Child Maltreatment on Brain Development : Part 3

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 3 of 5)

Global Neglect

The term "global neglect" is used when a child has experienced deprivations in more than one domain, i.e., language, touch, and social interaction. Children who were adopted from Romanian orphanages in the early 1990s are often considered to be globally neglected; they had little contact with caregivers and little to no stimulation from their environment-little of anything required for healthy development. One study found that these children had significantly smaller brains than the norm, suggesting decreased brain growth.

This type of severe, global neglect can have devastating consequences. The extreme lack of stimulation may result in fewer neuronal pathways available for learning; genetically normal children may be at a permanent intellectual disadvantage. The lack of opportunity to form an attachment with a nurturing caregiver during infancy may mean that some of these children will always have difficulties forming meaningful relationships with others. But these studies also found that time played a factor-children who were adopted as young infants have shown more recovery than children who were adopted as toddlers.

Pervasive and Long-term Effects

Maltreatment during infancy and early childhood has been shown to negatively affect early brain development and can have enduring repercussions into adolescence and adulthood. As mentioned earlier, the experiences of infancy and early childhood literally provide the organizing framework for the expression of children's intelligence, emotions, and personalities. When those experiences are primarily negative, children may develop emotional, behavioral, and learning problems that persist throughout their lifetime, especially in the absence of targeted interventions.

While some children seem unaffected or minimally affected by their traumatic experiences, in reality, it is often the adults around them who are misreading their cues. These children are communicating non-verbally with us, and we need to learn the language and educate others who work with children who have been maltreated about this language. Children do not just "get over it." As they attempt to cope, as their brains adapt to the negative environments, their true emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social potential may be diminished.

Children who have experienced chronic abuse and neglect during their first few years may live in a persistent state of hyper-arousal or dissociation, anticipating threats around every corner, and their ability to benefit from social, emotional, and cognitive experiences may be impaired. The various regions of the brain can not grow without being activated, and certain regions can not be activated when others are. To learn and incorporate new information, whether it be a lesson in the classroom or a new social experience, the child's brain must be in a state of "attentive calm," a state the traumatized child rarely achieves. It is not uncommon for teachers who work with traumatized children to observe that the children are really smart, but they do not learn easily; they are often diagnosed with learning disabilities. Children who have not been able to develop healthy attachments with their caregivers, and whose early emotional experiences have not laid the necessary groundwork for healthy emotional development, may have a limited capacity for empathy. The ability to feel remorse and empathy are built on experience. In the extreme, if a child feels no emotional attachment to any human being, he can not be expected to feel remorse for hurting or even killing someone. Perry offers the example of a 15-year-old boy who felt no remorse for having committed murder. The boy had been neglected and humiliated by his primary caretakers as a child. "He is literally emotionally retarded. The part of his brain which would have allowed him to feel connected to other human beings-empathy-simply did not develop".

The effects of abuse and neglect on the developing brain during children's first few years can result in various mental health problems. For example:

Dimished growth in the left hemisphere may increase the risk for depression.

Irritability in the limbic system can set the stage for the emergence of panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Smaller growth in the hippocampus and limbic abnormalities can increase the risk for dissociative disorders and memory impairments.

Impairment in the connection between the two brain hemispheres has been linked to symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Severely neglected children who have been deprived of sensory stimulation-including touch, movement, and sound-may be at risk for Sensory Integration Disorder (SID).

Children who have been raised in environments that totally disregarded their needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection may be at risk for Reactive Attachment Disorder.

We are learning more about the serious, long-term consequences of abuse and neglect on brain development, and subsequent physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. What do we do with this information? What does it mean for biological parents, foster and adoptive parents, professionals, the child welfare system, and for society? How can we use this knowledge to improve our interventions with children who have been abused and neglected, and, most importantly, to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring? While these questions may be challenging, this growing body of knowledge compels us to work towards finding the answers.

About the Author

www.childwelfare.gov
Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.