Mental Retardation and Child Abuse

despatch wind vane is a fritter away about a mentally retarded idiosyncratic by the name of Karl, who performances his make and her l everywhere Karls classmate at the age of twelve. Subsequently, Karl is triggeralized. Upon release, Karl returns to his hometown where he befriends a young boy, Frank. The boys capture had committed suicide, and his buzz off is dating Doyle, who demoralises both Frank and his mother. Eventually, Karl is responsible for the murder of Doyle as well, as he essential put an end to the demoralise that he is witnessing in the lives of Frank and his mother.The story of the film is a characteristic sightedness that Karl is a mentally retarded individual who takes action against child abomination. scientific research, on the other hand, has revealed that it is usually the mentally retarded individual who must suffer abuse simply because he cannot take cargon of himself.As an example, Morse, Sahler, and Friedman analyse twenty five children who had been treat, out of which forty two sh atomic number 18 were mentally retarded. All except one of the mentally retarded children in the study had already been diagnosed as mentally retarded before they were abused. Hence, it is perspicuous that the abusers knew that the mentally retarded children atomic number 18 vulnerable to abuse.According to Morse, Sahler, and Friedman, people who swing time with mentally retarded children are usually aware that these children are not always able to physically or orally digest themselves. Moreover, these children are not always able to describe their abuse to others. Typically, they are also unable to differentiate between graceful and improper verbal communication and/or physical contact, regardless of whether the physical contact is sexual or violent in nature.Lastly, mentally retarded children are sincerely dependent on other people for all manners of assistance. This makes them much trusting toward their caretakers as well as o thers. Also according to the authors, passivity as well as compliance stem from the trust and dependence of the mentally retarded child. Those who abuse mentally retarded children are, therefore, taking unreasonable advantage of the trust shown by these children.Sandgrund, Gaines, and Green have also conducted a study on children. Out of one hundred and twenty children studied by the authors, sixty had been abused, thirty had been neglected, and other thirty had not been abused at all. The authors reported that twenty five percentage of the abused children in their study had been diagnosed as mentally retarded.Twenty percent of the neglected children had as well as been recognized as mentally retarded, while only three percent of the children who had never been abused were mentally retarded. The findings of this study reveal that mentally retarded children are quite equally to be abused. The fact that Karl of Sling stain was never abused rather, he had the intelligence to di fferentiate between proper and improper verbal communication and/or physical contact shows that the film is about an unusual mentally retarded individual. Sandgrund, Gaines, and Green write that mentally retarded children are normally hesitant to report instances of abuse because they guardianship losing the essential relationships with their caretakers.Furthermore, these children are not always believed if they manage to report abuse. beholding that Karl was not afraid to lose his caretaker at the time he killed his mother reveals that this mentally retarded child was definitely not a typical one.McFadden has also written about the abuse of mentally ill children, including those who are mentally retarded. Reporting a study conducted by the New York raise Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled, McFadden writes that abuse in institutions for mentally retarded children is higher than abuse in institutions for children who are mentally fit. Also according to the au thorIn analyzing those cases, the commission found that abuse most often occurred in leisure-time areas, such as fun rooms and sleeping quarters, where children congregate withoutstructured activities. It also found that boys over 12 years of age and children who exhibiteddisturbing conduct were at the highest risk of exposure of abuse.In 16 percent of the cases, the study said, a finding of abuse or neglect was made by thereporting facility. In another 18 percent, the facility found misconduct by an employee but noevidence of abuse. In 66 percent, some corrective action was interpreted and in nearly 20 percentdisciplinary action was taken against at least one employee.Most of those responsible for the abuse or neglect were not new employees. The study said80 percent of them had worked at the facility at least one year and 50 percent had beenemployed more than three years (McFadden).Karl was fortunate because his mother did not abuse him. He was not abused in an institution eithe r. All the same, research evidence suggests that mentally retarded children are extremely vulnerable to abuse. In unusual cases, perhaps mentally retarded individuals like Karl may be able to struggle against child abuse. Then again, they energy have to take drastic actions such as those of Karl in tack together to end child abuse. After all, mentally retarded individuals are not considered credible if they simply manage to report abuse.Works CitedMcFadden, Robert D. Child hatred High in New York Mental Centers. New York Times. 1 fall 1987. 17 Nov 2007..Morse, C.W., O.Z. Sahler, and S.B. Friedman. A Three-Year Follow-Up Study of Abused andNeglected Children. American Journal of Diseases of Children. Vol. 120 (1970) pp. 439-446.Sandgrund, H., R. Gaines, and A. Green. Child Abuse and Mental Retardation A Problem ofCause and Effect. American Journal of Mental Deficiency. Vol. 79 (1974) pp. 327-330.Sling Blade. Dir. Billy Bob Thorton. 1996.