Tuesday, October 23, 2007
How Would Someone Know If A Person Out Walking Has Dementia/Alzheimers?
How Do You Know When A Person Is Lost And Needs Help?
A few ideas I have thought of, I would appreciate your input.
1.) If it's cold outside. The person may not be dressed appropriately.
2.) Possibly staggering.
3.) Possibly looking around frantically.
4.) Walking quickly and without purpose. Possibly crossing streets without looking either way. Walking across other people's yards. Walking through a parking without taking precautions.
Hi, Caring KB,
You've raised an important issue of which caregivers need to be aware. Although I never had to deal with wandering with my mother, I know of friends who tell horror stories about their loved ones walking out of the retirement community where they lived and not being found for several days.
So in response to your thoughts/ideas, I turned to "The 36-Hour Day" by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins. Some things that I gleaned are:
- The person who has dementia may be frightened because he or she is disoriented during the wandering.
- Wandering may be a way for the person with dementia to exhibit boredom or restlessness.
- Wandering or pacing may be difficult to manage, and may lead to what the authors call "a catastrophic reaction" (i.e. an emotional outburst).
- The person with dementia may not recognize hazards (such as moving cars or swimming pools), and may walk into their path (in the case of cars) or into them (in the case of swimming pools).
I do think, though, that we all need to be careful about making assumptions about the underlying cause when seeing someone that we don't know who we perceive is acting strangely. I'd probably suggest that if someone does see erratic behavior on the part of the stranger like you've mentioned, they should contact the police. Until the police arrive, keep an eye on the person to make sure that he or she doesn't put himself/herself into harm's way, but be careful about interacting with the person (in case they physically lash out at you). Upon arrival, the police can determine what -- if anything -- is affecting the person. And if the person does have dementia, the police may already have been alerted to the fact that the person is missing.
Thanks for asking the questions!
Dorian
Thank You Dorian,
I appreciate your reply. I am always looking for information that pretains to Alzheimer's/Dementia. My Dad has dementia.
Twice last winter he walked out. The first time he got out of bed in search of the restroom. It was approximatelly 1:30 in the morning. I was asleep. It was cold. We live in an apartment complex and Dad (Thank the Good Lord) was seen out walking, by a young, very caring man who lives in our complex. Dad had no shoes on, and walking around in his Pajama bottoms and T-shirt. The young man took him inside his apartment. At that time Dad knew our address and phone number. The man called and told me that Dad was with him, then brought him home.
In December (I think) Dad started walking, he does this quite a bit. He thought he was was looking for my little brother, who is now 35 and lives in California. Anyway, dad's guardian angel, the same young man, stopped when he saw dad out walking along the busy street close to our house. He brought Dad home.
The reason I asked my question was because some people just don't pay much attention to someone walking down the street.
There are so many good articles about Caring for people with Alzheimer's/Dementia. I was hoping that there were some guidelines.
I appreciate your answer very much. Thank you for being there. Kay
Dementia/Alzheimers