Brookhouser P E
Boys Town National Institute for Communication Disorders in Children, Omaha, NE 68131.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1987 Oct;97(4):361-8. doi: 10.1177/019459988709700404.
In 1983, 75,000 to 90,000 children and youth in the United States had hearing impairments severe enough to warrant some sort of special education, and 28% of that total (i.e., 21,000 to 25,000) were in residential schools. Deaf youngsters in institutional settings are at risk for maltreatment by surrogate caretakers--foster parents or institutional child care workers. Attempts to report the abuse may produce denials by institutional administrators who do not want to believe that children under their care have been abused or who fear serious personal and/or institutional consequences should the abuse report become public. Clearly, steps must be taken to ensure the safety of deaf children being educated in residential institutions. Health providers must assume a special responsibility for detecting and preventing abuse/neglect of handicapped children for whom they are providing medical care on a continuing basis. This article will explore relevant aspects of the present system for delivery of health services to deaf children, as well as present specific strategies for detection, documentation, and prevention of maltreatment of these particularly vulnerable children.
1983年，美国有7.5万至9万名儿童和青少年存在严重听力障碍，足以需要某种特殊教育，其中28%（即2.1万至2.5万人）就读于寄宿学校。在寄宿机构中的失聪青少年面临着被替代照顾者——养父母或机构儿童护理人员虐待的风险。举报虐待行为的尝试可能会遭到机构管理人员的否认，他们不愿相信自己照顾的儿童受到了虐待，或者担心虐待举报一旦公开会带来严重的个人和/或机构后果。显然，必须采取措施确保在寄宿机构接受教育的失聪儿童的安全。医疗服务提供者必须承担特殊责任，以发现和预防他们持续提供医疗服务的残疾儿童遭受虐待/忽视。本文将探讨当前为失聪儿童提供医疗服务体系的相关方面，以及介绍发现、记录和预防这些特别脆弱儿童受虐待的具体策略。
