Reply To: Attachment disorder

[Liane]

Attachment disorder can manifest itself in a variety of ways so firstly getting to know what you can about and from the students is very important. Early preparation and very careful transition support where possible, with opportunities for the student to visit, get to know staff especially pastoral and support staff etc as much as possible. Provision of Nurture groups, safe havens, time -out strategies in school if possible. Clear boundaries, consequences and consistency are very important, and starting every day afresh without holding any grudges about previous behaviour. Often LAC have attachment issues – staff have to be sensitive and aware before talking about family, personal history etc. Staff need to be aware that such students can struggle to accept praise and success and sometimes may destroy their own work. They can give up easily, struggle to take risks in learning, avoid trying and fear failure. They can alienate peers and struggle to form relationships or conversely cling to a friend and expect exclusive friendship. These sort of issues mean that monitoring and support – specific or general – is long-term. A carefully drawn together one-page profile or similar involving the student from the outset and distributed to those who come into contact with them would be helpful – with regular review.