I have tried diligently to ignore John Rosemond’s columns over the past several months, “stuck” as he is in the 1950s, and usually dispensing ineffective advice for parents and teachers actually living in the 21st century.
I must, however, take exception to his May 25 column on adoption. I agree that Reactive Attachment Disorder is overused in describing children who have chronic trauma histories, but to say that “there’s no reason to believe that adopted children are any different than non-adopted children” is ridiculous, and clearly uninformed. I have worked for over a decade with foster and adoptive parents, social workers and children/adolescents with histories of chronic trauma. Over 50 years of extensive research on attachment, brain development and the results of maltreatment on infants and children has resulted in a mountain of verifiable evidence regarding the impact of chronic trauma (abuse and neglect.)
Mr. Rosemond does a huge disservice to anyone contemplating adoption, by minimizing the amount of understanding, and skill, it takes to live with children who have not been adequately nurtured in their early years. There are exceptions, of course — for some children adopted at birth or shortly after, the impact may be minimal. More typically, however, children become available for adoption as a result of abuse or neglect in their birth homes, and are then placed into the foster care system, often moving several times prior to being placed in an adoptive home. To state that these life experiences will not impact their sense of safety and trust in others, and consequently their behavior, is ludicrous. Human beings are indeed resilient, but for these children, it most often takes much more than “love balanced with an equal measure of authority” (which, in Mr. Rosemond’s world means “punishment.”)
Penny G. Davis, M.A
Respectful Relationships Consulting
Marysville
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
