Disabled children are at greater risk of abuse than non-disabled children. Child abuse and neglect was identified as a national epidemic in the report of the U.S. Advisory Board on Child abuse and neglect. According to the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, there are approximately 2.9 million children who were victims of child abuse and neglect throughout United States in 1993. Until recently, however, the number of children with disabilities who have been abused and neglect has not been well documented.

All forms of abuse, including multiple types of abuse with the same child, multiple perpetrators of abuse, and multiple victims within a grouping of children, are found within the population of children with disabilities. The vast majority of the perpetrators are well known to the abuse victim. Perpetrators may include family members and service providers such as teachers, doctors, administrators, direct care providers, therapists, and transportation providers.

Society devalues and disempowers disabled people. These attitudes, thus, lead to a created vulnerability of disabled children. Further, Disabled children living away from home are particularly vulnerable. In addition to the risk factors that exist for all children, disabled children are at risk of particular forms of abuse such as over-medication, poor feeding and toileting arrangements, lack of stimulation and issues around control of challenging behavior lack of information, lack of emotional support.

In addition to the fact that children with disabilities are at increased risk of abuse is the fact that child abuse can cause disabilities. Head trauma is the leading cause of death for children who die form child abuse. It is, however, unknown how many more children suffer near misses and retain serious permanent disabilities due to head and neck trauma. Also, many people have difficulty believing that children with disabilities can be victims of abuse and neglect. This misinterpretation creates an exaggerated level of vulnerability as children with disabilities and their families are not prepared psychologically, intellectually or physically to resist or respond to abuse.

Parents of children with disabilities often receive a lot of information about disabilities, child care, child development and community resources, but are rarely prepared or trained on the subject of physical or sexual abuse or neglect. The problem of abuse of children with disabilities is, thus, a serious issue but is still not largely recognized by service agencies. In the past five years, awareness of the problem of abuse and neglect of children with disabilities has begun to increase. It is important to foster greater awareness of this issue. Prevention and abuse awareness programs need to include information about the heightened risk of abuse of children with disabilities and the onset of a permanent disability as a consequence of abuse.