may permanently change the child's growing brain, hurting the ability to establish future relationships. A child may continue to display symptoms of this disorder for a lifetime, but if treated in a timely manner, it is possible to help children with this disorder to develop more healthy and safe relationships.
Symptoms
Children may develop this reactive attachment disorder while they are still infants, which may progress for a lifetime unless treated. Children with this disorder may appear listless, sad and withdrawn, they may seem calmer when by themselves, they may not smile, they may not seem interested in playing interactive games or with toys. Older children with this disorder may act aggressively toward peers, may not engage in social interaction, may mask their feels and may withdraw from others.
Causes
Infants and young children need to be cared for and raised in a stable environment so they may begin trust and feel safe with their caregivers, and consequently establish a healthy bond with them. However, when their caregivers and the environment they are growing up in do not fulfill their basic emotional and physical needs, it can lead to attachment problems, specifically this disorder, and they can become distances from their caregivers.
Diagnosis & Treatment
Caregivers or Parents who notice their infant or child is displaying the abovementioned symptoms should visit a psychiatrist for a complete evaluation and diagnosis. While there is no standard treatment for this disorder, but often family therapy, individual psychological counseling of the children or their caregivers, parenting skills classes, and education about this disorder can often help alleviate this disorder. Caregivers or parents may also try making comforting, close physical contact with the child as a means of treating this disorder.
Evaluation Of Website
The specified page on HelpGuide.org not only seems to introduce Reactive Attachment Disorder, but also seems to provide an in-depth overview of all aspects of this disorder. The information about this disorder provider on the webpage is easy to understand and flows quite well. The information is well-organized, especially due to the presence of sub-headings and bullet lists, which makes it convenient to look for desired points about this disorder, such as its causes and symptoms.
Since the text had no information on this disorder at all, the webpage did a decent job of defining and explaining what Reactive Attachment Disorder actually is. Since the causes as well as the signs and symptoms of this disorder are mentioned in the form of bullet lists, this made it easier to combine those points when writing down the causes and symptoms of the disorder above. Most notably, although I did not mentioned it above, is the fact that the webpage refers to the fact that the symptoms of this disorder are similar to that of ADHD and autism, which is something that I was expecting to read. Overall, the chosen webpage prove to be useful resource in gathering information to write this assignment.
Work Cited
"Attachment & Reactive Attachment Disorders."Helpguide.org. Helpguide.org. Web. 17 Nov 2013. <http://www.helpguide.org/mental/parenting_bonding_reactive_attachment_disorder.htm>.
