Phenomenology of abuse and neglect of children with developmental disabilities
Authors: Buha Natasa , Milanovic-Dobrota Biljana , Stanimirov Ksenija , Mijatovic Luka 
Published: July 2023

Violence against children includes various forms of physical, emotional and
sexual abuse. There are numerous factors that can increase the risk of abuse
and neglect, and the presence of developmental disabilities is one of them.
Therefore, this paper aims to explore the phenomenology of neglect and abuse
in children with developmental disabilities. The results of most studies on
child abuse and neglect indicate that children with developmental
disabilities are at greater risk for victimization than typically developing
children. Risk estimates vary, which is a consequence of methodological
differences and shortcomings in research designs. According to some
findings, the risk of victimization is as much as four times higher compared
to children with typical development, and it largely depends on the
disability type. Among different types of disabilities, difficulties in
emotional, behavioural and intellectual functioning and the presence of
multiple disabilities bear the greatest risk for abuse and neglect. The
nature of the relationship between disability and violence against children
may also depend on the child?s functional level. Research findings indicate
that the risk of maltreatment increases with the severity of behavioural
problems, deficits in social skills and the presence of pronounced
communication difficulties. For some types of disability, the risk for
maltreatment is inversely proportional to the level of disability, e.g.
children with mild intellectual disability are more often victimized than
children with more pronounced difficulties in intellectual development.
Indicators of abuse and neglect can be physical or behavioural and are
essentially the same for children with developmental disabilities and
typically developing children. However, in children with intellectual
disabilities and autism, some maltreatment forms are more difficult to
identify, and the possibilities of obtaining a verbal statement are limited.
Due to problems with abstract thinking, language comprehension and limited
vocabulary, these children cannot report adverse experiences or adequately
answer the questions being asked. In addition, certain behavioural
manifestations of maltreatment can be interpreted as part of the clinical
features of these two neurodevelopmental disorders or, on the contrary,
certain phenotypic characteristics can be mistakenly attributed to a
traumatic experience. The complexity of the victimization phenomenon of
children with disabilities implies the need for an interdisciplinary
approach and comprehensive systemic solutions in dealing with this problem.
From the moment of developmental problems detection, there is a noticeable
lack of systemic family support, which should include clear guidelines for
exercising the right to health care and social protection, as well as
counselling on a child?s developmental possibilities, and application of
principles and strategies of behaviorally oriented interventions in
child-rearing. The author?s wish is to motivate experts in different fields
to carry out a more detailed analysis of the phenomenology of abuse and
neglect in the population with disabilities in our country, from which
guidelines for preventive activities implementation would arise.