FAS or RAD? - One Mother's Solution
(This Mom has five adopted children, four of them have FASD and/or RAD)


When I was trying to sort out the RAD behaviors from the FASD behaviors, and when my darling daughter was stealing anything that wasn't nailed down (it's still a problem), my therapist suggested a lock for my bedroom door. I resisted because I know my kids are cunning enough to take the screws out.

But the therapist's point was to actually see what we were dealing with: RAD or FASD.

What happened was that it worked. The lock was enough of a barrier to stop the impulsive looting of my room. The therapist took this as an indication that the thefts were less about the child's need to control (RAD) and more about the child's lack of impulse control (FASD).
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