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Concerns of Some Children at the Southwest Michigan Children's Trauma Assessment Center

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  • A 10-year-old-boy who when asked, "Tell me the best thing that's ever happened to you" responded, "I don't know of any." And when he was asked about the worst thing that has ever happened to him, he responded with, "there are so many I don't even know where to start."
  • A five-year-old girl who was beaten beyond recognition when she was 24 months old. Although her physical body has healed, the internal scares continue to be insurmountable, as she expresses her anguish, not with words, but with self-mutilation.
  • A nine-year-old boy who spent the first seven years of his life living in a cage, being forced to engage in lewd acts with animals, and being punished daily with a cattle prod for soiling his pants. So badly damaged, this child lacked the coordination to play a simple game of catch. After multiple attempts to catch a ball he says, "Can we stop now? It's just too hard."
  • A 16-year-old boy had recently received a blow to his head by a lead pipe, which was dealt by his father. Yet this special boy didn't want to leave his home; he didn't want to risk having the abuse turning to his younger brothers. In the meantime, he clung to his dreams, saying, "I want to become a better man, to prove I'm better than the person my [parents] think I am."


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