Important Notice
This Addendum is required for anyone who completed NY Child Abuse on our website between the dates of June 10, 2024 to August 31, 2025. If you did not take the NY Child Abuse course from our website during the dates indicated, we will not report the completion of this Addendum to NY State. If you’re not sure if you took the previous course from us, please email ([email protected]) or call (707 459-3475 Pacific time).
Behavioral indicators are often the primary clues to maltreatment in children living with IDD, especially since communication difficulties can prevent the child from making a direct verbal report. Observing sudden or significant changes from a child's typical behavior or developmental baseline is crucial.
Behavioral signs of abuse may be more apparent than physical signs. Common indicators include increased aggression, withdrawal, fear, and changes in eating or sleeping habits. Some children may engage in self-abusive behaviors or have accidental injuries, making it difficult to distinguish between self-harm and abuse.
Emotional and Social Behavioral Changes | |
|---|---|
Indicators | Signs |
Extreme Changes in Demeanor | Shifting from one extreme to another. Becoming withdrawn, passive, or emotionless (apathy). Showing excessive aggression, irritability, or disruptive behavior (outbursts, tantrums). |
Fear and wariness | Displaying fear or anxiety around a particular caregiver or person, including avoidance or crying when that person approaches. Being apprehensive when other children cry or act upset, as if expecting something bad to happen. Showing an unexplained fear of going home or being left alone with a specific individual. |
Attachment issues | Exhibiting atypical attachment—either overly compliant and passively accepting all touch or suddenly flinching or recoiling from appropriate physical contact or affection. Being inappropriately affectionate or friendly with strangers (indiscriminate attachment). |
Regression in skills | A sudden and unexplained loss of previously acquired developmental skills (e.g., a toilet-trained child starts bed-wetting, or a child who could feed themselves becomes helpless). |
Self-injurious behaviors | An unexplained increase in self-harming behaviors (e.g., head-banging, biting, cutting) that cannot be directly attributed to their disability, as this can be a response to trauma or overwhelming stress. |
4.1 Behavioral Indicators of Sexual Abuse
In children with IDD, sexual abuse often manifests as behavioral changes, sometimes appearing as a sudden, intense focus on sexual themes. A child may express inappropriate sexual knowledge or behavior that is beyond their developmental level.
They may engage in sexually suggestive or explicit behaviors with other children, dolls, or themselves, such as masturbation that is sudden or excessive. They may engage in repetitive play or stories that mimic sexual or violent themes.
There may be a sudden and unexplained fear of bathing, toileting, or changing clothes in front of others, complaints of pain or difficulty when walking or sitting, or frequent, unexplained stomachaches or headaches (psychosomatic complaints).
4.2 Behavioral Indicators of Neglect
Indicators of neglect in children with IDD often result from unmet basic needs, such as food, clothing, supervision, and emotional support.
Neglect Indicators | |
|---|---|
Indicators | Signs |
Atypical Eating Behaviors | Hoarding or stealing food, suggesting chronic hunger. Being constantly fatigued, listless, or falling asleep due to lack of adequate nutrition or rest. |
Educational/social withdrawal | Frequent or unexplained absences from school or program settings. Social withdrawal from friends or favorite activities. Begging or stealing money or necessary supplies. |
Emotional neediness | Displaying an extreme, demanding need for attention or affection from adults. Being overly compliant or submissive to a degree that is uncharacteristic. |