Attachment disorder can develop when young children fail to form a normal bond or attachment with parents or caregivers. It usually occurs before a child is three years old and may permanently change a child’s growing brain, damaging their ability to establish future relationships.

Separation from the child’s primary caregiver is one of the causes of attachment disorder.

It is just one reason why ‘Supporting families at risk’¹, a project supported by NDF, UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Politics of Republic of Serbia is so important.
The family outreach worker service, part of ‘Supporting families at risk’ is targeted at protecting the unity of families at risk and preventing the separation of children from their families.²

Attachment disorder

Many factors can contribute to a child developing attachment disorder, and as with many conditions it develops across a spectrum from mild to severe, when it is often referred to as reactive attachment disorder.

At the heart of attachment disorder is a feeling of abandonment by the child.

Contributory factors include:

• Separation from mother or primary caregiver
• Multiple moves or placements (foster care, failed adoptions)
• Changing daily carers
• Pre-birth exposure to trauma, drugs or alcohol
• Abuse (physical, emotional, sexual)
• Neglect (not answering the baby’s cries for help)

How a child with attachment disorder behaves

A child with attachment disorder may display a range of symptoms including:

• Lack of conscience
• Inability to think about cause and effect
• Food issues – gorges, refuses to eat, eats strange things, hides food
• Lying
• Stealing
• Being indiscriminately affectionate with strangers
• Lacking impulse controls
• Hyperactive behaviour
• Poor relationships with peers
• Poor hygiene (e.g. bed-wetting)

Because they typically do not learn to trust adults in their early life, children with attachment disorder do not allow people to be in control of them, which presents parenting issues.

They are also often manipulative – superficially charming and engaging outside the family and completely out of control when with their family.

Children with attachment disorder feel that they can’t rely on adults to keep them safe – a feeling developed during their early life. One way they believe they can stay safe if by keeping their distance from parents and adults, pushing them away emotionally and physically.

They also often feel unworthy and have negative self-belief.

Diagnosis and treatment

Because of the symptoms of attachment disorder, misdiagnosis can occur – the child can be diagnosed as suffering from ADHD for example.

Specialist attachment therapists will work with the child and family to develop the attachment between the child and parent or caregiver, after which the psychological, emotional, and behavioural issues can be addressed.

One form of treatment is Theraplay which uses activities that provide high levels of sensory stimulation. It is based on the interaction between infant and caregiver being ‘psychobiological in nature’³.

Normally children receive sensory feedback, i.e. touch, sight, sound and smell, from their primary caregiver during their early years. When this does not occur, they do not receive the environmental stimuli to develop emotional control. The basis of Theraplay is that it stimulates the right side of the brain using eye contact, touch, rhythmic movements with the primary caregiver.

The following video is from the Theraplay Institute⁴.

Preventing attachment disorder

It has been estimated that 1% of all children under age five may have attachment disorder⁵. In 2003 it was estimated that 800,000 children entering the welfare system in the US had attachment disorder⁵.

Prevention is almost always better than cure – and although attachment disorder certainly does not affect all children separated from parents, preventing that separation will help those who may develop the condition.

Here is an extract from the article on the Family Outreach workers project ²:

The service is based on the conviction that separation of a child from the family and his/her placement in residential or foster care is an experience quite stressful and painful, since it leads to severing the bonds with the people extremely close and significant to children.

Ms Katlin Brasic, UNICEF Serbia Child Protection Specialist, said:

Therefore, the principle is always to empower the natural family – whenever it is assessed that a family can be empowered by support, and when it is in the best interest of a child,  said.

Supporting NDF means supporting projects like this, which change lives.

References

• 1 Supporting families at risk
• 2 Family Outreach Service
• 3 Buckwalter & Schneider, 2002:5
• 4 Theraplay Institute
• 5 Demographics of attachment disorder  and http://voices.yahoo.com/review-rehabilitative-treatments-reactive-attachment-520613.html

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There are so many different options, and some depend on where you live as well as budget constraints, so nothing beats doing research on your local area. However, visiting a pre-school can be an overwhelming experience for a parent looking to make the right choice, so even better it you can go in informed as to what that educational setting should look like.

It should also be remembered that every child and parent is different and what fits one is not necessarily right for another. It is such a personal decision and every parent wanting the best for their child should decide on what feels right for them.

