Tools to Help Friends and Family Understand Attachment Trauma

Explaining the realities of adoption, foster care, or kinship parenting can be exhausting—especially when a child is struggling with attachment or trauma challenges like Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Whether you’re talking to extended family, teachers, therapists, or caseworkers, the right tools can make all the difference in helping others truly “get it.” This collection brings together letters, videos, books, and other resources you can share to help the people in your child’s life respond with empathy, consistency, and trauma-informed strategies.

This website contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases — but I only recommend books and resources I’ve personally used or truly believe will help families.

Books, etc.

• But, He Spit in my Coffee: A reads-like-fiction memoir about adopting a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder
  (Keri Williams)
  This book will enable your family, friends experience for themselves what raising a RAD kid is like. It will enable therapists and other service providers to see for themselves the nuances of a family in crisis. Available in paperback, audio, and e-book and is always free on Kindle Unlimited. Now also available as a free podcast here.
• Open letter to family and friends (from the mom of a child with RAD)
  This can be personalized and printed or emailed to your friends and family to begin building your support system.
• Open letter to therapists (from the mom of a child with RAD)
  This can be personalized and printed or emailed to your child’s therapist. Use this to begin advocating for yourself.
• Wretched
  This is a YouTube video popular with many families that explains the basics of RAD and can be shared with family and friends.

Didn’t find what you are looking for? Check out: Memoirs from RAD & Trauma-Parenting Families

RAD in Fiction, movies, and TV shows

While novels and movies aren’t a perfectly accurate depiction of RAD, they often can be a great starting point for conversation with your support system. Let high-interest commercial fiction capture their interest and imagination and then build off that.

• Baby Teeth
  (Zoje Stage)
  Hanna is a difficult, non-verbal child whose mother is chronically ill. She’s adored by her dad, but mistrusted by her mother, Suzette. After Hanna breaks her silence with whispers threats, bad things begin to happen. Is Hanna really dangerous? Read my review here.
• Defending Jacob
  (William Landy)
  Andy, a district attorney, believes his son Jacob, diagnosed with RAD, is innocent of the murder he’s been accused of. Andy puts all his efforts into Jacob’s defense despite mounting evidence against him. But is Andy really innocent? Read my review here.
• Good Will Hunting
  A film about a boy who was in a foster home at a young age and bullied while in care. This caused him to develop inhibited RAD.
• My Name is Faith
  A documentary about a girl who was abused by her drug addicted mother and developed PTSD and RAD before being adopted.
• The Foster Child
  (Jenny Blackhurst)
  Psychologist, Imogen, refuses to believe her new patient 11-year-old foster child Ellie, is dangerous. She’s determined to protect Ellie from the distrustful and cruel adults and children around her. But is she the one who needs protecting? Read my review here.
• Troubled Child
  A film also called The Boarder, is about an 11-year-old boy, adopted out of foster care, and his families struggle to cope with his extreme symptoms due to his RAD. Read my review here.

Don’t miss my FREE handouts to share with teachers, therapists, friends & family.