THE IMPACT OF
NEGLECT AND
ABUSE ON
CHILDREN’S
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
I. INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL
BACKGROUND FACTS**
• Children
may experience abuse
and/or neglect (AN)
• The
highest rate of child abuse is
experienced by children
between birth and 3 years of age
Sheehan 2011 Stanford Child Neurology:
Neglect…**
• Is
the failure to provide for a child’s basic needs
• It
can be emotional, educational, or physical
Children who experience physical
neglect…**
• Often
experience this
because their parents
are unable to provide
what they need—they
are poor
• May
be inappropriately
left at home alone
These physically neglected children…
Recent national statistics indicate that in terms
of perpetrators by relationship to the victim:**
• 78.5%
are parents
• 6.5% are other relatives (total of 85% are
relatives)
• 0.4% are foster parents
• 0.7% are child daycare providers
• 4.1% are unmarried partners of the
child’s parent
• 0.3% are friends or neighbors
Children who have experienced
severe emotional neglect…**
• May
be lethargic and apathetic
• May
demonstrate learned
helplessness
• May
have cognitive problems,
including difficulty with impulse
control and problem-solving skills
II. ABUSE OF THE DISABLED**
(http://www.irvingstudies.com/child_abuse_survivor_monument/
Disabled.htm, 2007)
• Reports:
physical and sexual abuse of
individuals with disabilities runs 3-4
times higher than abuse in the general
population
• Disabled
girls esp. vulnerable targets;
often, family members abuse them
Some research suggests that…
This is one reason…**
• That
we need
to provide
medical care
for these
babies as early
as possible
Children with disabilities…**
• Put
a lot more stress on their caregivers
• When
caregivers are stressed and have no
respite, they are more likely to neglect and
abuse their children
Caregivers may…
III. BEHAVIORAL AND LANGUAGE
CHARACTERISTICS**
They are often very quiet
Difficulties with expressive language
•
They have lesser conversational skills
than their peers
•
They may be less likely than peers to
discuss information or volunteer
• **These
children often do more poorly
in school
• They
underperform academically
• They
have more behavior problems
Specific difficulties with pragmatics
may include:
Nelson 2010 states that:
Other specific language issues may
include:**
Shorter, less complex utterances
Fewer decontextualized utterances;
more talk about the here and now
• Auditory
and reading
comprehension problems
Mothers who neglect or abuse
babies:
Shaken baby syndrome may occur**
• We
must stress to caregivers that they should
NEVER shake a baby
• This
causes lifetime cognitive and linguistic
damage
Sheehan 2011 Stanford Neurology:
IV. IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT
AND INTERVENTION**
•
We need to work as part of a
multidisciplinary team
•
This team often includes a social worker
and a psychologist
•
We are mandated to document and
report what we see and hear
•
In the schools, we would tell the principal
In assessment, we especially need to
focus on evaluating:**
• Overall
expressive language skills
• Pragmatics
• Narrative
skills
skills
• Vocabulary
Intervention should involve…
Intervention may especially need to
involve…**
• Playing!
• We
can provide
appropriate dolls/action
figures, art supplies, etc.
• As
the child is playing or
drawing, describe his
actions or drawings
Paul & Norbury, 2012:
We can work on self esteem by using
ideas such as:**
• Star
• Me
of the Week
Collage
• Problem
• Trip
Wall
to the Future
Remember that…**
• Culturally
and linguistically diverse
families may especially need direct
instruction about American child
abuse laws
•I
think that we should do this
before we refer the family to CPS
(Child Protective Services)
Many refugee parents…
V. SUPPORTING CAREGIVERS**
• Remember
that in the U.S.,
most people do not have help
and support from extended
families like they do in other
countries
• Frequently
caregivers are
isolated with their children, and
they can become extremely
stressed
Lorber, M.F., & Egeland, B. (2011). Parenting
and Infant Difficulty. Child Development, 82, (6)
It can be very stressful…**
• When
a baby cries nonstop for hours and you
are alone with no help—you can’t leave
Sheehan 2011 Stanford Neurology:
• **1.
Ask caregivers about their own
needs, and attempt to help them meet
these needs or guide to them to
professionals who can help them (e.g.,
parenting classes, food stamp
programs)
• 2.
Provide key information about
overall child development. Research
shows that some caregivers abuse
their children because the caregivers’
expectations are too high.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• **6.
Teach caregivers how to use
language/words to discipline instead of
using physical means such as slapping.
For example, caregivers can be taught
how to apply choices and consequences.
• 7.
Model language stimulation strategies
such as extensions that caregivers can
easily fit into their daily routines.