The effects of verbal abuse can often manifest as shyness, low self 
esteem, hyper-politeness etc as well as behaviour at the other end of 
the spectrum.  As just one example - I *was* a child who was subjected 
to ongoing verbal abuse, it wasn't picked up by outsiders (or if it was, 
no one did anything), because my survival technique was to become 
preternaturally good and well behaved.  Also, as I said, there is a 
great deal of denial when it comes to abuse and DV, even if people can 
tell that something is going on there is still stigma about getting 
involved, lack of appropriate support for the victims, amongst other 
reasons that little is done.  Also, as Kat said - if the woman herself 
doesn't/can't acknowledge that she is being abused it is hard to do 
anything.

Rayna

Anthony Arnold wrote:

>I'm not a parent myself, and neither do I have any nieces and nephews yet,
>so my experiences with young kids are limited, but I would think if I was
>communicating in a certain way, the child would likely pick up anything, and
>is likely to use the same vocabulary in other environments.  This is just a
>wild guess.  
>
>Thanks, 
>Anthony 
>Visit my website at www.anthonyarnold.net
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Cerebral Palsy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>Rayna
>Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 10:43 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: I need some more advice
>
>At the very least I imagine he would be trying to keep the verbal abuse 
>hidden.  The little girl wouldn't necessarily tell anyone - if she's 
>grown up in this environment she will likely not know that this isn't 
>acceptable behaviour, plus people don't always listen (or believe) if 
>kids (or adults) disclose abuse, especially if disability is involved.  
>There is a lot of denial that goes on.
>
>Rayna
>  
>