Summary: We Can Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

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On Thursday, September 17, 2015, I attended one of the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) Educational Program workshops. The topic of the training workshop was Taking Responsibility: We Can Prevent Child Sexual Abuse spoken by Joelle Casteix who is an advocate of child sexual abuse prevention. I would like to address some of the information I have learned through this workshop in regard to child sexual abuse. One of the first statements Joelle mentioned was that child sexual abuse has nothing to do with sex and the victim of sexual abuse is never to blame for the assault. Predator “grooms” victim by targeting “weak” or “compliant” child and those with low self-esteem. Although victim feels confused, she does not tell about the experience because …show more content…
First one was the communication between parents and the child. She emphasized to not be afraid to ask and keep calm manner when child brings up the signs of child sexual abuse. Joelle also recommended parents to be open and transparent with the subject, especially with older child, be frank about sexuality, name body parts during shower with younger child, and teach older child how to make a report. Second preventive strategy was to set strong body boundary. Parents need to provide safe boundary to their child since birth. And, as the child grows, parents should not force their child to give a hug or kiss anyone to teach her to respect her body. Third preventive strategy was to check technology. Joelle stated that grooming is easier with technology. It is important to monitor child’s use of technology and set specific rules at home such as no technology devices in bed or behind the door. Last strategy was to trust own instinct as parent. Joelle stated that the parents suspect and examine further if something looks wrong, seems wrong, and feels …show more content…
The speaker discussed about early signs and symptoms of autism and developmental disorders. The red flags with communication include delay in or lack of speech, speaking with odd voice, tone, rhythm, or pitch, echolalia (repeating words or phrases), difficulty initiating or sustaining conversations, and incongruent facial expression and verbal content. The red flags with social skills include lack of interest in other friends, not sharing interests or achievements, and difficulty reading social cues. With behaviors, red flags include engaging in repetitive body movements, such as spinning, preoccupation with particular interests, spending long periods of time arranging specific toys in a particular manner, and strong need for same routines. Lastly, the red flag with sensory sensation includes when the child is highly attuned or even painfully sensitive to certain sounds, textures, tastes, or smells. The speaker then discussed about screening tools to detect whether a child has signs of autism or not, other assessment tools (e.g., ADOS-2nd Edition, GARS-3, and ADI-R), and the applied behavior analysis

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