Leaders of the National Children's Advocacy Center said Shaken Baby Syndrome is a particularly grave case of child abuse because the infants who experience it cannot point out their aggressor.
Chris Newlin, director of the National Children's Advocacy Center based in Huntsville, said abusive head trauma cases can also be difficult to track because any complications of abuse may not be immediately apparent.
"There may be some kids who are shaken who don't have a severe injury, never presented to the emergency room, never go into crisis, but they suffer some actual brain damage as a result of that," he said.
Newlin said since babies are more vulnerable, it's important for witnesses to look for signs of abusive head trauma. They include nausea, losing consciousness, and any bleeding in the brain.
"The child can't tell us who did it. There are no fingerprints, and there may be five potential people who have done it and we can't narrow it down from that group," Newlin said.
Alabama's Department of Human Resources handles child abuse cases once they are reported by doctors and law enforcement.
"If you witness abuse or suspect abuse, [people] can always call us and we have people [whose] job is just to answer calls," said Tyrone Newton.
But even more than reporting the situation, Newlin said it's enough to simply reach out to the parent.
"The other thing you can do is offer to help. Sometimes, just for someone to offer a hand to help and say listen, 'I know you're struggling,'" he said.
Newlin said he has seen between five to ten cases of abusive head trauma in Madison County within a year. He said his organization is offering training courses to prevent such cases of abuses and place awareness on the issue.
Related story:
Copyright 2012 WAFF. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WSFA, a Raycom Media Station. 