Children’s Rights Matter.

Child Impact Projects seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of childhood trauma and end medical child abuse.

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What is Medical Child Abuse?

 
 

Medical child abuse occurs when perpetrators intentionally mislead healthcare professionals into providing unnecessary medical treatment, procedures or surgeries for otherwise healthy children.

Perpetrators of medical child abuse run elaborate schemes of manipulation and deception. They often engage multiple healthcare providers, cross state lines, and seek widespread attention and support for their cause. Consequently, medical child abuse is grossly underrecognized and underreported.

Also known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, medical child abuse is a form of child torture. It is among the most lethal forms of child abuse. The horrific and painful experiences of survivors can result in a lifetime of physical and psychological harm.

 
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Our Mission

Child Impact Projects exists to support aggressive interventions in child trauma and medical child abuse cases. We support evidence-based research, educate stakeholders, develop best practices, and build Strike Force Teams to promote early interventions that save lives.

 
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Understanding Child Trauma

 

The groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study examined the relationships between early adversity and adult health outcomes. Examples of Adverse Childhood Experiences include abuse, neglect, violence, drug abuse and mental illness. These non-normative experiences interrupt critical brain development, with lifelong repercussions.

The higher the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences a person has, the greater their risk of depression, illegal drug use, disease of the heart and liver, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, alcoholism, intimate partner violence, sexually transmitted diseases, smoking, unintended and early pregnancy, and more.

Medical child abuse victims endure ongoing, torturous medical procedures that constitute severe and recurring adverse childhood experiences. The cumulative threat to victims’ physical, emotional, behavioral and mental health is difficult to overstate. Immediate action is needed to stop this devastating cycle.

The Face of Medical Child Abuse

Perpetrators of medical child abuse use many methods of falsification to deceive clinicians, child welfare professionals, law enforcement and community members:

  • Giving or producing false diagnoses or information—or withholding information—in order to deceive, to pursue treatment, and as a gateway to further treatment

  • Fabricating, exaggerating or inducing symptoms or illness

  • Withholding medications, nutrition, or treatments

  • Building elaborate fundraising campaigns and social media presence to publicize alleged medical conditions and hardships and garner social and financial capital

Common Medical Conditions

Although medical child abuse takes many forms, abusers often falsify or induce several common medical conditions:

 

  • Allergies

  • Asthma

  • Apnea

  • Failure to thrive

  • Fevers

  • Gastrointestinal problems

  • Infections

  • Seizures

 

(Roesler and Ginny, 2009; Rosenberg, 1987; Sheridan, 2003)

Child Impact Projects

Common Medical Procedures and Treatments Include:

  • Gastrostomy Tube (G-Tube)

  • Ileostomy Bag

  • Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) Feed

In addition to other effects, medical child abuse has resulted in permanent physical harm including:

 

  • Blindness

  • Altered gut function

  • Brain damage

  • Hearing loss

  • Scarring

  • Removal of organs

  • Surgical alteration of anatomy

  • Limps

  • Other sequelae

  • Death

 
Child Impact Projects

Our Projects

Child Impact Projects has big plans for 2020 and beyond in the areas of research, education, policy and responsive human infrastructure.

 

Research

Medical child abuse is often misunderstood as a mental illness of the perpetrator. However, experts on Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy agree that it is first and foremost abuse.  Child Impact Projects supports evidence-based research on medical child abuse to inform advocacy and training and promote awareness, early detection and aggressive intervention. 

Education

Medical child abuse is extremely difficult to detect and prosecute, and most professionals do not receive training or support to address it. Early and aggressive intervention is critical to protect victims from further trauma and abuse. Our initiatives will educate and empower healthcare professionals, law enforcement, child protective services, legal professionals, policymakers and the public to take appropriate action against medical child abuse.

 
 

Policy

No state or federal laws in the U.S. address medical child abuse. In 15 states, children do not enjoy basic legal protection from various forms of torture, including medical child abuse. With an early focus in Oklahoma and Texas, Child Impact Projects is working to change this. By educating lawmakers about medical child abuse and the need to protect children’s rights, we are building a future where state agencies can effectively intervene, advocate for victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

Responsive Human Infrastructure

Very few treatment providers in the U.S. specialize in medical child abuse. Child Impact Projects aims to develop innovative resources to meet the need for assessments, counseling, therapeutic supervised visitation, support groups, hotline support, and a repository for media and research. We will also build Strike Force Teams of investigators, medical professionals, child protective services, law enforcement, psychologists and national experts to prevent and combat medical child abuse.

 

Take Action.

Help Us End Medical Child Abuse.

Child Impact Projects is one of the only organizations in the U.S. focused on medical child abuse, and we need your help. We are a designated 501(3)(c) organization and can now accept donations! Please help us protect vulnerable children by giving today.

3701-A South Harvard Avenue #214
Tulsa, OK 74135-2282

+1 609 904 3984
dboswell@childimpactprojects.com