I’ve listed the behaviors children with attachment issues display in a post titled, signs of neglect, trauma, and attachment issues, but felt there needed to be a more extensive list and one that was more accessible.
Before continuing, it’s essential that you understand there’s tremendous hope for you and your child. This list may seem daunting, but many children have been able to check off every behavior on this list as their own. But with their parents help, they’ve been able to overcome it all with love, consistency, and special parenting. I’m here to help and support families in this situation. You can do this, and your children can THRIVE.
“Adults responses to children before and after traumatic events can make an enormous difference in these eventual outcomes – both for good and for ill.” ~ Bruce Perry The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
So, here’s a list of signs that your child may be hurting. (This is not an exhaustive list. (If your child exhibits the behaviors here, it’s not a diagnosis.)
- Sleep Issues – difficulty going to sleep, waking during the night.
- Anger
- Controlling of their environment and others.
- Hyper-vigilant – overly aware of their surroundings. They are so aware of the people and environment that they miss what’s being taught in class or said at home.
- Lack of creativity and imagination.
- Unresponsive to affection
- Excessively jealous when others receive attention.
- Sabotage events, even birthdays and fun outings.
- Inability to focus
- No reaction to physical pain – during attachment healing, can have an oversensitivity to pain.
- Food issues – not noticing when they are full, eating anything in sight, also not eating.
- Emotional deregulation
- Manipulative
- Bad behavior
- Make careless choices
- Consequences, discipline and rewards don’t work.
- React oddly to situations that seem normal to us (this can be due to connecting an event, person, or object to the time of their trauma).
- Obsessive about family schedule and worried about where primary caregivers are going to be at all times.
- Go into fight, flight, freeze mode.
- Dissociates
- Defiant
- Hyperactive
- Blames others (often mom gets the brunt)
- Depression
- High anxiety (acid reflux can ensue)
- Lying
- Phobias
- Seek independence, but are incapable of handling it in the correct way.
- Toilet training issues
- Familiarity with everyone they meet, overly friendly even with strangers.
- Live in a “me” centered world
The Attachment and Trauma Network gives more behaviors which are associated with attachment issues:
- Unable to participate in reciprocal relationships.
- Infant does not respond to parent.
- Infant looks away or pushes away when held.
- [Toddler and older children] seem unaware or uncaring about others feelings (especially those of family members/caregivers).
- Superficially charming, especially to those he doesn’t know well.
- Lack of eye contact
- Obsessive behaviors
- Demanding
- Lack of cause and effect thinking
- Destructive, dangerous behaviors (This is more on the end of the spectrum that I talk about here.)
- Lack of remorse
Please understand that your child may have attachment issues, but not display every behavior on this list. Also, note that their behaviors can change as they move along the Attachment Spectrum toward healing, sometimes seeming worse before they get better.
I’m providing this list to help you recognize the pain your child is experiencing, because they are exhibiting these behaviors because of the hurt they feel internally.
“Ultimately what determines how children survive trauma, physically, emotionally, or psychologically, is whether the people around them – particularly the adults they should be able to trust and rely upon – stand by them with love support, and encouragement.” ~ Bruce Perry
Please be sure to visit the links within this post and the ones listed here, you can also find several posts under the Contents page:
lovin' adoptin' & autism 