From the moment a child is born, he or she has basic needs for comfort and affection that should be met. Children that are not properly nurtured early in life do not form quality attachments with adults and learn that they cannot be trusted to meet the child’s needs. Reactive attachment disorder can develop when the child does not form loving, secure, and stable attachments with others, caused by inadequate or inconsistent care, maternal depression or separation, abuse, or neglect, among other things. As the child ages, this can lead to a myriad of difficulties, some examples being issues regulating emotions and behavior, a lack of cause and effect thinking, a desire to be in control, poor peer relationships, lying, and a destructive, impulsive, and manipulative nature. It is believed that children with reactive attachment disorder have the ability to form secure attachments, but this capacity has been compromised by their experiences early in life. The symptoms of reactive attachment disorder can create some problems regarding education, impacting student progress and performance. One such symptom is the lack of cause and effect thinking. When a child struggles with this cognitive …show more content…
Children with reactive attachment disorder will seek control however they can, even in small, insignificant ways. They may interrupt, walk ahead of the teacher in the hallway, speak unclearly, or not turn in work, among other things, to try to take the control away from the teacher. When they are in control, they feel safe. In a school setting, children are expected to obey rules; the teacher and other school personnel are in charge. These children struggling with reactive attachment disorder have to learn to give up control; certain adults can be trusted. There are many ways that reactive attachment disorder can adversely affect school performance and hinder a child’s