A Search For Survivors

Firstly, a quick shout-out to my fellow bastard-in-arms over at Baby Love Child: shine on, you flash foundling miscreant. I heart you.

“A Search for Survivors” has indeed cleared the one year mark. More on that later…

Secondly, I’m tickled to report that the mindlessly pro-AT/RAD pseudoscience organization known as “RADKid” (from which we maintain a watch list of every AT practitioner in America) lists Ronald Federici as an “Attachment Therapist” on their website.

From RADKid’s online directory:

The author of “Help for the Hopeless Child,” Dr. Federici has many years of experience in attachment therapy. He is in private practice in McLean, Virginia; directing Neuropsychological and Family Therapy Associates.

It’ll be hilarious to see if Mister Federici tries to go after RADKid — one of his few, precious allies — with yet another ham-handed and patently false DMCA complaint whinging about how he has “never been an ‘attachment therapists’ [sic] or trained as one.”

[ETA: AT proponent Nancy Thomas, another of Federici's cronies who assisted him in trying to shut down Advocates for Children in Therapy, also lists Federici as an Attachment Therapist on her website.
Thanks to "Eastern Sky" for the tip.]

(Read this post, “Is it fair to label Ronald Federici as an Attachment Therapist?“ to gain better insight into all this unfolding drama.)

Now let me make this clear, I am not the one labeling Ronald Federici as an “Attachment Therapist” here — RADKid is. That group propagates beliefs and practices to which I am highly opposed (aside from their conveniently zealous habit of maintaining a database of every AT quack in the nation so I don’t have to)!

So fear not, Federici and co.! You’ll always just be Authoritarian Turnips as far as this site’s concerned!

Unfortunately, I can’t speak for your followers.

On a serious note, aside from keeping track of the recent spate of child deaths caused by RAD therapy/parenting and coercive restraint, I’ve been intensely preoccupied with the highly charged commentary that’s been going on in response to a compatriot’s blog post:

Is Federici Silencing The Adopted?

In short, Ronald Federici’s daughter “Lanie” has emerged online, with some profoundly disturbing things to say about life in her father’s household.

I admit I was skeptical at first. It’s not that I assumed the girl was lying outright — it’s just that one has to keep a cool head and verify sources of these kind of allegations.

Skepticism became diminished when a vehement Federici supporter, who posted under the alias “mom4all” and before Lanie ever appeared in the thread, immediately turned on the girl and rebutted her claims — not of being Federici’s daughter, as one might expect, but of any insinuation of Federici being a less-than-perfect family man and “public savior.”

In tearing down Lanie by eagerly disclosing all sorts of sensitive, personal information about her (including the girl’s real name) in a public forum, “Mom4all” actually sowed more support for Lainie’s allegations than doubt.

Investigation by myself and other concerned parties began, which uncovered incidents more strange and horrific than a casual observer can imagine.

We cannot disclose full details due to the interest of protecting the legal clout and personal welfare of certain individuals who are justifiably terrified of Federici. At this point in time, I, along with many other individuals, have become personally convinced of the veracity of Lainie’s claims of abuse, as well as the claims of two other individuals who have the dubious privilege of knowing Federici personally.

The replies to the post have topped 130, but selected comments deemed most critically important and posted here for review.

 
ETA: The blog that hosted the infamous thread has since been deleted after its maintainer found herself on the receiving end of numerous threats, some of which were probably much like this one:

A Letter from the “Emperor” himself: Mister Ronald Federici Threatens Survivors of Attachment Therapy