Things You'll Need:
- Be observant and listen
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Step 1
Elder abuse or abuse of the disabled is on a rise in our country due to a variety of factors. We are living longer and often live with other family members or in facilities where others are responsible for our care. These care givers can easily get "burnt out" with having to deal with the elderly or disabled person on a day to day basis. This can happen to the best of us with the best intentions for our loved ones. In these tough economic times tempers can flair due to all the pressures of just making ends meet. We all need to be aware to protect those who can not protect themselves!
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Step 2
Elder abuse or abuse of the disabled can come in many forms. Verbal abuse is when we speak to the elderly or disabled in harsh tones, belittling them, or berating them for their infirmities. Verbal abuse can get more aggressive with threats of harm or restriction of contact, such as saying things like "Just for that I wont see you tomorrow!" Abuse can be mental such as telling them that they are worthless, or a pain in the behind, or treating them as if they were a child. Abuse can be Physical causing bodily harm or refusing to feed someone who has difficulty feeding themselves, refusing to change or clean an incontinent person, refusing to turn and reposition someone who can not move enough on their own. Bedsores are a common result of physical abuse in refusing to reposition the person as needed.
Abuse can be from other forms of neglect such as not meeting basic needs of food, shelter and love. -
Step 3
listen to the elderly or disabled person when they tell you something is wrong. Common reactions include telling the person that "it is not that bad", or that "so and so would never do that"...Often signs are subtle like the elderly person does not talk when another family member or staff enters the room. If they tell you something is wrong, it probably is. Even confused people know when they are being mistreated and do often try to tell someone they trust.
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Step 4
Look... do you see frequent bruises on the hands, wrists and forearms? This is often a sign of rough handling during care such as helping the elderly or disabled person to get up from the bed. Oftentimes the elderly are frail and their skin bruises and tears easily, so if you do see the occasional bruise or skin tear it may not be something to worry about. But frequent episodes without an explanation should be a red flag that something may be going on. Skin tears if not caused by the elderly person bumping into things or falling would be very suspicious and should be investigated. Even nursing home facilities do "incident reports" for every skin tear and most bruises. If your loved one lives in a facility and has a fall or develops a skin tear the facility should notify the family member who is the contact person, ask to see the incident report.
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Step 5
If you find yourself in a situation where you may be the person doing the abuse or fear you may become abusive, please contact your local Adult and family services, department of Senior Services or your local Senior Center to get information on programs in your area to help. You may be able to receive counseling and or help in caring for your loved one thru various programs in your state, county, or city.
Comments
felixthecat said
on 3/18/2009 Great topic. This is such in underrated concern in society, it really should be discussed more. Great article!