My 16-month-old was abused IN OUR HOUSE by a special ed teacher we know socially. Her reputation as a teacher is excellent as far as I know. Yet she irritably jerked a coat out from under my toddler while he was standing on the couch, causing him to go crashing to the floor. It happened out of my sight, and she told me, "He fell," but an older son of mine (14) witnessed what she had done. My child screamed in pain and surprise at being virtually knocked and smashed out of the woman's way, it was a unique experience for him, and his Very First Lesson in dealing with cruelty from a bully. This same "teacher" had spanked my other children when they were still in diapers, spatted on the bare leg hard enough to make them cry, never in her own home, because we are never in her home. She had to be stopped from hitting by kids by a relative of ours who explained flat-out to her that she wasn't to hit any kids except her own (she NEVER hit her own, they were royalty). To this, she burst out crying (the narcissist response to self-defense). She has the highest opinion of herself of anyone I've ever met. She is serenely guilt-free. Unfortunately, because of her, no report of abuse by teachers, esp. special ed teachers, where children can't "tell," amazes me a bit. I wish it were not true.