Hi everyone, I'm new to this, and I'm not looking for advice, more for you all to share your stories and perhaps a way of moving forward.
So my daughter (step-daughter of 7 years) who is 8, going on 9, has been diagnosed with attachment disorder, for a variety of reasons.
For those who aren't aware - attachment disorder is a very destructive mental health problem that comes from a break in attachment with a primary care giver in a child's early development. It can lead to aggression, violence, detached behaviour, distorted views of reality, repetitive disobedience and many more.
We have reached a road block in terms of services available to children who aren't fostered or adopted. There is funding from CAHM's (children and adolescent mental health services) but it is allocated scarcely and few and far between.
My question to you all is, have any of you got children with attachment disorder, what roadblocks have you faced, and how extreme is their behaviour? If any of you do go through the same thing we are, then you know how much it can monopolise and manipulate normal day-to-day existence for not only the parents, but more significantly the child as well. I've had to leave so many jobs etc because of it. I'd love to hear some other stories and meet people who are struggling too.
We are in the process of addressing the council and York MP to hear their views and demand answers into the areas of funding that are cut and lacking. Left unaddressed, attachment can lead to all sorts of destructive and self-harming behaviour into teenage and adult years. It is not okay that there is no provision in place that isn't thousands and thousands of pounds.