Problems Associated With A Learning Disability

Sitting in class, I could not help but look around and notice that everyone else knew what they were doing while I just sat there silently, pretending to fit in. I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing because I did not really understand the lesson the teacher had just finished teaching. I didn’t want to ask a question because it seemed like I was the only one that was lost, so instead, I just sat at my desk with my head down and pretended to write on my paper. I have repeated this scenario on numerous occasions. In 5th grade, I was diagnosed with a learning disability which affected the way I learned and my ability to understand what others around me said. My mom noticed that I was working really hard to accomplish the same work that other kids my age did with less effort and in a shorter amount of time. We saw a psychologist who sent me to a specialist who diagnosed me with a learning disability in central auditory processing, and also had a very weak short term memory. Basically, this means that my brain processes information slower than the average. Although my hearing is normal, it takes my brain longer to comprehend what I hear and then process it. Sometimes I miss parts of what people say because my brain is not able to understand everything that is being said all at once so I need directions written down or given slowly in order to truly comprehend.

Of the HFE cases, six identified co-occurring abuse, nine identified co-occurring neglect and one identified both co-occurring abuse and neglect. Interviews were conducted with up to three interviewees per case to include Adult Protective Services (APS) caseworkers (54), victims of reported elder maltreatment (42) and third party uninvolved individuals; such as neighbors, children, and friends (31) (Jackson & Hafemeister, 2012). Data was collected from a statewide database of all reported cases over a two year period. From that data, sources were interviewed and utilizing that data and APS data, important differences were found over the four types of maltreatment and the significance of studying both the victim and the abuser when determining types of elder maltreatment and the risk factors (Jackson & Hafemeister, 2011).

Everyone is potentially vulnerable at some point over the extent of one’s lifetime. More specifically, everyone is potentially at risk of poor physical, psychological, or social health. The word vulnerable is defined by the Merrian-Webster’s Dictionary as “capable of being physically wounded” or “open to attack or damage”. Commonly, the word vulnerability indicates one’s susceptibility to health problems, harm or neglect. Some however, maybe more or less susceptible or at risk of poor health at different times in their lives, while certain individuals and communities are more likely to be at risk than others at any given point in time (Aday, 1994). Thus, vulnerable populations may be defined as social groups with an increased susceptibility to adverse health outcomes (Flaskerud & Winslow, 1998).

Hello Antonia, thank you for being a major part of this week’s discussion, and sharing your potential funding sources that appears to be a great fit. I cannot recall if I extend gratitude to you for selecting this population as your idea project, so thank you for doing so. This population being at-risk to abuse and mistreatment is worthy to be address. How sad! Acierno, and colleagues (2010), indicated that The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, had conducted a decade ago, was the first major investigation of mistreatment among the aging population in the United States and found that 449924 persons aged 60 years or older had been physically abused, neglected, or had been mistreated in some kind of way. I was appalled in the number of elderly being abused and just think this study does not include the cases that were unreported.

Because there was no action by the federal government and no national leadership in the earliest years of recognizing elder abuse, “An Update on the Nature and Scope of Elder Abuse” tells that there is no set definition of elder abuse (Anetzberger). Although one might think that it would be easy to brand a definition now, the realization that there are already so many different concepts discovered, currently being researched, and still unknown about elder abuse and the lack of an appropriate authority to establish a definition prevents the action from actually happening. Despite having an official definition, Anetzberger

According to a 2012 report by Statistic Brain (based on NCEA, Bureau of Justice Statistics), the number of elder abuse cases in 2010 was 9.5% of the elderly population. The percentages of elder abuse cases by types reported in (Watson, 2013). 2010 include: neglect (58.5%), physical abuse (15.7%), financial abuse (12.3%), psychological abuse (7.3%), sexual abuse (0.04%), all other types (5.1%), and unknown (0.06%) (Statistic Brain, 2012). Elder abuse occurs in private homes, long-term care facilities (nursing homes, assisted living facilities), and hospitals (Watson,

