Definition of Child Sexual Abuse

There is no uniform definition pertaining to child sexual abuse. But the characteristic feature of child sexual abuse is the dominant position of an adult that allows him or her to force or coerce a child into sexual activity.

Child sexual abuse may include fondling or playing with the genitals of a child, anal intercourse, oral-genital contact, vaginal penetration, masturbation, digital penetration and touching of private parts (including breasts).

Child sexual abuse does not only mean physical contact. It involves abuse in the form of non-contact that involves exposure, voyeurism and child pornography. It includes abuse by Peers too.

There are incidents when your own family member could be involved in this issue. Before the situations turns murkier transforming your family including personal life in to a nightmare, tackle this entire issue with deftness and firmness, accompanied with patience and composure of mind. Avoid taking abrupt decisions. Remember that this is a social issue of prime importance. Never shove such incidents under the carpet-even though it may involve your own kith and kin.

Steps in dealing with the issue of Child Sexual Abuse by a Family Member

• Accept the fact that your child has been sexually abused.
• Face the reality
• To take charge of the situation.
• Discuss this topic with your family members who support the abuse of your child.
• Be calm and composed in your approach while dealing with the issue.
• Trash out the outstanding issue pertaining to sexual abuse with the concerned member of the family involved.
• Adopt a balanced and pragmatic approach pertaining to the issue of child sexual abuse.
• Sternly warn the concerned person in the family regarding the grave consequences incase if further sexual abuse of the child continues, by keeping a tab on the activities family member.
• Discuss this issue with your family physician and counselor.
• Counsel the concerned person (abuser) involved in child sexual abuse.
• Analyze the mindset of the abuser and the reason for committing such a heinous crime on the child.
• Provide ample support and counsel the child.
• Shower abundant love and repose confidence on your child. Lend your ears to her grievances.
• Never leave your child alone or let him/her feel lonely.
• Give ample time to the child to overcome the trauma. 
• Take preventive measures to see that such an incident does not re-occur again.
• Report abuse to your local child protection service agency and ask about crisis support help.

It can be hard for adults if the abuser is close to them. Still, the abuse should be reported to your local child protection agency or family-physician. It is the best method to deal with the issue of child-abuse within your own family.

Dr Sameer

In the initial stages of this disease it is necessary for a patient to be engaged in a variety of physical, social and mental activities to exercise and stimulate the brain. New experiences for the patient –plays an important role; the trick is in providing stimuli to the brain and preventing it from getting bored. However one should ensure that the patient is not over-stimulated and stressed.

There are various methods that can be used to keep the mind stimulated and active. The patient should be encouraged to take part in various activities to provide a novel experience. Activities that kindle the interest of the patient like art, cooking, walking, swimming and gardening can be focused on; the main objective being able to provide enjoyment and the emphasis on achievement should take a backseat.

It is also to be recognized that a healthy mind requires a healthy body. So, the patient should be encouraged to do daily exercises; the exercise that appeals to the patient most must be encouraged. It has been found that going for a walk of four miles in a week cuts the chances of developing dementia by fifty percent. Going outdoors for a nature walk or a drive has great therapeutic value.

In addition, brain activity and coordination can be improved by encouraging the patient to do activities by the hand like knitting, model making or playing a musical instrument. Also playing video games can help to improve eye and hand coordination, spatial visualization skills, and can increase the number of things an Alzheimer’s patient can visually attend to simultaneously.

Besides certain brain games and puzzles like doing crosswords and number puzzles, memory games and board games can be encouraged as activities to a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. However this cannot be done if the patient is not lucid. They also help exercise the parietal lobes of the brain. Spending time with pets can also provide the peace, calm and entertainment.

Laughter and humor can also help. Even if an Alzheimer’s patient is no longer able to appreciate your jokes, he is sure to know that it is a joke and will smile or laugh which can provide some relief to them. Using humor like clowning, or teasing can be fun for them.

Besides it is also necessary to help such people to strengthen their memory. Helping an Alzheimer’s patient to learn new words can play a great part in enhancing his brain language centers, which would be of a great help. In addition, spelling exercises can help to improve his power to see a word before using it by mouth or in writing. This can help in activating various language related brain areas. In addition paying more attention to sensory exercises like practicing sharpening your brain by recollecting names of herbs, essences that you encounter in your day-to-day life can also help.

All these activities are sure to keep Alzheimer disease at bay and help a person to lead to improve the quality of life.

Links:
Alzheimers
The Brilliant Human Brain – Animation