OVC-ARC Riverside Online Professional Training Conference 9/9-9/29 2004

WORKSHOP INFORMATION FOR CEU CREDIT


The Medical System's Response to Abuse in Children With Disabilities

Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, MD

Workshop Description:
Children with disabilities are at a greater risk of becoming victims of all
forms of child abuse and neglect than children without disabilities.
Recognizing signs and symptoms of maltreatment in children continues to be
a challenge for pediatric practitioners.  Identifying child abuse and
neglect in children with disabilities is all the more difficult because
communication problems prevent children from understanding and verbalizing
that they have been victimized.  Once identified as being at risk for abuse
or as a victim of maltreatment, children with disabilities are at a
disadvantage in the child protective and legal systems because of commonly
held myths and lack of knowledge about abuse of disabled children.
Pediatric health care providers are in a unique position to educate
patients and parents about sexuality and abuse prevention strategies.
Pediatric health care providers are often the "first stop" when parents and
guardians fear that a child with a disability is being abused.  They can
also be effective advocates within the broader health care, child
protective, legal, educational and disability communities by identifying
gaps in knowledge and implementing educational and outreach interventions.
The aims of this workshop are to review the epidemiology of maltreatment in
children with disabilities and to review the relevant literature. Further,
the workshop will focus on the medical community's role in educating
professionals and non-professionals about the relevant issues, recognizing
child maltreatment in children with disabilities and providing a leadership
role in seeing that the child and family are appropriately referred and
supported as they negotiate the broader child protection and legal systems.


Course Outline:
     I. Introduction to topic
    II. Definitions of Child Maltreatment and Disability
   III. Epidemiology of maltreatment in children with disabilities
        a. Statistics
        b. Risk-factors for abuse
        c. Common myths about children with disabilities
    IV. The medical provider's role
        a. Identification and reporting
        b. Treatment
        c. Education
        d. Prevention
        e. Advocacy
     V. Recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics


Learning Objectives:

    1. Participants will understand the relevant terminology including
       definitions of child maltreatment and disability.
    2. Participants will understand the epidemiology of maltreatment in
       children with disabilities including prevalence and risk factors.
    3. Participants will understand the role of medical providers including
       identification and reporting, treatment, education, prevention and
       advocacy.