Attachment and severely handicapped children: implications for intervention

This report provides a selected overview of the concept of attachment and its formation in handicapped children. The implications of attachment development in more severely impaired children are discussed. The presentation of preliminary data on attachment from 50 mother-child dyads suggests that this phenomenon does exist and can be assessed in very impaired children. Child attachment responses formed a continuum ranging from bland or neutral behaviors to subtle acknowledgment of mother's presence or absence (e.g., by nodding or glancing) to a more pronounced response (e.g., smiling, crying, sitting up, locomoting). Compared to nonhandicapped children of similar developmental age, the responses of the children in this study were less complex, provocative, and differentiated. The implications of these data for pediatric practice and promoting attachment in families of severely impaired children are discussed.