When people with dementia walk - walking alone
Is the person really at risk?
It can be especially worrying for carers if the person goes for walks alone. If this concerns you, consider carefully whether the person is really at risk. For example, perhaps the person has never yet failed to come home, and is careful on the roads. In this case, perhaps the person's independence is worth the low level of risk. However, if the person tends to get lost or is not safe on roads, the situation is quite different.
Arrange safer routes
If the person with dementia is walking outside alone, you can minimise the risk of getting lost. Arrange consistent outside walks – walk a well-defined route that ideally does not entail crossing major roads (though people with dementia often retain basic road skills). Go with the person until you are confident that he or she has learned the route. Stand outside the house with the person with dementia and work out together how to recognise his or her home at the end of the route.
Tell people in advance
Make sure that local shopkeepers and your neighbours know that the person with dementia may have difficulty finding the way home, and ask them to help. Inform the local police station. You could also speak to the local taxi company, especially if there is one you regularly use, and the local bus company, if there is a risk that the person with dementia may catch a bus. (Obviously this will only be practical if there are regular drivers and only a few buses that the person might catch.)
Stay in touch
Make sure that the person with dementia has a contact phone number on him or her at all times when outside the house. You can get a Helpcard from Alzheimer Scotland that the person with dementia can carry: it's a small, single-folded, credit-card size, with space to include a contact name and phone numbers.
You can also get jewellery – a bracelet or a wrist pendant – from MedicAlert, a registered charity that provides emergency identification for people with hidden conditions such as dementia. The MedicAlert jewellery is engraved metal (options run from stainless steel to solid gold) and includes a 24-hour helpline number as well as the person's medical needs.
If the person with dementia is reluctant to wear the jewellery, you could try one or more of the following strategies; have it presented as a gift, especially as a gift from a grandchild or a nephew or niece; ask the person's GP to present it as a medical requirement; place the bracelet on the person's wrist next to their wristwatch or another bracelet he or she often wears, so that it is associated with something that he or she is already accustomed to. Make sure that the bracelet is sized accurately to the person's wrist measurements, so that it can't slip off easily.
If the person with dementia does not live alone, and has only mild dementia, it may be a useful reminder for him or her to carry their address in an accessible form such as a card in the wallet. But people who might be vulnerable should only carry a contact phone number.
Staying visible
It is a good idea to make sure that each day the person with dementia wears one or two items of brightly-coloured clothing. If he or she goes out at night, a jacket with a reflective stripe helps, or you could sew bicycle reflector strips onto jacket sleeves. Bright clothing may make it easier too if the person should get lost and you need to describe what he or she is wearing.
Finding the way home
Make sure the person's home is easily identifiable. Is the street number freshly painted and visible? What can the person with dementia see, standing on the street, that would remind him or her that this is home? If the person lives in a block of flats, can you mark the door of the flat in a very distinct way, perhaps with a photograph or a poster? Think about this both in terms of helping the person with dementia to return home alone, and also to make it easy for someone who wants to help to get him or her home safely.
Discouraging walking alone
You can discourage a person with dementia from leaving home without locking him or her in the house. Try a mirror on the door or a bead curtain over the door. However, some people with dementia may find these distressing, and this will work for some and not for others.
If the person is at risk if he or she goes out alone, for example at night, it may be necessary at times to restrict him or her from leaving (deadbolts on doors, new locks), but this is not recommended as a general tactic. There are legal issues involved in restricting someone from leaving his or her own home. There are also safety issues if someone cannot leave the house in case of fire or other danger.
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