This week: Montessori

The Montessori Method pioneered by Maria Montessori in the 19th century is one which focuses on every child’s natural inquisitiveness and love of learning:

• It focuses on the process of learning rather than the end result and so builds resilience and self-confidence among children who know that to learn, is to fail and to try again.
• Children direct their own learning in a very independent way and the teacher is considered as a guide to further their pursuit of their interests. Every child is considered to be an individual and his/her learning is encouraged according to their individual interests and level in order to maximise their potential.
• This is enhanced by the environment which is designed and ordered so that the children know where everything is and can access it themselves serving to enhance their independence.
• The Montessori Method is a holistic approach to develop the whole child and ensure that they are happy, self-confident and self-disciplined.
• One of the most noticeable characteristics of a Montessori school is the materials which appeal to all the senses and which focus on building the motor control needed for life skills.

http://earlychildcare.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/want-your-children-to-reach-their-fullest-potential-%E2%80%93-the-montessori-method/

• Life skills are important to develop independent learners, so many of the activities focus on developing the child’s ability to be self-reliant, such as tying shoe laces or doing up buttons, learning to perfect scissor skills or pouring and transferring a material from one container to another.
• Mixed age groups are the norm with the older children acting as mentors and teachers to the younger children. This enables children both to see where they will progress to, but also reminds them of where they have progressed from.
• The outside world is highly valued both as a learning environment and as a way of improving their physical development.
• There is no testing in a Montessori school. Instead the teachers assess the pupil’s progress through observations and guide them to furthering their learning in that area.

What are the advantages?

Besides all the positive attributes you have just read about, a Montessori child tends to be a happy, self-confident and self-disciplined child. They learn by doing and they learn at their own pace with their interests not limited by the constraints of the curriculum. Because the children are working to their own agenda, there is no competition between them with their motivation coming from within. There is also a wealth of scientific evidence to suggest that they have better reasoning skills when they start school as well as more developed language skills. For more evidence please follow this link http://www.montessorianswers.com/scientifically-based-research.html

So, are there any disadvantages?

Montessori schools do not tend to be funded by the state so can be costly. Some have criticised the Montessori Method too for its lack of free play or imaginative play as it focuses more on life skills and real life situations. It is also more beneficial if many of the Montessori principles are followed through in the home as well.

What have your experiences been? Here at the Novak Djokovic Foundation we would love to hear what you have to say about the Montessori Method.
To see what Montessori advocate, Trevor Eissler, has to say: check out his superb Youtube animation entitled ‘Montessori Madness’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcgN0lEh5IA

References:

http://www.montessori.org.uk/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcgN0lEh5IA
http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/family-matters/montessori-or-not-montessori.html
http://www.montessoricentenary.org/photos/

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We see the benefits of change and progress over the years but we see how far there still is to go and the importance of getting it right for the lives of those looking up at us and following our example.

Not all children start their lives as equals, inhibited by the conditions and lottery of their place of birth. But everyone has the right to education and one of the most beneficial ways to secure the future of our children is to invest in early year’s education and quality childcare.

Children should arrive at school age ready to learn so that they can maximise the experience of school rather than face delays because they are still mastering the basic skills such as listening, concentrating and following instructions. These are the years where the brain is the most plastic and receptive to stimulation. This is a key chance to embed good habits and values for the future. It is a positive and proactive approach towards improving social mobility and the best way of improving a child’s future chances.
Yet whilst it is well recognised that much important learning takes place in these years, there is also a huge variety in the quality of such programmes around the world. It is not enough to merely have good intentions or a token early years programme in place. It is the quality that counts. The British Early Years Foundation Stage profile stresses the importance of a holistic approach. It recognises that every child is unique and that every child is constantly learning and can be ‘resilient, capable, confident and self-assured’ – surely what we want for all our children. There also needs to be a combined approach between home and the place of care/early education. Parents and educators need to be saying the same things and working together. It goes without saying that there should be equality of opportunity for all.

So what is a quality programme? According to Bowman et al in their study entitled Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, the following components should be visible in all quality care programmes:

• There should be a combined approach towards physical, social and cognitive learning as all these areas influence and improve each other and they are all just as important.
• It is so important to have good relationships with teachers and care-giving adults who will not only influence the abilities of young children to learn but also develop how they learn.
• Smaller group sizes really work as children lead their own learning. There are also more opportunities for teachers to work on extending language, developing their social skills, and encouraging and supporting exploration and problem solving.
• While no single programme of studies has been identified as the best, children who attend early childhood programs which set out what they aim to do seem to prepare children for the start of their formal schooling

Here at the Novak Djokovic Foundation we want to help you to help the future. Through spreading knowledge on our blog, you too can build the future and make sure the children you come into contact with have the very best chance to reach their potential and lead full and happy lives.

References:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers Barbara T. Bowman, M. Suzanne Donovan, and M. Susan Burns, Editors; Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy; National Research Council. Available for download: http://nap.edu/download.php?record_id=9745
http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_40747.html

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