RECOGNIZING THE EFFECTS OF CHILD NEGLECT
Child neglect can cause a wide variety of effects that impact a child’s ability to thrive. Diagnosing child neglect may be difficult, but there are signs and symptoms that can aid a medical evaluation.
Infants or young children who are much smaller than would be expected at a particular age can present a difficult diagnostic problem for physicians. After excluding those infants who are small because they were small at birth, there remains a large group of infants with consistently low weights and perhaps short lengths and small head circumferences. This may be a sign of physical child neglect, and the child should be examined further by a medical professional.
Some children suffering neglect are small because of a failure to meet their nutritional needs and/or failure to meet their emotional needs. These children may also demonstrate delayed development and abnormal behavior.
Some of the small children may have hidden medical problems. Hospitalization may be required to screen for significant medical illness and, more importantly, to see if the child responds to adequate nutrition and a nurturing environment with a rapid weight gain and more appropriate behavior. Evaluation is more than weighting and measuring a baby; further examination is often required to recognize and diagnose child neglect.
Children who suffer neglect may also receive sporadic disconnected medical care and are likely only to be examined in emergency rooms. They may have no ongoing measurement of development except as noted by caretakers. Failure to document physical growth and other markers of child development may prevent an accurate diagnosis and make it impossible to protect a child or provide useful intervention.
Growth charts, a useful measurement of child development, compare the child to other children noting percentile size in head, body length and weight. Feeding failure for whatever reason will generally damage weight first, length second, and head circumference third, so it may be helpful to observe the caretaker’s feeding habits to ensure proper nutrition. In fact, the best environment to observe this is in the home. Pediatric expertise is vital to assess such changes, and growth charts should be kept on all infants and toddlers who may be suffering neglect.
Recognizing physical and behavioral signs of child neglect is crucial to preventing abuse. If left untreated, the physical and/or emotional health of the child may be endangered, and emotional disorders, academic issues, retardation, and other problems may result.
