Dementia and Wandering: A Real Risk, Not a Rare One

According to the Alzheimer's Association, roughly 6 in 10 people with dementia will wander at least once — and many wander more than once. If this hasn't happened yet in your family, it's worth preparing for rather than assuming it won't.

Why Wandering Happens

Wandering isn't intentional in the way it can look from the outside — it's driven by confusion, disorientation, and changes in memory and judgment, not a decision to leave. Common triggers include believing they need to go to work or "go home" even when already home, boredom or restlessness, hunger, or simply becoming lost trying to find a familiar room like the bathroom.

Warning Signs Worth Watching For

• Returning from a regular walk or drive later than usual
• Forgetting the way to familiar places
• Talking about fulfilling old obligations, like going to work after they've retired
• Trying to "go home" even while already at home
• Becoming restless, pacing, or repeating movements
• Appearing lost or disoriented in a space they know well

Wandering can happen at any stage of dementia, though the risk tends to increase as the condition progresses.

Reducing the Risk at Home

• Deadbolts placed out of typical sightline — higher or lower than eye level — can reduce the chance of an independent exit, though a person should never be locked in alone.
• Door and window alarms alert you the moment an exit is attempted.
• Cover or disguise door knobs, or use a safety cover, especially if the person can still operate a standard lock.
• Keep departure cues out of sight — shoes, keys, coats, and bags near the door can prompt an urge to leave.
• Create a safe space to move, like a fenced yard or a walking path, so the need to move doesn't have to mean leaving safely-monitored space entirely.
• Consider a GPS tracking device — a wearable pendant or watch — for real-time location if wandering does happen.

If Wandering Happens

Most people who wander are found within about a mile and a half of where they started. If you can't locate your loved one within 15 minutes, call the police rather than continuing to search alone longer — time matters, and law enforcement has resources a family doesn't.

How Interim Helps

We're a non-medical home care agency, and consistent supervision from a trained Care Professional is one of the most effective ways to reduce wandering risk without resorting to locking someone in against their dignity. We build safety into the daily routine rather than treating it as a separate add-on.

Our 7th Week Guarantee

No long contracts. If you don't feel the difference after six weeks of care at 20 or more hours a week, your seventh week is free.

Get Started

Call us at (801) 401-3515 if wandering has become a concern for your family. We'll talk through what a safer daily routine could look like.

Learn more about our dementia care services, or read about sundowning, since the two often show up together.