Shaken Baby Syndrome: The Facts, Ryatt’s Story, and How We Can Prevent It

In memory of Ryatt Jean Sadler - It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Child.

There are some things you never imagine becoming part of your family’s story.

Shaken Baby Syndrome was one of those things for ours.

Today, the medical community more commonly uses the term Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) because these devastating injuries can be caused by violent shaking, blunt impact, or a combination of both. It is a severe form of child abuse that can cause catastrophic brain injury or death.

For our family, these are more than facts on a page.

They are part of Ryatt’s story.

What Is Shaken Baby Syndrome?

Babies and young children are especially vulnerable to head trauma. Their brains are still developing, their neck muscles are weak, and their heads are proportionally large compared with the rest of their bodies.

When a baby or young child is violently shaken or subjected to other abusive head trauma, the forces placed on the brain can cause serious injuries, including bleeding around the brain, brain swelling and injury to the eyes, neck and other structures.

Abusive head trauma can lead to:

• Permanent brain damage

• Seizures

• Cerebral palsy

• Blindness or vision loss

• Hearing problems

• Intellectual and developmental disabilities

• Problems with learning, speech and development

• Difficulty eating or swallowing

• Breathing difficulties

• Paralysis and other physical disabilities

• Coma

• Death

  
  

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that abusive head trauma is a leading cause of fatal head injury in children under two. Children who survive can be left with lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.

Ryatt’s Story

Ryatt was only five months old when his life changed forever.

On April 17, 2024, Ryatt suffered a severe non-accidental head injury and was Life Flighted to Texas Children’s Hospital.

He survived.

But surviving did not mean walking away unharmed.

The injuries to Ryatt’s developing brain left him with profound, lifelong medical needs. He lived with cerebral palsy, seizures and blindness. He depended on a G-tube for nutrition and eventually required respiratory support with BiPAP.

Appointments, therapies, medications, specialists, hospitalizations and medical equipment became part of his childhood.

But those diagnoses were never who Ryatt was.

He was a little boy who was deeply loved.

He had a family who fought for him, advocated for him, celebrated him and loved him through every difficult day. We were blessed with the opportunity to adopt him and make him forever ours.

Eventually, the damage his little body had endured became too much. Ryatt entered hospice care in April 2026.

On May 1, 2026, at just two years old, Ryatt passed away.

His life was short.

His impact will not be.

One Moment Can Change an Entire Lifetime

One of the most important things we want people to understand is that abusive head trauma is preventable.

Babies cry.

Sometimes they cry even after they have been fed, changed, rocked, held and comforted. A healthy baby can cry for long periods for reasons a caregiver may never figure out.

Exhaustion is real. Frustration is real. Feeling overwhelmed is real.

But shaking a baby is never an acceptable response.

If you feel yourself becoming angry, frustrated or out of control, put the baby somewhere safe and walk away.

A baby crying safely in a crib while you take several minutes to regain control is far safer than being held by someone who is reaching their breaking point.

Take a breath. Step into another room. Call someone. Ask another trusted adult to take over. Reach out for help.

Never shake, hit, throw, slam or jerk a baby or young child.

Prevention Also Means Supporting Caregivers

Preventing abusive head trauma cannot stop with telling people, “Don’t shake a baby.”

We also have to recognize when parents and caregivers are overwhelmed.

Offer to hold the baby while a tired parent showers or sleeps.

Check on the new mom or dad who seems exhausted.

Give caregivers permission to say, “I need help.”

Talk to babysitters, grandparents, partners, older siblings and anyone else who may care for your child about crying and the dangers of shaking.

And if someone tells you they are overwhelmed, take them seriously.

Sometimes prevention looks like education.

Sometimes it looks like giving someone a break.

Sometimes it looks like simply showing up.

Know the Warning Signs

A child who has experienced abusive head trauma may not always have obvious external injuries. Warning signs can include unusual sleepiness or difficulty waking, vomiting, irritability, trouble breathing, poor feeding, decreased alertness, seizures or loss of consciousness.

If you believe a baby or child may have suffered abusive head trauma, seek emergency medical care immediately.

Why Ryatt’s Wings Talks About This

We would give anything for Ryatt not to have endured what he did.

We cannot change what happened to him.

But we can decide what we do with his story.

That is part of why Ryatt’s Wings exists.

We will speak for vulnerable children. We will support families walking through unimaginable circumstances. We will educate our community about child abuse and prevention. And we will continue sharing Ryatt’s story because there may be a parent, babysitter, family member or caregiver who sees it at exactly the moment they need to.

If sharing his story prevents even one child from suffering the injuries Ryatt suffered, then his voice is still being heard.

So please share this information.

Talk about it with your children’s caregivers.

Check on overwhelmed parents.

Offer help.

Learn the warning signs.

And above all, remember:

If the crying becomes too much, put the baby somewhere safe and walk away. Crying will not hurt a baby. Shaking can change, or end, a life.

Ryatt deserved a childhood without pain.

Every child does.

It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Child.

— Ryatt’s Wings