Elder abuse is an important enough topic that it is something that should be discussed often and openly. The more educated that people are about this, the less likely it is to happen as suspected cases will be addressed more immediately.
Most people are familiar with the physical signs of abuse: bruises, broken bones, and bedsores. These can all be results of violence or neglect, both of which are considered to be abuse. What you might not know is that there is more to abuse than this. Much abuse that takes place within the elderly population is silent. It takes the shape of either psychological abuse or as a type of fraud, usually financial. These things are much more difficult to detect, but that doesn’t mean they are impossible to learn of and prevent.
Nervousness that has never been there before or is overly excessive is a sign of psychological abuse. A common form of this is when a caregiver is intimidating or downright mean or threatening to the person they are caring for. And it can happen with either a hired caregiver or a family member. Sometimes it happens and the caregiver isn’t even aware that they are doing it. This is one of the reasons why going with a professional service is so important. When caregivers are screened, hired, and trained by a company, the chances of any form of abuse are far lower, even unintentional abuse.
Fraud is a huge issue, and this happens more often within a family than outside of it. It’s extremely unfortunate, but it is an ongoing problem. There are many ways that this can take shape: legal documents can be changed to benefit someone that shouldn’t benefit, money can be stolen or rerouted to accounts that it shouldn’t be in, retirement accounts can be accessed by people that shouldn’t have access to them, and so on. Outside the family, fraud can be done over the phone, online, or through the mail. Seniors–especially those with dementia–can seem like easy targets for those looking to make a few quick bucks illegally. If you have doubts about what’s going on with anything, investigate things and report them to the authorities so that they can, too.
If you suspect elder abuse is taking place in your family on any level, take action. Call the police, or at least the senior protective services in your county. They will know what to do and how to correctly handle any issues. If further steps need to be taken, they will let you know. On your end of things, let your loved one know that they are loved and that you will do what you can to help them. Being taken advantage of or mistreated is not pleasant, and having someone that loves them unconditionally is a small relief for this pain.
Also, ensure that they do have proper care and professional caregivers. It doesn’t matter if it’s a family caregiver, in-home care, assisted living, or something else. Your loved one deserves the very best care that they can get, and you should do your part to make sure that it happens.
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