Safety, Dignity, and Advocacy: Recognizing and Reporting Abuse of Adults with Special Needs

Abuse of adults with special needs is real and often underreported, and naming it is one way to strengthen safety without living in fear. Adults with disabilities face higher risk for violence and exploitation, often because of a power imbalance when someone relies on others for care, transportation, communication support, or money management. Isolation can make it easier for harm to continue unnoticed, and communication differences can make it harder to describe what happened.

Abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, financial exploitation, or neglect. Warning signs may include unexplained bruises or injuries, sudden fearfulness around a specific person, withdrawal from usual routines, depression or anxiety, poor hygiene, untreated medical needs, missing medications, or a caregiver who blocks visits and insists on speaking for them. Financial red flags include sudden changes in banking patterns, missing belongings, or pressure from a new “friend” to share money or passwords.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or local law enforcement right away. In Texas, to report suspected abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of children, older adults, or adults with disabilities, contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Statewide Intake. Reports can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone at 800-252-5400 or online through the Texas Abuse Hotline website.  If sexual assault is involved, you can also contact RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, which operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or use its confidential online chat.