Reply #15: That's also true of . . . [View All]

[TeeYiYi]

. . . autistic children as well as children with Downs Syndrome. I suspect it's true of most special needs children. Because their brains are wired differently, they don't have the same ability to read social cues as other children so they don't realize that what they are doing is deemed socially inappropriate.

Bobthedrummer is correct in his assessment that child victims of sexual abuse can become overly sexualized to the extreme. They confuse sex with love and don't realize that other kids don't give and receive love in the same manner. Depending on the age group, they can become a threat to their peers.

Of the special needs groups, bi-polar kids' outer appearance is considered the most 'normal'. It would be more difficult to attribute their sexual behavior to the fact that they are BP. I doubt most people would recognize a BP child it they saw one. Because of this, the actions of a BP child will be incorrectly attributed to the parents ability to raise the child properly, or worse, that the parent is abusing the child. In this situation, teachers and care-givers need to be better educated about bi-polar children.

Unfortunately, special needs kids are more vulnerable to sexual predators and have a higher incidence of sexual abuse than other kids. Teachers are trained to look for signs of sexual abuse. Sadly, the parents are the first to be considered in cases where sexual abuse is suspected. Hopefully, the parents can be quickly eliminated as suspects so that the real perpetrators can be quickly found. (And hanged.)

Having a special needs child is not easy. I hope you've got a good support network around you. :hug:

TYY