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Alzheimers and Wandering

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive illness that affects 10 percent of those over the age of 65 and nearly half of those over the age of 85. Fifty-nine percent of those suffering with Alzheimer's will wander during the course of their illness. Wandering behavior includes all those behaviors that carry with them the potential of getting lost. Examples of this might be the person who is has continued to drive, becomes confused, and is unable to process a way to familiar territory. There have been cases where this situation resulted in travel to other states. Other examples would be those individuals who believe they need to go to work and exit the home in pursuit of this objective or those individuals who get up in the night thinking it daytime and exit the home without ability to find their way back. Individuals with Alzheimer's disease are more difficult to track as they typically do not ask for help or respond to shouts. They are unable to understand they are in danger. Wanderers not located within the first 24 hours have a 54 percent survival rate.

Typical reasons for wandering are:

1. attempting to exit noisy or stressful environments
2. trying to meet basic needs (example: trying to find a bathroom and enters wrong door and can't find one's way back)
3. restlessness
4. unfamiliar environment
5. fear
6. trying to meet a former obligation (example: work, visiting with family or friends).

There is no way to predict who will wander or when and how it might happen. The best advice for caregivers is to be prepared.

Although there is not always a way to eliminate wandering behavior, caregivers can reduce the risk of the occurrence.

1. Encourage movement and exercise is safe, enclosed areas.
2. Secure your living area. Many adaptations can assist with wandering and getting lost. Examples are "child safe" door knobs, adding a new latch unfamiliar to the person with Alzheimer's, securing fenced areas in the yard.
3. Register in "Safe Return", a national registry for the memory impaired. Safe Return serves to coordinate information on program participants, caregivers, and emergency personnel in order to provide a system to enable others to locate, identify and return missing persons with Alzheimer's and related disorders who wander and get lost.

For further information about wandering, securing your home for the person with Alzheimer's, or about the Safe Return program, contact the Alzheimer's Association at 913-831-3888.