i have a 95 year old mother who has Altzhemiers and lives in her own home with help from myself and Carers. BUT she has started wandering away from home. I, therefore, want to purchase a GPS tracker. Any advice or recommendations please.
GPS Trackers
- Thread starter Chocolate1956
- Start date
I bought my husband a very simple mobile phone which could also be used as a GPS tracker if he lost his way. Its made by DORO and sounds like it may be ok for your mum, but if she is too far gone for that a wrist device may be better
not trackers but have you heard of dementia buddy Guardian Angels?http://dementiabuddy.co.uk/guardian-angel.php
i was pointed in the direction of these by @nitram (? if i remember correctly.) you fill in details on line as you order and the tags arrive already loaded. my order arrived today. simple and easy to use. They do rely on people knowing about them and what NFC reader is on mobile phones. but the more people that are made aware the the better they will be known and used. it depends what stage your PWD is at. Mine still has times where he goes out alone or wanders off in his own direction around town while we are out. so theses are very useful for that. they can be put on anything your PWD is likely to be wearing. we are impressed and its another layer of support for him to keep some independence a little
longer
edit to say: some areas do them for free. or the local charities sponsor them.
i was pointed in the direction of these by @nitram (? if i remember correctly.) you fill in details on line as you order and the tags arrive already loaded. my order arrived today. simple and easy to use. They do rely on people knowing about them and what NFC reader is on mobile phones. but the more people that are made aware the the better they will be known and used. it depends what stage your PWD is at. Mine still has times where he goes out alone or wanders off in his own direction around town while we are out. so theses are very useful for that. they can be put on anything your PWD is likely to be wearing. we are impressed and its another layer of support for him to keep some independence a little
longer
edit to say: some areas do them for free. or the local charities sponsor them.
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Hi yes we have a Yepzon GPS tracker which we have attached to mums keys and it's been a godsend. You can track where she is and because we have told her we can see where she is at anytime and this has reassured her too. I'm thinking about getting one with an SOS button for 2 way conversation but think it may confuse her and knowing mum she'll use it like a phone and have long conversations...that could create more issues. Hope you find one that suits you.
What will your mother reliably take out with her?
My mother had a tracker provided free by the council, it was available as a pendant, bracelet or clipped to a belt. However as soon as her carer left she would remove it, so it wasn't a lot of use just sat on a table. By this point my mother didn't take a phone out with her, and she quite often didn't even take her bag or keys either, so there was no way of ensuring she actually had a tracker with her when she went out. So whatever tracker you buy, ensure it can be clipped securely to something you know she always has with her.
My mother had a tracker provided free by the council, it was available as a pendant, bracelet or clipped to a belt. However as soon as her carer left she would remove it, so it wasn't a lot of use just sat on a table. By this point my mother didn't take a phone out with her, and she quite often didn't even take her bag or keys either, so there was no way of ensuring she actually had a tracker with her when she went out. So whatever tracker you buy, ensure it can be clipped securely to something you know she always has with her.
We are at the moment looking at a Pocket Finder GPS tracker. It can be put in the bottom of my mums handbag. As she never parts with her bag. Unfortunately my mum has no telephone or wi Fi in her home. So we are limited to what we can use,.
Unfortunately my mums dementia hinders her using any sort of phone or pendant alarm. She certainly wouldn't wear a wrist device. Am dealing with a very stubborn lady am afraid.
That sounds a good idea - putting it in her bag. Hopefully she won't rummage and remove it because it's an item she doesn't recognise. I know what you mean about being stubborn, good luck!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Personal-G...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0764HC4VW
is identical to the one I got for Mum a couple of years ago. Paid a lot more than that from a specialist supplier. Ours is on GiffGaff, which only cost about a fiver a month IIRC... it wasn't used a lot so there was no need for a more expensive SIM package.
Mum was very good at not taking it with her though, whether it was round her neck or hidden in her coat (which she left at home) or in her handbag (which she routinely 'lost') or... you get the idea. I had more luck with a tracker for the dog's collar, because she'd usually take the dog with her when she disappeared. But she'd often take the collar off and end up using a bit of string as a lead, so... you get the idea! I'm not sure we got value for money out of either tracker really.
In the end I found a perfect, foolproof device. It's called Andrew and Mum never goes anywhere without it now. It doesn't need plugging in every night, but does require regular infusions of peanut butter and Jaffa Cakes.
