Attachment is the ability of a child to form significant emotional connections to other people. Children who have experienced abuse and neglect, even when very young, will sometimes find it difficult to form significant ties. This is known as attachment disorder. While they may be very charming, their relationship to others is superficial. Some signs of an attachment disorder may be difficulty maintaining eye contact, telling the truth, and unresponsiveness to affection.

(ADD) Attention deficit disorder is a condition that affects a child’s ability to concentrate or control impulses. Children with ADD usually have trouble in school concentrating for longer periods of time. Many children may have learning disabilities as well as ADD. Sometimes medications are used to manage this condition.

Autism affects a person’s mental, social, and emotional development. Children with autism are usually "within themselves." They most often will not talk, but they may use speech in unusual ways. Routines are important to them. As a parent, you may be saddened because your child may not come to you for love and affection. They can be taught self-care, social skills, and language skills.

Women who use cocaine during their pregnancy have a significant risk of affecting their child before it is born. Many cocaine exposed children are born prematurely. After birth, these infants are often frail, over-stimulated, and stiff, but this resolves in most babies within the first few days of life in the absence of any other complications. Thus, exposure to cocaine is a "marker" of pre- and perinatal complications and should be followed carefully.

Depressed or irritable moods that last most of the day, more days than not, for at least a year in children and adolescents. May be accompanied by poor appetite or overeating, insomnia or hypersomnia, low energy or fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, and feelings of hopelessness.

Alcohol use during pregnancy causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Babies born to alcoholic mothers usually have a low birth weight and a small size. Their heads are smaller than is normal and they may have special facial characteristics which are identified with FAS. There are a variety of birth defects. FAS has been shown to cause mental retardation. Children with FAS lag behind their friends in school. They may not process information as quickly or easily. They may not be able to use good judgment or develop a strong moral system. Although some children are easily identified as having FAS, many others have been affected by their birthmothers alcohol use and haven’t been identified as FAS children. Shortly after birth, the child may exhibit signs of alcohol withdrawal.

You will read these terms in many of the children’s write-ups to describe the type of family that would be best for a child. In many situations, these children have not grown up with this type of parenting that makes a child feel secure and safe. These techniques of parenting help a child know that his adoptive parents care enough to want to protect him. These children are many times very MANIPULATIVE. This type of parenting will most often limit this type of undesirable behavior.

Children with emotional difficulties may have problems all of the time or just once in a while. Some behaviors they may exhibit are: a lack of respect for authority, problems in school, the inability to handle changes easily, and problems with other children. These children may also have difficulty sleeping, mood swings, they may be impulsive and they may not care or even think about the consequences of their actions. Like many of the "special needs" children, they will need the services of therapists and counselors to help them throughout their formative years. Many have received counseling services and, after the adoption, it will be important that the family is part of the therapy.

Incontinence, a lack of bladder or bowel control, is a fact for many children with disabilities. Children with these disorders face both physical and emotional challenges. Sometimes incontinence is associated with a particular disability including spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and cerebral palsy and is defined as a repeated voiding of urine and/or feces into bed or clothes (whether involuntary or intentional).

Hydrocephalus is the increased accumulation of fluid within cavities inside the brain. There is no known way to prevent or cure hydrocephalus. To date, the most effective treatment is surgical insertion of a shunt. A shunt is a flexible tube placed into the brain which diverts the flow of fluid into another region of the body where it can be absorbed. When not treated promptly, some children with hydrocephalus will have less than normal intelligence, physical disabilities, and a variety of other medical problems.

Children with learning disabilities may be of average intelligence, but they have difficulty in sorting and storing information. They may have visual perception problems that make it difficult for them to learn by reading directions. They may have to have directions told specifically to them. Another learning disability may involve auditory perception problems. These children learn best by seeing things, rather than have things told to them out loud.

Children react to loss and grief differently from adults. Some children feel immediate grief while others may deny the loss. However, long term denial or avoidance of grief is unhealthy and can result in more severe problems. Signals that may indicate professional help is needed include: extended depression, loss of interest in daily activities, inability to sleep or loss of appetite, extended regression or sharp drop in school performance, hyperactivity, aggression, and inability to concentrate.

Microcephalus is a term used to designate an exceptionally small head circumference. In infants, this can be a "red flag" to alert a physician to consider other possibilities including brain damage or mental retardation. It is simply a sign to look further, not a diagnosis in and of itself.

Behaviors that are at least six months in duration where a child will display at least five of the following characteristics: loss of temper, argues with adults, refusal to obey adult requests, deliberate behaviors to annoy others, blames others for his/her mistakes, touchy, easily annoyed, angry and resentful, spiteful and vindictive, swears and uses obscene language or impulsivity.

This means that a child needs to learn how to think about the consequences of what he or she is about to do. A child with poor impulse control may be sneaky and manipulative. Medication is often effective.

A syndrome where a person will re-experience traumatic events along with a decreased response and avoidance of current events. A child may experience sleeping problems, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, have difficulty concentrating, self destructive behavior, hyperactivity or anxiety/panic disorder.

A child with this disorder will have cognitive impairment to varying degrees which may include disorientation, impaired memory recall and distorted perception. Emotional disorders frequently present include depression, anxiety, and irritability. Behavioral disorders may include poor impulse control, acting out, and aggression.

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts that begin before age 5. RAD is the inability to form normal relationships with others and an impairment in development. Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder exhibit three specific problem areas: 1) Impairment in the capacity to attach: relationships are formed only on the basis of need, with little regard for one caregiver over another. 2) Developmental retardation: conceptual thinking remains low, even after favorable environments are provided. 3) Poor impulse control, particularly aggression.

A structured out-of-home placement for children who need help in all three major areas of their lives: family, school, and help with getting along with peers. It is a 24-hour care facility with a large, professional staff that provides psychological therapy to treat many behavioral management problems. These children and their families have usually sought many ways of help to control their behavioral problems before resorting to residential treatment. The child may be in need of this setting for the safety of the child or others.

Many children, primarily young children, need the services of special education speech and language to help their language development. They may meet with a specialist in this field once a week or more often, to help them develop their skills to the degree they should be at their age.

Medication may be an effective part of the treatment for several psychiatric disorders for childhood and adolescence. Psychiatric medication is used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, usually including psychotherapy. Psychiatric medications may be prescribed for a number of problems, including: bedwetting, general anxiety or phobias, depression, eating disorder, bi-polar condition, psychosis, and ADHD.

A disorder where a child will display motor tics and possible vocal tics. A tic is an involuntary sudden, rapid, and recurrent movement or vocalization. Common motor tics are eye-blinking, neck-jerking, shoulder-shrugging and facial grimacing. Common vocal tics are coughing, throat clearing, grunting, sniffling, snorting, barking, and swearing.