How Early Intervention Strongly Helps Children with Attachment Disorder
A general term attachment disorder is used to describe emotional and behavioral issues that might arise in children who don’t create ties with the people who are mostly responsible for caring for them. The disorder characterizes mood, behavior and social connection issues that result from an inability to build healthy bonds with primary care-takers throughout early childhood.
Such a failure would be the result of unusually early experiences with neglect, abuse and abrupt separation from care-takers between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, frequent changes in care-takers or an excessive number of them, or a lack of care-taker responsiveness to a child’s communicative efforts leading to a lack of fundamental trust. By the age of three, a person’s attachment style is firmly formed.
Infants require adult intervention for processes like impulse control, anger management, shame regulation and pre-cognitive patterning to take place so that the infant can fully develop their brain function and for a healthy growth.
Symptoms can be different and varied between young children and adults. Few symptoms that may indicate attachment disorder include:
• Seeking attention from strangers
• Has poor eye contact
• Problems expressing anger
• Has a need for control
• Issues with showing affection
• Trouble with self-monitoring
These can lead to a variety of issues, usually affecting mood, adherence to social norms and social interactions as it makes it difficult for young children to build attachments to their primary care-takers. According to some research, early abuse, neglect, separation from or changes in care-takers throughout early life are the root causes of attachment issues.
Asking a specialist for a diagnosis is the next step if you have suspicion of having an attachment issue. When the attachment issue is identified in a child, counseling is almost definitely provided. In addition to monitoring and correcting the child’s inappropriate behavior, the parents or care-takers should work with the therapist to undo the harm of the early years and to help the child attach.
Early attachment involves a close bond between a child and their care-takers. Through observation and the interactions of the people in their environment, children develop good relationships. But, young children who experienced troubled relationships may subsequently have trouble forging new relationships.
Their sturdy foundation is built on early attachment. They establish a safe foundation with the care-taker they find to be the most empathetic and responsive to their needs. When the child is experiencing the most anxiety, they become their safe haven.
A child, who seeks attachment with a care-taker in the early years, is given the tools to develop not just a relationship but also the essential intimate relationships. It additionally improves their capacity for learning.
It is possible to treat attachment issues, mainly by helping the child learn new ways to approach attachments and relationships. Yet, because a person’s attachment style is typically fully formed by the age of three, early intervention is crucial.
If you are a parent to child with attachment disorder, Chetna Foundation is here to give you all the guidance and support you need when it comes to protecting your child’s future.