How to Keep Dementia Patients from Wandering

Wandering is a common issue for dementia patients. In fact, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 6 in 10 people with dementia wander at least once. For many the behavior is repetitive, causing no end of concern for family members and friends.

Crucially, wandering isn’t just a frustrating habit. It can also be incredibly dangerous, as the senior may not know where they are, how to get home, or how to keep themselves safe.

Ways to Keep Dementia Patients from Wandering

Loud Door Alarms 

Door alarms are a powerful tool. 

They can alert you any time a door is opened, making it easy to get to the scene. Having one on your front door, for example, can allow you to quickly run after a dementia patient before they’re out of sight. 

The trick is to look for alarms that are loud enough to actually work (like these ones). Ones designed as burglar alarms are particularly good, as you should be able to hear them from any point in the house. 

Silent Alarms

A loud alarm is a simple and easy solution, especially as you can often get them for less than $20 from Amazon. But, they’re also jarring – particularly for seniors who are already confused. 

Silent alarms can work better. 

Such alarms will send an alert, a vibration, or a noise to another device – like your cellphone. This way you know as soon as a door has been opened, without giving the senior a fright. 

While such systems are often more expensive than regular door alarms, they’re also more practical and less overwhelming. They’re also great if you don’t want to be constantly alerting neighbors with loud alarms (especially at night!).   

Hide Things

This approach only works with some people and some stages of dementia. 

Basically, if your parent has an item that they don’t ever go out without, like a handbag or even their pants, make sure that this isn’t easy to find. 

In the right situation, this may be enough to stop them wandering. Or, you might hear them banging around the house looking for the item, which gives you an indication that they’re trying to go out. 

Distraction

If you know the senior wants to go out, distraction often helps.

This can be as simple as suggesting that they look for an item or two before they leave or asking that they wait a little. Often shifting the senior’s focus for a short while is enough to prevent them from leaving.

Making sure there are engaging activities during the day for the senior helps as well, as this decreases anxiety and makes wandering less likely.

If you know the time of day that wandering occurs most often, you might plan extra activities around this time.

Turn Outside Lights off at Night

Turning outside lights off and/or shutting the curtains at night can make a big difference. This minimizes what the senior can see outside and may make them less likely to leave.

Other Ways to Support Them

Trying to keep dementia patients from wandering isn’t your only option – and isn’t always viable. 

After all, you can’t be aware of where your aging parent is every minute of every day. There will always be moments where your attention is elsewhere. 

This isn’t something to beat yourself up about either. Seriously, being aware of someone else 24/7 isn’t humanly possible.

Also, in the early stages of dementia patients may be ‘with it’ most of the time and only occasionally get confused. Restricting their movements at this point isn’t particularly helpful and dramatically reduces their sense of independence.

Other times, if you can be sure that they are safe, allowing a patient to wander may reduce agitation and help them feel more at peace.  

So, instead of preventing wandering, you may want to find ways to keep them safe. 

Follow Them

Following the dementia patient as they wander or even walking with them is the most powerful way of keeping them safe. This way you know where they are and can step in if problems arise. 

You could also try talking to them during the process, like asking them where they are, what they’re experiencing. 

Some caregivers find that it works well to avoid correcting the patient. So, if they think they’re in a town from their past or that they’re heading to meet someone – you could simply run with it. Trying to constantly bring a dementia patient back to the present often isn’t helpful and can be very distressing for them. 

If they’re not at risk, why not allow them to experience the world as it is for them?

Use a GPS Tracker 

GPS trackers provide a way to know where the senior is at all times. 

Some trackers are designed to be discreet, like in the sole of the senior’s shoe or in a piece of jewelry. The trick is to pick something that the senior is likely to always have with them and won’t remove at the first opportunity. 

Many trackers allow you to see where the senior is on a map. This makes it easy to intervene if there’s an issue. 

And, crucially, a GPS tracker means you don’t need to spend hours trying to find the senior when they’ve wandered off. A tracker might even save their life, as some seniors wander, get lost, and end up getting sick or even dying from exposure. 

There is an ethical debate for this topic. Is a GPS tracker an invasion of privacy, especially if the senior isn’t competent enough to give consent? Or, it is a necessary approach to protect them? 

Many people argue that the trackers are important if the senior wanders regularly or is at considerable risk. In contrast, the trackers might be too much if the senior hasn’t actually started to wander yet. 

Make Sure They’re Easy to Identify

ID cards, names and phone numbers sewn into clothing, and similar approaches can be a huge difference. Such approaches mean that if someone finds the senior, they know who to contact. 

Join a Wandering Response Service

Some services have been developed to help with wandering. One of these is through MedicAlert, which offers a Safe & Found program. This system has a 24/7 emergency response team, as well as a network of support to help find the missing family member quickly.

Interestingly, this service doesn’t have any form of tracking on the senior. This is appealing if you’re not comfortable with the idea of using a GPS tracker.

Look for Safer Options for Walking

Another option is to find approaches that can help your family member to walk around without a problem. 

For example, you might turn the backyard into a safe environment where there are no trip hazards and plenty of things to interest them. This gives them a place to wander where you can easily keep an eye on them. 

Some groups also help facilitate activities for dementia patients, including walks. Your family member’s eligibility will be influenced by the amount of support they need and whether they have any antisocial behaviors, so you’ll need to inquire to see whether this is a good fit for them. 

Final Thoughts

It’s incredibly stressful when dementia patients want to wander. There’s also a huge hit of fear if you find that they’ve suddenly disappeared and you have no idea where they are. 

Simply asking them to stop isn’t viable, as dementia patients generally won’t remember and may not understand. You also shouldn’t lock them in, as doing so can be illegal.

The goal is to find person-centered approaches, ones that support the senior’s independence as much as possible, while also keeping them safe. For some families, this could include walking with the senior regularly. 

On days where going with them isn’t an option, distraction can help to keep them at home. GPS tracking devices are helpful too, for those days where the senior gets out on their own despite your best efforts. 

In the end, you’ll need to experiment and adjust these different approaches to match the current situation. Also be prepared to adapt, as dementia is a progressive illness and the senior’s responses will change over time.