Our family is currently navigating the heartbreaking reality of trying to find appropriate healing, stabilization, and long-term support for our 4-year-old son. He has significant trauma-related emotional, behavioral, and attachment needs stemming from severe early childhood adversity while in-utero and in foster care. He currently has diagnoses including PTSD, along with significant disruptive behavioral symptoms and possible Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Professionals familiar with his case have also identified severe Reactive Attachment Disorder traits. His struggles impact nearly every aspect of daily family life.
Over the past year, his behaviors have escalated significantly as he has become more aware of his trauma history and increasingly dysregulated by feelings of fear, loss of control, transitions, correction, and attachment-related triggers. Our family has experienced frequent aggression, rages, destruction of property, screaming, hitting, throwing objects, unsafe behaviors toward others, and extreme emotional volatility that can last for hours at a time. Basic daily routines such as meals, toileting, bedtime, transitions, school-related expectations, and boundaries often become major triggers connected to his trauma history.
We have pursued numerous traditional resources including outpatient therapy, behavioral health services, psychiatric care, trauma-informed parenting interventions, safety planning, respite support, and county-based services. However, because of both his young age and the severity and complexity of his needs, we have repeatedly encountered closed doors. Programs have declined to accept him, providers have stated his needs exceed what they can safely manage at an outpatient level, and we have found ourselves in a heartbreaking gap where there are very few resources available for children this young with this level of trauma and behavioral dysregulation.
At the same time, we are trying to continue caring well for our child, preserve safety within our home, and remain committed to fighting for our son's healing and future. We are currently pursuing out-of-home placement in a Christian trauma-informed therapeutic residential program that provides highly structured 24/7 care specifically designed for children with severe trauma, attachment struggles, and behavioral challenges. We believe this may be one of the few environments capable of providing the level of intervention, consistency, relational healing, and structure he urgently needs while he is still young.
This season has been emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially overwhelming for our family. Yet despite the uncertainty, we continue holding onto hope that with intensive intervention and long-term support, healing and possible reunification may still be possible for our family.
