Does child abuse cause Developmental Disabilites

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I have been told it does. When I was a child and welfare became involved - They said, that it is likely that the disability I had was caused through being physically abused - as causing damage to my brain.

Yes it can. Ever heard of feral children? Some people lock them away in their own home and they never see daylight and the real world so their minds don't develope the skills so therefore it stays wired that way so it's like brain damage because they will never recover from it and be normal.

It is true that people who were as abused as children are more likely to abuse thier children (I know this is not always the case) So it is true people with developmental disabilites are at higher risk of abusing children.

Yes in a way.

"The Girl In the Window" is a good example of it:
http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article750838.ece

I have heard of child protection not gettin correct treatment for a child because they did not realise they had autism (they did) - they thought it was just because of abuse.

Maybe, first you need to define 'abuse'.

As a kid my parents hardly ever hit me and I was never locked up in cupboards. I was however subjected to an extremely religious upbringing and I received absolutely no instruction or guidance when it came to things like social skills and acceptable behavior. So long as I followed in the steps of Jesus then everything was fine and dandy in their world.

Was this abuse? You betcha it was!

Vanilla Slice

That would be a form of neglect.

Shaken baby syndrome can result brain damage, if not death, to an infant. Neglect, such as not talking or reading to a child or instructing them in skills they will need growing up, will also stunt a child's growth.

I wouldn't know the answer to this, as I was never in such situations before...

Sure, there are some cases where parental action can cause unspecified DDs. Either through violence or drug/alchohol use in utero.

But all the abuse in the world won't give you autism or AS. Whoever said that your AS/ your daughter's autism was caused by abuse should be ashamed of themselves.

Brain damage can lead to mental retardation, as others have said.

Insecure attachment, from inadequate emotional support on the part of the parent, especially in the first three years, can lead to life-long insecurity and clingy or avoidant behaviour, as well as disorganized thinking. Someone posted a link to a document discussing the next DSM and it mentioned an east Asian country (Korea?) that is seeing an increase in this because of primary caregivers entering the workforce when their kids are really young, and how avoidant attachmentn patterns can be confused with autism (on the surface, anyway). Attachment theory started with John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and is summarized in Robert Karen's Becoming Attached.

I was raised in the most loving home environment anyone could imagine, and yet I wound up with a whole cocktail of mental problems. Everybody's circumstances are different.

Yes, it can and does. You can find research on the web that proves that abuse actually changes the brain of the child. I read a very good book last summer called "Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life" by Susan Forward. I recommend it for anyone who suffered or is currently still suffering from abusive parents.

Here are some web sites about abuse and the brain:

http://www.geneticsandhealth.com/2008/0 ... ood-abuse/

http://www.nospank.net/teicher.htm

http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/36/5/36


As you read these, you will see that it is not just physical abuse that makes brain changes, but also neglect and psychological abuse.

I was medicated for many years for epilepsy. However, eeg's I have had suggest I do not have epilepsy. I recieve disability payment because of learning impairments or mild damage to my brain of significant cognitve deficits - permanent in nature. It could have just been born that way though and such deficits typically go with autism and possibly AS - which is my diagnose. My IQ is normal, however, I am not ret*d. In some areas I am above average.

It does feel like I get seizures and I do blank out but the neurologist said I do not have epilepsy.