The Death of Candace Newmaker
In April of 2000, 10 year old Candace Newmaker was treated with a controversial therapy meant to help her deal with her mental health diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder. Referred to a well-regarded clinic in Evergreen, Colorado, Candace and her adoptive mother would undergo a technique known as “rebirthing,” whereby Candace was wrapped in pillows and blankets and forced to fight her way out while the therapists resisted her efforts. It was hoped Candace would be reborn, figuratively, in order to attach to her adoptive mother as if she were a newborn. Over an hour later, Candace Newmaker would lay motionless, her death later ruled to be by asphyxiation. How can abuse and neglect change the young brains of children? How do behavioral issues in children like Reactive Attachment Disorder drive loving parents to controversial and extreme treatments? How do people, desperate to be parents, sometimes fail to understand the challenges of raising psychologically injured children?