I've worked with and cared for an adopted child who had RAD and suffered from disordered eating. She could snow anyone--we would have long discussions with outside people (schools, etc.) about it prior, but she'd end up with extra candy or snacks or whatever all the time...she knew how and what to say to get people to give her things or to look the other way if she stole (she's so cute, though!)...no judgement or blame on her--she was in "survival" mode most of the time just from instinct and from habit, but yeah, I keep thinking about her...the standard instruction was, "if she tells you the sky is blue, you go outside and look up to make sure," because she was so incredibly manipulative. That sounds awful--I love her, don't get me wrong, poor thing didn't have a good start and it shows years later. It was exhausting to work with, and I got to go home at the end of the day!
I don't think some of these families realize what they're signing on for, even educated, knowledgeable parents can find themselves in over their heads.
They don't typically murder their families, though, no.
