[Occurrence of child abuse: knowledge and possibility of action of speech-language pathologists].
BACKGROUND
This work presents the results of an epidemiological survey about the professional experience of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) with children and adolescents who are victims of domestic violence.


OBJECTIVE
To understand the occurrence of child abuse and neglect of children and adolescents treated by speech-language pathologists, characterizing the victims according to: most affected age group, gender, form of violence, aggressor, most frequent speech-language complaint, how the abuse was identified and follow-up.


METHODS
500 self-administered mail surveys were sent to a random sample of professional living in Rio de Janeiro. The survey forms were identified only by numbers to assure anonymity.


RESULTS
224 completed surveys were mailed back. 54 respondents indicated exposure to at least one incident of abuse. The majority of victims were children, the main abuser was the mother, and physical violence was the most frequent form of abuse. The main speech disorder was late language development. In most cases, the victim himself told the therapist about the abuse--through verbal expression or other means of expression such as drawings, story telling, dramatizing or playing. As the majority of the victims abandoned speech-language therapy, it was not possible to follow-up the cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Due to the importance if this issue and the limited Brazilian literature about Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences and child abuse, it is paramount to invest in the training of speech-language pathologists. It is the duty of speech-language pathologists to expose this complex problem and to give voice to children who are victims of violence, understanding that behind a speech-language complaint there might be a cry for help.
Noguchi
Milica Satake
MS
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, RJ. milica.noguchi@uol.com.br
de Assis
Simone Gonçalves
SG
Malaquias
Juaci Vitória
JV
D000293:Adolescent; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires