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That video is one of the most sad things I have ever watched. I will say this though...from the video you learn that the mother has 3 kids by 3 different men. You also learn that the child only seems concerned about her future and her situation and not so much her brother. She wants him to live more for her situation than for his. You also learn that she has been engaging in self harm as she tells the officer she has been cutting her arms. Some wounds were old and nearly healed and some were more fresh. She also references her math teacher and some issues with him. She hated math...he was gone for some time because of cancer, and she started to like math while he was gone, but he just came back and she didn’t like that. Strange things to reference when you just killed your brother. So she clearly has some thought disturbances.

I have been a lawyer for almost 40 years. Many many of those years involved in juvenile law as both a prosecutor and a public defender. I really suspect this child has Reactive Detachment Disorder. One of the most scary conditions for a child.

I suspect the relationship issues with her mom created this condition in the child. It is actually fairly common. Not really trying to blame the mom, but children in broken homes are more likely to develop reactive detachment disorder. They never develop health relationships. RAD is usually caused by neglectful or abusive treatment. Mom may have been more concerned with her need for men than she was her kids. Or, one of the men may have abused her. Mom may have abused her. These are Quite common in RAD cases.

Hallmark signs of RAD are actions that otherwise would be classified as conduct disorder, such as mutilating animals, harming siblings or other family, or harming themselves intentionally. Also indiscriminate and excessive attempts to receive comfort and affection from any available adult, even relative strangers. Also
extreme reluctance to initiate or accept comfort and affection, even from familiar adults, especially when distressed.

Essentially, kids with RA don’t have properly developed consciences. I represented a family that adopted a girl with RAD. DHS did not tell the family she had RAD. Within months, the kid had killed the family cat. They caught her in their son’s room with a knife. And then finally, they woke up one night and the girl was standing over their bed with a knife in her hand apparently fixing to stab the parents. RAD is bad stuff.

sounds like a doctor was trying to treat some likely misdiagnosed RAD or other issue with meds and those likely exacerbated the issue.

My thoughts and prayers are with this child as she has a long sad road ahead of her. If it is RAD...she honestly is not to blame. The adults in her life that failed her are to blame. Kids with RAD do not have the intellectual or emotional ability to process and control their actions in these cases. This girl isn’t a thug. She is a mentally disturbed child who needs intensive therapy and help. Just sad sad sad.