Neglect
Neglect is the most prevalent type of maltreatment. It
is defined as the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic
physical and/or psychological needs and is likely to result in
the serious impairment of the child’s health or development.
Neglect includes failure to provide adequate food, clothes,
hygiene, medical needs and shelter, or failure to protect a
child from physical and emotional harm.
Maltreated infants suffer from greater developmental
disability than children who were maltreated later in
childhood. The child reaches, and achieves, more motor
and developmental milestones during infancy than during
any other period in life. In contrast to other causes of
developmental delay, neglect-related developmental delay is
commonly associated with the following features:
■■Abnormal behaviour, including avoidance, insecure
withdrawal and inactivity
■■Poor social interaction, including poor parental interaction
■■ Signs of neglect, including ill-fitting clothes and poor hygiene
■■ Significant improvement in milestones once the child
receives adequate affection and care.