http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/119/5/1018
According to research performed by the Boys Town National Research Hospital, children with disabilities were found to be at greater risk of becoming victims of abuse and neglect than were children without disabilities. The study showed that children with disabilities are 1.8 times more likely to be neglected, 1.6 times more likely to be physically abused, and 2.2 times more likely to be sexually abused than are children without disabilities. Another study found the overall incidence of child maltreatment to be 39% in 150 children with multiple disabilities admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Of those children, 60% had been physically abused, 45% had been neglected, and 36% had been sexually abused.
This website was extremely informative! I learned a lot of valuable information.
I thought this website presented some astounding statistics on the prevalence of child abuse and maltreatment of children, especially concerning students' with disabilities and special needs.
As teachers, I think we need to be aware of these increases and do everything we can to prevent the abuse, neglect, and especially maltreatment of students with disabilities.
Oh wow...I didn't realize that children with disabilities had such a greater risk for the things you mentioned :( It makes me very upset..."Children with chronic illnesses or disabilities often place higher emotional, physical, economic, and social demands on their families." I found this quote in the article you posted, and it got me thinking. How irresponsible is it to blame maltreatment and other acts of cruelty on the fact that you are stressed out from your child having a disability? I just think it is ridiculous. People really need to reflect on their actions. I know it can be stressful, but we must keep in mind that it is important to be mindful of how we handle situations. Yes-as you said, Stacy-we definitely need to keep these things in mind as future educators. Very informative post!
ReplyDeleteThanks!And I agree 100%. It really does make sense that these children would be at a much greater risk based on financial, physical, and emotional demands that families with disabilities face.I never had really thought about this however, I found it to be informative. The only lingering question I really have is what can we do as teachers to take preventative measures when more than likely these children are victims?
ReplyDeleteThis article didn't mention anything about siblings, which I found to be very interesting. I think that siblings of children with chronic illnesses and disabilities might hold some resentment towards their siblings.
I had a student in my internship that had younger siblings. Two of the three triplets had severe disabilities. Although the student in my class never acted out within the class, he had severe anger management issues at home. I think that this is a result of the resentment for the time that his mother devotes to being the primary caregiver for his siblings.