Attachment Disorder Understanding and Addressing Students Needs
Understanding Human Attachment Experts describe human attachment as... "A deep and enduring connection established between a child and caregiver in the first several years of life. " " Something that children and parents create together", through an ongoing reciprocal relationship. a relationship that has a "physiological, emotional, cognitive and social" aspect Humans have a basic need to create and maintain positive attachments that can provide guidance and support throughout the lifespan. (4therapy.com, 2011)
Why is Having a Secure Attachment so Important? Having a secure attachment to a caregiver can influences children so that they may... Learn basic trust and reciprocity, which will then serve as a template for all future relationships Explore their environment with feelings of safety and security, which leads to healthy cognitive and social development. Develop the ability to self-regulate, which results in effective management of impulses and emotions. Create a foundation for their identity, which can include a sense of competency, self-worth, and autonomy. Establish a "prosocial moral framework", meaning the creation of a conscience and the ability to have empathy and compassion. Provide a defense against stress and trauma, which incorporates resourcefulness and resilience. (Levy, )
What is Attachment Disorder? Sometimes called reactive attachment disorder, reactive, because this survival behavior is in reaction to early neglect and abuse, attachment disorder because of the inability to form healthy attachments to others including primary caretakers(murphy 2002). RAD first appeared in DSM-3 in 1980. in the DSM-4 RAD was split into two entirely different disorders: Reactive Attachment Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) "Attachment Disorder is defined as the condition in which individuals have difficulty forming lasting relationships. They often show nearly a complete lack of ability to be genuinely affectionate with others. They typically fail to develop a conscience and do not learn to trust. They do not allow people to be in control of them due to this trust issue." (Thomas 2013)
How Does Attachment Disorder Occur? When there is a significant interruption in the cycle of attachment during the early year of a child's life it generally results in some degree of attachment disorder. Children at high-risk for interruptions in the cycle of attachment are those in families where abuse, neglect, poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, depression and other psychological disorders occur in parents, Separation from primary caregiver due to either divorce, military service, incarceration, parental or child's illness, death of a parent or when the child has no consistent caregiver such as in an institution or orphangan. Disrupted attachment cycles cause biochemical changes in the child's developing brain. Infants raised without loving touch and security have abnormally high levels of stress hormones, which can impair the growth and development of their brains and bodies.
What You Might See in a Classroom A student with attachment disorder might... Omit parts of assignments even when writing their names just so that they are in control of the assignment When assigned a seat they may choose an indirect, self- selected path to reach the seat. When given a certain number of things to repeat or do, they often do more, or less than directed. They may talk out of turn, talk constantly, talk nonsense,start humming, singing, asking unanswerable or obvious questions ("Do I get a drink any time today?"). They have one pace theirs. Need the child to finish lunch so everyone can go to the playground. Need the child to dress and line up, the child may scatter papers, drop clothing, fail to locate gloves, wander around the room anything to slow the process and control it further. Disobey classroom rules or limits for the greater good of the whole class, since these rules will make littlle sense and seem arbitrary to them because their survival trumps the needs of the class. They may blame others for missing work Act like a bully (Center for Family Development, 2007) (Thomas 2013)(Murphy. 202)
What Should a Teacher Do? 1. Listen and communicate with the child's parent. 2. Teachers should make efforts to avoid increasing the students anxiety by creating an environment that is highly structured. 3. Normal reward systems like treats and stickers often do not work with these children. 4. Make some rewards absolute and not contingent on anything. such as fun fridays for the whole class. 5. Lectures, warnings, bribes, second chances and reminders are all ineffective techniques. 6. Basic behavior modification (do A to get B) doesn't work. 7. Teach the concept of "choice". 8. Teacher should use a matter-of-fact, firm, no nonsense, not hostile, tone of voice. Directions should be phrased as directions, not questions (Example: "Do." vs. "Would you..."). 9. Watch for nonverbal responses (facial expressions, body position and movements, eyes, voice tone, etc). 10. Act as historian for the child. No matter how many times a teacher has been an ally or support to the child in the past, the first time that teacher blocks the AD student's desires, all those past occasions will be forgotten and the teacher may be instantaneously be transformed from an ally to a persecutor in the child's eyes. Now the student will feel entitled to be disrespectful to such an untrustworthy authority figure.