Contents

Objectives

Overview

Testimonials

Questionnaire

Links

Ordering Information

Infancy/Toddlerhood (1 month-2 years)  
Preschool (3-5 years)
Early Childhood (6-9 years)  
Late Childhood (10-12 years)  
Early Adolescence (13-15 years) 
Late Adolescence (16-18 years)  
 

The Abuse Cards 
With the exception of the age category, Infancy/Toddlerhood,all abuse cards have been grammatically and syntactically written at the appropriate developmental level. 

The abuse cards have been designed to:  
1. reflect abuse by the child's:  father, grandfather, uncle, cousin/s, step-father, mom's boyfriend/s, boyfriends' buddies, baby-sitter, pastor, teacher, bus driver, stranger, mom.  On most cards, the abuser is referred to in generic terms as  he.   On the remaining cards, the abusers are referred to as  they.  They refers to more than one person participating or contributing to the abuse, e.g., male and female, two adult males, adult male and teenage male.

2. reflect differing kinds of sexual abuse:  fondling of child, self-fondling of abuser, use of sexual language and insinuations, exposure of body by abuser, witnessing of any sexual act, rape, taking of pornographic photographs including the child, sharing of pornographic photographs, playing doctor by older children.

3. address the consequences when a child discloses abuse to an adult resulting in, e.g., intimidation, actual or threatened violent acts, loss of prized possessions, abandonment, loss of protection for other siblings, removal from home by police.  The circumstances and consequences surrounding the abuse directly influence whether the child is validated or not validated.

4. provide, through subtle manipulation of language, an understanding and appreciation of childhood developmental stages, as they relate to the child's cognitive abilities for comprehending, remembering, and disclosure of sexual abuse.

Abuse Free Cards
The abuse free cards have been designed to offer some reprieve from the intensity of this exercise and at the same time reflect the often extreme circumstances that provide reprieve from abuse in real life.  These circumstances are reflective of things that happen in adult life and have nothing to do with any action of the child. 

Age Cards   
The age cards have been designed to set the stage.  A person reading a specific age card should feel a little bit about how it is/was to be the age on the card they have drawn, e.g., what is important to a child at that age (a stuffed animal, getting better at jumping rope, the first bra), what the child is physically capable of (walking, riding a bike, driving a car), what the child thinks about (birthday parties, boys, college).