Child abuse and neglect are difficult topics – to think about, to read about, to discuss. But children are experiencing these things, and if we don’t talk about them, we’re forcing children to experience them alone.
Belmar Therapy is committed to applying a trauma-informed perspective to the services we provide to families across Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Los Lunas. Small changes in our approach can have a meaningful impact. We can improve how much progress we can make in meeting a person’s communication and swallowing needs.
In this post, we’re going to briefly review…
- Child Abuse & Neglect in NM
- The Science of Trauma’s Impact on Speech & Language Development
- Trauma-Informed Perspectives We Hold
- Riley The Brave: One tool in our toolkit
- Resources & Ways to Help
None of the information here is meant to replace consultation or services from a licensed professional. It is simply meant to help make you a more educated citizen and consumer.
Child Abuse & Neglect in NM
New Mexico Children Youth & Families Department (CYFD) is the agency in our state tasked with addressing child abuse and neglect. The many employees there do a lot of hard, hard work to protect children and families.
Sadly, it is not always enough.
In 2021, the Legislative Finance Committee authored a bleak memo looking at CYFD and how we’re failing children in New Mexico.
Here is just some of the information I gleaned from the memo:
- “child maltreatment rates in NM are 6th highest in the nation.”
- “child maltreatment and child safety measures rank among the worst in the nation with maltreatment related fatalities doubling [in 2020]”
- “In 2019, New Mexico saw 12.2 percent of children who were the victims of a maltreatment allegation substantiated by CYFD, have another case of substantiated maltreatment within six months.”
When you look at the counties surrounding Albuquerque, the numbers don’t get any better. The most up-to-date information I could find by county was from 2017, and is in table 1 below. The pandemic has only made things worse, causing an increased risk of family violence a rise in abusive head trauma in children.
| County | Abuse Rate Per 1000 Children for 2017 |
| Bernalillo | 14.9 |
| Sandoval | 52.8 |
| Valencia | 19.2 |
| New Mexico State Average | 17.6 |
| National Average | 9.1 |
Data from: https://ibis.health.state.nm.us/indicator/complete_profile/childabuse.html
The Science of Trauma’s Impact on Speech & Language Development
In 2015 a fairly comprehensive study was published by a group of researchers. They performed a meta-analysis of 40 years worth of data to look at the issue.
In short, Sylvestre, Bussiéres, and Bouchard (2015) found that the language skills of children who experience abuse and/or neglect are delayed when compared to their peers. Another important finding from the study was that the age of maltreatment mattered. The younger the child, the bigger the impact the mistreatment has on language development.
Some studies have suggested that neglect (especially severe neglect) are more damaging to language development than to abuse alone ( Fox et al., 1988, Culp et al., 1991, Spratt et al., 2012).
These studies represent just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more scientific literature about the impacts of trauma on childhood development.
Despite these impacts, there is evidence that we can improve children’s language abilities – even those involved with CYFD and experiencing mistreatment (Merritt & Klein 2015).
Trauma-Informed Perspectives We Hold
We know children in our area (Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho) are experiencing abuse and neglect. We know this maltreatment has profound impacts on their health and development.
What do we do about?
First, we try to make our services accessible.
Children suffering abuse / neglect tend to be under-identified as needing specialized healthcare services. Even when they are identified, they are typically under-served (Casanueva, et al., 2012).
Our therapists regularly schedule quick, free screening to help determine if a child’s speech or language is in need of further evaluation. We also partner with schools, charter schools, and child care providers across Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Los Lunas to provide low-cost “screening days” where a qualified therapist can screen large groups of children.
We know we can’t do it all but we hope these small actions can help identify children in need.
Second, we use trauma-informed approaches.
Trauma has deep and widespread impacts on the brain, and it can even make it harder for some children to benefit from therapy. Early traumatic experiences can create a hyper-sensitive stress response in children. This means a child more easily goes into “fight-flight-or-freeze” mode (De Bellis & Zisk, 2014). Any person has trouble learning when they think they’re in danger, especially children. When children think they’re in danger, it can result in some behaviors that can make it hard to participate in a classroom or even small-group therapy (Merritt & Klein, 2015).
At Belmar Therapy, our speech therapists are aware of and sensitive to these differences.
The first thing we do is never assume that a child is being defiant or uninterested. In fact, we try not to judge their behavior as “good or bad” at all. We attempt to understand what the behavior tells us, maybe about the child’s mental state or skills they have or lack.
Many children benefit from being given some control over their environment. This can include choosing rewards, selecting the order of activities, or picking the materials used. It can be as simple as letting the child decide which chair they sit in or if they want to work on the floor that day.
Another way we are sensitive to trauma is through the materials we have access to; it is important for children to ‘see themselves and their stories’ in the books and even tv shows that they consume.
Recently we found out about Riley the Brave, and immediately added copies to our library in English and Spanish.
Riley The Brave: One Tool in Our Kit
“Riley is a little bear with big feelings.”
This fully-illustrated story book by Jessica Sinarski with illustrations by Zachary Kline features a little bear-cub who faces some difficult emotions with the help of his animal friends. Along the way, Riley learns that being brave isn’t just about being tough but also asking for help and letting others into your heart. (Note: links here about the book are no-cost affiliate links to Amazon.com).
The beautiful drawings and child-friendly story nurture positive experiences between caring adults and brave kids.
The book uses child-appropriate and respectful language to allude to the fact that Riley has experienced trauma. From food insecurity to possible violence, Riley had to be brave in the past to keep himself safe. As the story continues and Riley is in safety, he is learning new ways to be brave like asking for help or knowing which “big critters” (i.e., adults) are safe.
Reading or looking at the drawings in Riley the Brave can be incorporated into various speech or language therapy goals like building vocabulary, looking at certain grammatical structures, or learning to answer abstract questions.
To be clear, speech-language pathologists are not mental health providers. Their services can never replace those of a counselor, social worker, or therapist. But adding Riley The Brave to our clinic library was an easy choice. It was a simple way to make our practice more responsive to children’s needs.
Resources & Ways to Help
There are many talented professionals and kind-hearted individuals who are stepping up to meet the needs of children across New Mexico.
First, these are some resources that may benefit you or a child you know:
- Report suspected child abuse or neglect in New Mexico by calling #SAFE (#7233) or 1-855-333-SAFE
- NM All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Futures Without Violence
If you’re looking for ways to support children who have survived abuse or neglect, consider the following ways to help. The below organizations are local to New Mexico. They can benefit from financial donations, awareness, and volunteers.
- New Mexico Children’s Foundation
- When you renew your license plates, considering donating to the Children’s Trust Fund which increases access to services that prevent child abuse.
- Carrie Tingley Hospital Foundation: This charity supports New Mexico’s only children’s hospital.
- Keshet Dance & Center for the Arts is a beautiful and inclusive space for the arts. They activate community and foster possibility through education, engagement, innovation, and the pursuit of justice.
- Youth Development Inc. (YDI) is a long-standing presence across the Rio Grande river valley and NM with multiple programs providing preschool, child care, prenatal care, alternative education, job training employment assistance, mental and behavioral health services, homeless assistance, emergency housing, mentoring, family development services, family counseling services, and supervised visitation.
These are just a few of the many resources and ways to get involved to support children and pursue justice in our greater Albuquerque community.
