On Trauma Thursday, I wrote about traumatized adopted children with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Today, I would like to focus on recognizing DID in a traumatized adopted child.

DID is very difficult to recognize unless you know what you are looking for. Even then, it can be hard to see. If you are concerned about DID, the best starting point is understanding the profile of a person with DID.

DID only occurs in people who have suffered from severe trauma from an early age (generally beginning before age six). Children with DID tend to be people-pleasers, which is the whole point of DID – being able to “be” who the child is expected to be in different settings. Children with DID also tend to be highly intelligent.

Children with DID might generally seem one way most of the time, and that “one way” is usually very passive and obedient. However, if the child becomes triggered, he can suddenly act very differently. For example, he might usually allow other people to take advantage of him but then, out of nowhere, suddenly stand his ground very firmly or even in an “over the top” way.

You might also notice that a child with DID is forgetful. This is particularly true at nighttime. You might have a conversation with the child after he had been lying in his bed trying to sleep, and the child will have no memory of that conversation the next morning. While this happening on occasion might be chalked up to the child being tired, entire conversations being “forgotten” on a regular basis is a red flag for DID.

If you suspect that your traumatized adopted child has DID, ask a professional to screen him. DID can be hard to diagnose, but you need to know if you are parenting a child with DID. DID is a reactive disorder, not a mental illness, and children with DID can fully integrate their alter parts.

Related Topics:

• Dissociative Identity Disorder topics
• Understanding Integration
• How to Explain Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
• Let's Talk Parts

Photo credit: JulieC