Question: My mother is 84 years-old and has been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's/dementia.
She had been living alone until I basically moved in due to her wandering to the
neighbor's house one night awhile back. Is there any device available to monitor
someone at home, because I work during the day and sometimes have to go away for
my job? I know they have monitoring for falls and such, but I'm really looking for
something that will let me know were she is at all times.
–Shirley, Arizona
Answer: First, Shirley, I must caution you that I do not
have a direct solution for this problem, only a set of suggestions. When someone
is diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s or dementia, the most important thing to do
is keep them safe and make sure their needs are met. They may not be fully aware
of their surroundings or may not be fully capable of making good or safe choices
for themselves. They are often dependent on you, the caregiver, for their safety
and well-being.
I recommend that you contact your state Department of Aging or Alzheimer’s Association
in your local community to find out if there is a support group for your problems
and concerns. You might be surprised that by talking with others who have similar
issues, you can come up with creative solutions that address your particular situation.
Also, find out if there is an appropriate day care program for Alzheimer’s or dementia
clients in your area so that your mother has a safe and protected environment to
go to during the day. This will greatly increase your peace of mind while you tend
to your own work, family, and travel needs. As an added bonus, many of these day
care programs also have transportation services to and from the center and may be
available to lighten your transportation load.
As for the monitoring devices you mentioned, short of locking your mother in her
home (which is 100% unacceptable), I have yet to see any device that fully prevents
an elder from wandering off. There are “lifeline” devices that can be hung around
a person’s neck, but in my experience, these rarely work since the elder will either
take off the device or often forget to push the button if they are in trouble. I’ve
learned that you cannot rely on something that needs to be manually activated by
someone with dementia.
There are safety identification bracelets that can be warn so that if your mother
does wander off, she will at least have her contact information handy on the bracelet.
Medic Alert and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others, have bracelets that can
be purchased. There are also video and computer monitoring devices that can be viewed
from a remote location, but these systems have limitations. Your mother can figure
out how to turn them off, the electricity can be turned off or a blackout might
occur, or your mother could walk into an area that isn’t being monitored by the
surveillance cameras.
The best case scenario for a person with dementia is to have someone with them at
all times since they could easily hurt themselves or inadvertently hurt someone
else. If it is financially viable, I strongly recommend that you consider hiring
an aide or a nurse, and be sure it’s a compassionate individual who possesses the
necessary training and experience.
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