Dr. Marisa Fisher

Dr. Marisa Fisher

Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education 

[email protected]

Lessons Learned

• Assessment and detection, especially self-report, is difficult but it is necessary to identify the best methods to support children with disabilities in telling about their experiences.
• Maltreatment impacts the mental and physical health of individuals with disabilities and increases their risk for negative outcomes in school, work, and relationships
• Protective agencies and mandated reporters are underprepared and current training offerings do not focus on children with disabilities leading to underreporting and potentially impacting investigations and findings.

Resources Developed

• A population-based examination of maltreatment referrals and substantiation for children with autism spectrum disorder (https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318813998)
• Child abuse among children with disabilities: What we know and what we need to know (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7750(07)35007-6)
• Chapter Seven – victimization of individuals with intellectural and developmental disabilities across the lifespan (https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2016.08.001)

Suggested Resources

• Sullivan, P., & Knutson, J. (2000). Maltreatment and disabilities: A population-based epidemiological study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24(10), 1257–1273. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00190-3
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2023). Child Maltreatment 2021. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2021.pdf
• Kendall-Tackett K, Lyon T, Taliaferro G, et al. (2005) Why child maltreatment researchers should include children’s disability status in their maltreatment studies. Child Abuse & Neglect 29(2): 147–151.

Collaborative Areas of Interest

• Identification and risk factors among children with moderate to severe intellectual disability
• How to support children who have experienced maltreatment
• Supporting teachers in identifying and reporting suspected abuse