Wandering dementia residents

[love.dad.but..]

I can understand your dad because there is a resident at my wife's home where all day long he would wander around seemingly checking windows a wall fixtures.

Yes and sometimes when you know of the resident's pre dementia working life some of these 'checking' or what may seem odd things they do can clearly be linked to what they may have done for many years. On the other hand like dad it may also be just that he was continually trying doors and windows to look for an escape route. I once arrived to find dad heading a group of 3 other wanderers down the corridor so I waited and watched...he arrived at the door first and started trying the door...no conversation took place...the other 3 then tried and I had to smile because I could imagine dad thinking and saying if he could 'don't worry chaps I have this sorted I will get us out' . Anyway I digress...good luck with your project let us know how it goes.

 

[Louise7]

The nursing home my mother was in handled wanderers by putting a bright yellow band across the door (much like the blue one shown above but much wider) with STOP in huge letters on it. It looked like giant police tape. This was used for one or two residents' room who objected to people walking in and was also used for quarantine purposes. It worked quite well.

Yes, I would have thought that something bigger and easier to see would be more of a deterrent than a single thin blue strip. Those with dementia often have perceptual/vision problems so something more visible would likely be more of a deterrent, and safer. Something like these:

 

[love.dad.but..]

Yes, I would have thought that something bigger and easier to see would be more of a deterrent than a single thin blue strip. Those with dementia often have perceptual/vision problems so something more visible would likely have more of a deterrent effect. Something like these:

Yes something like that may work better..visually more substantial

 

[Jackamus]

Yes something like that may work better..visually more substantial

We did test a door barrier that had black and yellow diagonal stripes but this was rejected because it looked like a warning! I would a warning to who? I doubt that a dementia resident would think that.