Schools try to identify child abuse

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND February 09, 2008 11:41 pm

— Michelle Myers-Walters recalled that as a child, she would purposely hold her urine to cause bladder infections. When she was sick, her abuser would leave her alone.
She described her childhood as being “outcast, smart, nerdy, shy and abused.”
Every chid deserves a healthy future in Oklahoma. But one child is abused every 34 minutes in the state, according to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Walters was 4 years old in California in 1976 when her father was murdered by a fellow soldier while stationed in Germany. For the next 10 years, she was sexually molested and beaten by a male family member, she said. Child abuse left her with post traumatic stress disorder.
Walters moved to Oklahoma at age 10, attended Windsor Hills Baptist Elementary and graduated from Putnam City West High School in 1990. She constantly made herself ill as a child as a way to hopefully attract attention to the fact she was a victim of child abuse. No one made the connection, Walters said.
“If one adult or one teacher maybe had noticed the way I was behaving, or maybe had just inquired why I was constantly late and wore clothes that were up to my chin. I was always hurt,” Walters said.
More than 50,000 Oklahoma children are reported to be victimized by neglect, abuse or life-threatening situations each year, according to DHS. About 14,000 of those children are taken into custody by DHS, which places each child in a foster care home, adoptive home, specialized community home, residential treatment facility or group home care.
Today, Walters is an advocate for crime victims’ rights and a member of the Victims Justice Advisory Board in Oklahoma City. The Victims Justice Advisory Board was established to help guide the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to focus on the path of victims’ rights.

Reporting child abuse is the law
State law requires that every health care professional, teacher and every other person who has reason to believe that a child under 18 is being abused or neglected or is in danger of being abused or neglected must report the suspicion of abuse promptly to DHS. Reports can be made anonymously.
According to Prevent Child Abuse America, three in 10 Americans have witnessed an adult physically abuse a child, and 33 percent of people have witnessed emotional abuse. Still, half of these Americans did not respond to the crisis.
As a whole, society tries solving the problem of child abuse on the wrong end, said Jackie Shaw, executive director of Edmond Family Counseling. “We wait until the devastation occurs. We wait until people have been so traumatized that their lives are changed forever,” Shaw said.
Prevention through education is key to minimizing child abuse, she said.
Walters wants children to know that it’s OK to tell a teacher if they are being physically and sexually abused by a family member. In turn, she hopes educators let children know that they are available to listen.
School children rarely report child abuse, said Vicki Thorpe, a counselor at Clegern Elementary School.
“If they do come out, usually it’s pretty accidentally or they’re not really thinking, ‘I’m coming here to tell you this is going on,’” Thorpe said. “Children love their parents and they love their grandparents or whoever they’re entrusted to. Even if things are happening, they may be protective of that person or have the attitude that maybe they’ve done something to cause this, that it’s their fault.
“It’s not like you have a child or parent walk in and say, ‘This is happening and I need help.’”
State law also requires yearly training for certified personnel in the recognition and reporting of child abuse, said Lynne Rowley, executive director of Elementary Education for Edmond Public Schools.

Educators look for warning signs
Edmond schools receive training packets that include print materials, reference information and a DVD. A complete training session is provided for new teachers as part of their site orientations, Rowley said. Refresher training for all certified staff are included in faculty meetings at the first of the school year.
Teachers are trained to spot child abuse, Thorpe said.
“Things can come across in a lot of ways. It could be something that’s presented by a parent,” Thorpe said. “It could be something that is presented by a child. It could be as simple as watching for behavior patterns of a child. If it were a physical thing — bruises — or if it were a neglect type of thing, they might be hungry every day.”
Abused children may exhibit a spectrum of behavioral characteristics. Some are timid, untrusting and withdrawn, having difficulty relating to others. Children may not be hugged in a neglectful home. The parent ignores and rarely speaks to the child, leaving them to fend for themselves. Attention seekers may misbehave while thinking that any attention is better than what they receive at home. Thorpe said abused children sometimes are consistently late to school.
“Nobody wants to make that kind of call (to DHS),” Thorpe said. “Nobody wants to have to report that. Sometimes you wonder if it’s going to be important enough. DHS is so loaded down and they’re constantly getting calls.
“I have found in my experiences, even to just to call and say, ‘This is something that’s kind of a concern for me. I don’t know if I need to report it or not. What do you think?’ And give that information. ...You’ve got to think about what the need is for that child.”

jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114

The Details
What You Need to Know
To report child abuse, call the Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-522-3511.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.