"Youth group leaders and child welfare experts met Monday near Dallas for the start of a two-day Boy Scouts of America symposium about how to spot and prevent child abuse.
"The closed-door meeting near the BSA’s national headquarters in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine is part of the Scouts’ efforts to improve how it handles abuse cases after the release of internal documents showing incidents in which the Scouts didn’t inform law enforcement about alleged abuse within its ranks....
"One problem identified Monday was the unwillingness of adults sometimes to believe or understand children who are reporting abuse. Victor Vieth, executive director emeritus of the National Child Protection Training Center, told the audience about how some doctors initially dismissed research that suggested obese people abused as children had trouble losing weight later in life. Studies of “adverse childhood experiences” like abuse or neglect show they can do lasting damage to health and life expectancy, he said.
"He said officials from groups for children who have faced adversity need to be particularly vigilant because predators often seek out such children because they might be less likely to be believed...."
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