One of the extreme challenges of working with the Child of Trauma - particularly those who are afflicted with RAD - relates to the 7-1 rule. Basically the 7-1 rule says that for every negative input, a child who has been abused and traumatized at a young age, needs seven positive. Often the Child of Trauma doesn't believe he or she is lovable. They have a deep self loathing that reaches back to the caretakers who hurt, abandoned, or neglected them. The child will act out on these beliefs, often presenting the worst behaviours they can muster.
