I don't often think meta thoughts on HP, but when I do they tend to not leave me alone until I share them. Funnily enough, this thought dawned on me as I was showering today. I'm also just as certain someone else thought of this long before I even knew what it was, but Tom Riddle has classic R.A.D. And it has flipped my view of him as a character upside down.
For those who don't know, R.A.D is Reactive Attachment Disorder and it is a diagnosable syndrome. R.A.D is often mistaken for ADHD or even ODD, but it differs in the fact that its onset is during infancy to year two. R.A.D is caused by a number of different things including lack of affection, touch, eye contact during infancy.
Is it hard to imagine that in a run down orphanage Tom was not held enough as a baby, or even touched enough. Remember all those incidents that Mrs. Cole said were strange and how no one wanted to really be near him?
Here is just a small list of noticeable traits children with R.A.D have:
1. Weak Crying
2. Extreme resistance to cuddling
3. No reciprocal smiles
4. Superficially engaging or charming
5. A strong need for control
6. Indiscriminately affectionate
7. Destruction of self, other people, or objects
8. Cruel to animals, friends, or siblings
9. Poor peer relations
10. Demanding
11. Steals and lies
12. No conscience
13. Poor impulse control
14. Preoccupation with blood, gore, other nasty things
15. Abnormal speech
As I said, I'm sure plenty of people have already thought of this, but it was pretty illuminating to me.
Thoughts?