Examples of abuse

The last entry defined the vulnerable adult and listed types of abuse. Some types of abuse can be overlooked if one is not a tuned to a situation. For example an elderly mother living with her son and daughter-in-law in the same townhouse was infested with mice. The son and daughter-in-law failed to make getting rid of the mice a priority, even though they were living in the same townhouse. The son and daughter-in-law were negligent in providing an adequate environment for the mother, who was paying rent to live with them, because she was no longer able to live alone due to dementia. Another example is a situation in which a niece says to her aunt "If you don't give me money for gas I can't come and see you". This same niece was coercing her aunt into giving her money for a professional license when the niece had not worked in that profession for the last 5 years. The niece was financially exploiting the aunt. It is difficult to say to family members of individuals who are being taken advantage of that what they are doing is abuse. However if someone does not speak up the situations can escalate.