We Are Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect

When a child is violated by a trusted adult or any other person who is older, more powerful, or is in a position of authority over him/her, it creates overwhelming feelings of fear, confusion and overstimulation for the child. The message sent to the child is that his/her body

By failing to have a consistent and adequate caretaker, an infant or young child will be unsuccessful in achieving the goal of establishing and maintaining an ongoing relationship with their adult caretaker. The consequences of such a failure can be profound. Through these repeated, neglectful experiences with a caretaker, an infant

Children who have been sexually victimized usually report some type of intrapersonal disturbance. A victimized child feels he/she is unable to protect him/herself, is vulnerable to invasion from others, and feels different from others which many times leads to a sense of isolation, and often develops

The most significant factor within a child’s life is his/her relationship (i.e., attachment) to his/her parents. Within our society, this attachment is typically a mother infant/child relationship, because most fathers have not yet taken equal responsibility for the caretaking of young children.

On February 2, 2010, the New York Times accurately quoted experts who put together the fourth installment of the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. But, since the New York Times reporter is not an expert on these issues, and since there is a lack of journalistic investigation

When I wrote my letter to Aetna’s CEO about my anger at Aetna doubling the co-pay to see a therapist, I expected one of two responses. The first was that I wouldn’t get a reply. The second, I would get the Company line that this was part

As usual, the insurance industry continues their discrimination of the mentally ill by unfairly charging us, especially survivors of child abuse and neglect, higher premiums. When I got my payment schedule for this year’s charges, I was very upset. So I wrote to Ronald Williams,

The Brookings Institute conducted a six year study and published its findings in 2007 in a report titled, “Child Protection and Parent Training Programs.” They wanted to:

• Describe the nation’s child protection system—to understand what was really going on in America, and
• Know more about child outcomes.

When children are abused, they begin to question themselves and their world because it destroys two essential beliefs:

• Their sense of trust, and
• Their sense of control over their lives.

Most victims must deal with the physical and emotional shockwaves of what happened, but also with the sense of helplessness,

Senator Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash in 2002, was a champion for the downtrodden and those suffering from mental illness. He worked hard to represent the “least of us” and for that I am very grateful. I want to provide you with information about a bill he