Prevalence and Correlates of Emotional, Physical, Sexual and Financial Abuse and Potential Neglect in the United States- The National Elder Mistreatment Study

Elder abuse isn’t an easy topic to talk about—but it happens too often to continue to turn a blind eye too. According to the National Council of Aging (2016), also known as the NCOA, one in every ten Americans, over the age of 60, have experienced some form of elder abuse, with only one in every fourteen cases being reported to authorities. NCOA (2016) defines elder abuse and neglect as “intentional actions that cause harm or creates serious risk of harm to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or another person in a trusted relationship” with the individual. This includes failure, of the caregiver, to satisfy the basic needs or to protect in the individual from harm along with physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and financial exploitation.

There are many types of abuse in the United States as well as other countries: child abuse, animal abuse, are a few. The less acknowledged of all abuses in the United States is elder abuse. Elder abuse is any practice of neglect that results in harm to an older person. Anyone can issue abuse if they are taking care of an older person whether intentional or not. Due to this, as well as, other problems, many elder abuse cases go unnoticed and unreported whether it is at home or in a living facility, such as nursing homes. Home cases are hard to report on because of the invisibility of the senior let alone the abuse. The abuse can be a result of a caretakers stress either by the fault of their career or the elder themselves. It is a problem that

I have had the pleasure of planning an activity within my placement. My placement is based within an NHS hospital where they provide therapeutic interventions for adults who have learning disabilities, complex needs and a forensic background. The therapeutic intervention that I have planned, is to assist Stacey to travel independently to various locations within Dundee using public transport. Whilst this is the main aim of the therapeutic intervention, it is hoped that whilst this intervention is being carried out, it will assist Stacey to grow in her self-confidence, she will be able to utilise her money management skills, it will assist with her budgeting skills, help to process and retain information and to also help Stacey relearn her

Slow progress in research developments and the absence of a modern, established framework surrounding elder abuse forces professionals to rely on traditional theories which fail to fully explain happenings. The Situational Model, the most popular theory, suggests abuse is underpinned by stress and burden of tending to deficits. It is believed the hardship of caring reinforces negative feelings, like frustration and blame which, when overbearing, are off-loaded and directed towards the recipient of care (Lachs et al, 1997). However, a significant flaw is that no explanation accounts for those who successfully continue undertaking caring duties, despite substantial pressure (McDonald and Collins, 2000). Irrespective of the causation, a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach is needed as the intense and numerous ramifications of abuse and neglect impact at both personal and societal levels. For instance, there is a strong link between abuse and premature death of victims (APA, 2012). In comparison, the intergenerational cycle of abuse potentially reoccurs through children observing, normalising and copying abusive behaviour (WHO, no date).

The ageing population continues to increase, which suggest long term care maybe required. Evaluating factors that may contribute towards abuse and neglect can impact on any interventions that may be put into place to prevent abuse and neglect occurring in the future.

Child maltreatment represents one of the most heinous examples of the failure of the caregiving environment to promote positive social and emotional development (Cicchetti & Toth, 2005). Research has demonstrated that child abuse and neglect are associated with a variety of negative and enduring psychological, behavioral, and social outcomes (Cicchetti & Valentino, 2006; Widom, 2000). In addition, “maltreatment appears to be one common thread that links systems- involved youth” (Stone & Zibulsky (2015).

It is also stated that family members and caregivers tended to be the responsible parties for most victims of elderly abuse and neglect (EAN). This form of EAN often fails to be reported to the relevant authorities as they maybe physically or psychologically unfit to make a complaint; or they may fear vital services necessary to their survival could be removed or denied by their tormentor as a form of punishment, however despite their fears, there has been a thirty per cent rise in reports of EAN in the last ten years. (Teaster, Lawrence and Cecil, 2007; Sepler, F.

When examining elder abuse, one has to first understand its terminology. However, its terminology has not been easily defined by the researchers since the term ‘elder abuse’ can be referred to many forms of abuse. "Abandonment," "mental anguish," "exploitation," "neglect,"