Are people with Alzheimer’s disease likely to wander away from home?

I just completed a course by University of SC that is called Dementia Dialogue. The fourth week they devote a considerable amount of time to the issue of wandering because it is such a big issue for caregivers. In a caregiver meeting I attend ever week, a story is told about every second week of someone having a problem with it. The last one was a guy who had taken his wife to dinner , arrived back home at 9PM and his wife was right behind him entering house through garage. He needed fast relief so ducked into bathroom for about a minute , came out and couldn't find wife but found front door open. He chased out into street and she was nowhere to be seen. It turned out she had gone about 2 blocks when a person there who was knowledgeable about her condition saw her walking up street, corralled her and got her into his house and was calling husband who was walking by at that time and they were re-united.

yes mostly they do...my dad did a few times but he would always tell me he knew where he was going and thats where he was exactly where he said , sometimes he was funny cause he told me he can go anywhere he wanted he didnt need a babysitter

It is foolish not to take advantage of PL if it exits in your area for anyone who is at risk of wandering. It usually costs nothing, except a little of your time each day to check battery by tester provided by the agency (Police/Fire/EMS) and a visit every 30/60 days for a battery/band change out. If it doesn't exist in your area contact your local agencies about one of them taking on the project.

My father wandered at least once per day. Sometimes gone missing for more than 24 hours. There was a few times he was missing for a couple of days and we decided to look for help from the newspaper. He was found eventually, hungry and cold, from the help of the newspaper readers. After that, we SEW his name and our contact number on all of his shirt. As long as he remember to wear a shirt, we'll be less worried.

My father wandered at least once per day. Sometimes gone missing for more than 24 hours. There was a few times he was missing for a couple of days and we decided to look for help from the newspaper. He was found eventually, hungry and cold, from the help of the newspaper readers. After that, we saw his name and our contact number on all of his shirt. As long as he remember to wear a shirt, we'll be less worried.

My father has lived with us for 6 months & has not wandered. Dad has moderate Alzheimer's & uses a cane. One of us is always with him & dad sleeps through the night. We do know that he may wander in the future. In the meantime we have put bells on the door knobs. Plus one of my cats wakes me up when he senses something's wrong with dad!

Hi there. Yes....my mom wandered off twice (once was at 3:30 am on a cold night)! After that, I put childproof doorknob covers on all doorknobs leading outside and installed a bar on my sliding glass door. There are relatively inexpensive, simple options to avoid the panic you may face if your loved one goes missing. Good luck!

Keep in mind that this statistic is specifically about Alzheimer's. Not all types of dementia exhibit this behavior to the same extent.

Nearly 60% of those with Alzheimer’s disease will wander at some point from the safety of their homes.