Effects Of Early Childhood Development Interventions On: Fill & Download for Free

Robert Hafetz already wrote an amazing answer to this question. I’ll add something just to emphasize the need to understand trauma as the root of many disorders. RAD is classified in the DSM-5 as a trauma and stressor-related condition of early childhood caused by social neglect and maltreatment.This was an amazing achievement for the trauma community because, before the DSM 5, there was nothing that accepted and considered the damage that kids suffer from neglect and abuse.Your question reflects the misunderstanding between trauma and PTSD. Since PTSD is the only “official” label for trauma, people use it in a very generic way. But PTSD is very limited because it needs to have an extremely adverse situation to meet criteria. In the case of RAD, there is no easy to point out event or events. It develops from a constant, persistent stressful environment or/and state. That’s why the trauma community has been referring it to as complex trauma and some people have adopted the name C-PTSD.Unfortunately, the RAD diagnosis has been used to pathologize children more than to prevent the disorder. Kids that get the RAD diagnosis are treated as special ed kids, having the exact effect of the neglect and rejection from caregivers. Instead of treating them with the compassion and care they need, they are separated and treated as difficult and reactive, as the name says it.Because the diagnosis is used for children, special interventions are needed that should include treatment and psychoeducation for the parents, since they were (most of the time) the reason they develop the symptoms.This is essential because not intervening in time, RAD becomes BPD or some other personality disorder. Some psychiatrists medicate kids with RAD to ameliorate the reactivity, which is a crime because medication increases the difficulty for the brain to develop as it should.If you really want to learn about the disorder, I recommend this article Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Oh, so many choices! Inborn temperamental styles, development of self-regulation, impulse control (famous marshmallow test), bonding and attachment styles, gaze studies, transitional objects ( blankies, toys), development of object permanence, or object constancy, mirroring and early social events, Piaget’s sensory-motor tasks, birth order and sibling influences, prematurity, mother substance abuse effects on birth and development, fine motor development from grasping to pincer grip, early adversity and impact on brain, second language acquisition in early childhood, importance of early intervention in poverty environments, etc.

Pre-verbal trauma (Birth to age 3 or 4) happens before spoken social language has developed. That means communication with the parent (caretaker) is not established, and it also means the baby’s cognitive thoughts and understanding are unformed in the absence language to serve as a thought ‘mediator.’So, the baby ‘understands’ experiences primarily through sensory and body processes of the limbic system. Touch, feel,smell, movement, sound, and sight are the signals that inform the baby of fear, danger, discomfort, etc. With abuse, the baby’s body receives terrifying communication like rough handling, loud angry voices, scowling and angry eyes, abandonment, neglect, lack of physical care, lack of being held, soothed, rocked, etc. The body, through the brain’s limbic system, forms the MEMORY of abuse and quickly establishes a fear (survival) response. The baby learns through stimulus-response that crying, reaching, and needing people leads to only more pain and suffering.Ongoing development is negatively impacted by this early (and often continuing) mistreatment.Body Losses: Because the body is ‘unsafe’ the child learns to hide, withdraw, avoid contact, flinch, have anxiety and be prepared for the ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response of survival. Verbal communicatio, upon development, may be delayed, suppressed or weak, with reduced affect and animation of expression. The child may fail to develop normal affection and expression with the body and through language. The guarded body system does not ‘feel’ the warmth and caring that may later be available through other people, relatives and teachers. The lack of a full and rich body experience (intimacy) may be experienced across the lifespan.Emotional Losses: Because of the trauma at the hands of those who are supposed to provide ‘love and nurturance’ fear, terror and pain are associated with ‘relationship.’ From the early inability to attach to a loving care-giver, there can be devastating insecurity and failure to form relationships; a persistent lack of trust; a lifelong blunting of emotions; difficulty relating to others, expressing or receiving feelings and emotion. Relationship pathologies can emerge in the way of conflict, abuse, abandonment, rage, deceit, infidelity, hatred, etc.Self Losses: The growing child develops a distorted sense of self based on the abusive messages that permeated development. The child may internalize shameful feelings of being — bad, unlovable, stupid, ugly, lazy, disgusting, worthless, undeserving, etc. Although defense mechanisms often work to cover the defective sense of self, the emergence of confidence, competence and feelings of well-being are often absent or thwarted. School performance is often complicated by apathy, behavior issues, or chronic academic underperformance. Adolescence is likely to me more turbulent and risk-laden.Lifestyle Losses: A persistent lack of self-worth may extend to problems of self-care and life choices. Nutrition, health, and hygiene may be negatively affected as the growing child has no early model for self-nurturance. Smoking, alcohol and substance abuse are more prevalent. Ambitions for higher education, training and desirable career choices are dampened. Reduced satisfaction is derived from life, learning and career accomplishments.Important: This gloomy portrait does not apply to all traumatized children. Many spring forth from early adversity by finding protective people (relatives, teachers, neighbors, siblings) who ameliorate the devastation of a particular adult. Resilience from adversity can often produce uncommon strength of character, high achievement and astonishing contributions in life. Researchers continue to study the factors that determine these variable outcomes, including genetics, temperament, social class, economic status, schooling, early intervention, social services, health services, etc.