Would a sexually abused 6 year old be considered special needs?

I would call her caseworker immediately. I am so sorry that she has had to go through this trauma but am thankful that she trusted you enough to tell you about it. That says a lot for the bond that you share. My prayers will be with her and your family as she deals with this trauma.

Yes, definitely call her caseworker and together you should find a therapist experienced in dealing with sexual abuse trauma. Keep reassuring her and tell her she did the right thing in telling you. Carrying that guilt around for a year must have been so hard for her! She's taken the first step to healing just by telling you. And yes, to answer your title question. A 6 year old child is considered special needs, even without a sexual abuse history. Crick

Thank you for your responses. I did call her GAL this morning. I don't have much confidence that her case worker thinks her emotional needs are very important, just that she is placed in a safe home as of now. Her GAL has agreed she should get some counseling. She said she would get back with me later today for a referral. We live in a different county than her case is, so they have to try and go through our Child welfare services. Victoria

Call the police right away! This is sick and God forbid she will have to go back! He need to be in Jail!

I just wanted to say that I am thinking about you. Keep talking to someone and you will get through. Is she adopted or is it still foster to adopt?

the rules in our foster parenting classes said call the CPS hotline and report it. i'd call the cw as well as well as the CASA as she is the one responsible for the child. you don't want your cs suprised. they don't like being blindsided and could take a dislike to you and per the rules she is the one you should call. I'd also document I called her. If you have a CPS hotline you should call the cw through them.

In my state, we are required to report any revelation children make. I'd call the caseworker and CPS and report it. Therapy is essential. You should feel that you have been doing a great job for her to have revealed this to you. It takes a ton of trust. Keep up the good work.

Sorry to hear about devastating news to fd. You should let the cw know BUT be careful, now that you've earned your fd's trust enough to tell you she may feel threatened and clam up again if she thinks "you are just going to tell everybody." Be sure she is ready to talk to a therapist. We have 6 adopted kids (4 of which are a sibling group). We know 2 of the girls were molested by their youngest sister's bfather. The girls say their brother was too but he won't admit it and the second sister and brother wouldn't admit it to their therapists. The oldest one did tell her therapist about it and told her the other 2 were molested too. The second dd has told me about it but will not discuss it with a "stranger". So in some ways, I have to be their therapist on this issue. You might could ask a therapist for advice on how to handle it when she does want to discuss it tho. Ours have seemed to have gotten over the humilation part of it to get on with life. Who knows what we will run into when they are teens and of dating or courting age. Maybe then they will be ready to let the therapist help them deal with it if they still have issues. At this point they don't appear to.Good luck! and God's Blessings on this.

I called cw to let her know what was going on. She called child protective services. I had an interview with them yesterday, the deputy that came out was very nice. My fd was at school, they are planning to visit her at school next week and see if they can get her to talk about what happened. They said it's a very casual interview just so they can proceed with what they need to do. I asked my fd how she felt about talking to them and she said if that's what the judge wants her to do then she will tell them. So wish us luck that this doesn't bring up too many bad memories. She did have a nightmare last night and told me she really didn't want to talk about what it was about. Poor little thing. I feel like I've opened a can of worms. But what can I do.

Hi Victoria, This has to be so scary for your little girl! I am so proud of her for agreeing to speak about it. You must be doing a wonderful job with her for her to feel so secure in your relationship to open up to you! Great Job!!! Talk about bonding....she's just told you her deepest, darkest "secret." That says so very much about you! You, ABSOLUTELY, did the right thing by reporting this monster PIG! You have, obviously, done a wonderful job with your daughter and I have no doubt that you will be able to protect, support and love her through the investigation! I don't know if she would be considered special needs (I don't think so) but I just wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened to her and how wonderful it is that she has you to help her through this. Best of luck to all of you. Michelle

Thank you Michelle for you kind words. And everyone else that has responded. It helps to know others think I'm doing the right thing. It is such a painful journey we're lucky to have all of you to give support. I wish we could love all of this away, but as we all know it's not going to go away. I'll keep you informed with how this plays out. Victoria

Victoria, How true the above quote is.....