It's hard to know what my role is there. I struggle with it today. And being patient with my children, I struggle with that every heartbeat of my life. Dr. Dan Coury joined the Family Development Clinic at Children's Hospital in August 1983 and began dealing with the consequences of long-term child abuse and neglect. Like the king's men in Humpty Dumpty, Coury, McCleery and their colleagues are left to piece together shattered lives.
Physical abuse can leave a child with obvious physical limitations.
With more serious abuse, like a skull fracture, you could damage the brain. We could end up with mental retardation, loss of skills and abilities because of that directly. If an incident is acute, the child may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and have trouble sleeping or being separated from his or her protectors. When the abuse is chronic, the victim may exhibit behavioral problems. Joy says she became a bully and a runaway and abused alcohol and sex before she pulled her life together.