Elder Abuse – Know the Signs
By knowing the signs of elder abuse you can then be part of the solution!
As senior advisors, we LOVE our seniors, and we have written many blogs to help you help THEM!!! One of the blogs is about the fears they have , another one Rose wrote is about how the health-care system is failing them.
Please check them out, they are very informative and can help you help THEM to thrive during the hardest part of their life.
How can you solve the elder abuse problem if you don’t know it’s happening?
Good question!!
First thing is to know the signs of elder abuse!
If a senior lives alone, the signs can be harder to see, such as weight loss, or unexplained banking transactions. If they live in a senior community, the signs can be more apparent. They can include, bruises, cuts, broken bones, malnutrition, poor hygiene, depression, and isolation.
If a senior has a caregiver, the abuse may be neglect and/or emotional abuse and you may never see this on the outside. Most caregivers are extremely caring and wonderful, but sometimes you may get one that is only there for the money.
The signs of neglect are very hard to spot and the senior may be reluctant to tell you about it due to retribution by the caregiver. Some caregivers will threaten the senior when the senior knows they are doing something wrong.
Be sure to ask questions such as:
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- How was your doctor’s appointment today?
- Did you have something yummy for lunch, what was it?
The senior will be more likely to answer these questions and they’ll feel like they’re not “tattling” on the caregiver. You may be able to tell if the senior is hesitant to answer any of these questions, if they are, it may be time to find another caregiver.
Emotional abuse is another tough sign to spot, but if the senior seems to get upset at, say, playful banter, the caregiver could be saying hurtful things to him/her. If loud noises scare the senior more than they should, perhaps the caregiver is yelling at him/her.
A senior living alone is a perfect victim for scam artists. A scam artist will move into their home, eat their food, drive their car, and talk them out of their money, just to name a few things.
Once they move into the seniors home, all kinds of abuse can happen.
Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, financial abuse, and sexual abuse. There is no one to look out for the senior, so who’s going to know?
However, a senior living alone who is checked upon regularly is less prone to fall victim.
If you know of a senior who still lives alone, go over and check on him/her. Ask if they need anything, see if they have food, and let them know about the latest scams out there.
We need to ensure our seniors are taken well care of, and it takes all of us working together to end elder abuse.
Look for the signs!!
