Trying to help a family with a wandering relative with dementia who does not speak English and gets confused easily. Patient is not cooperative in confused state, and removes Medic Alert necklace.
I am not sure how to help, but looking for low cost options. My thinking is that the Tiles are less expensive, so if they get lost, would be cheaper to replace. Or being able to hide the Tiles within several pieces of patient’s clothing, so that if one tile is removed, there would still be another one to track with?
I have read a bit about the Tile App, that would allow tracking beyond the original 100 feet, if other neighbors also had the App installed on their phones? We as a neighborhood are an open, helpful group, and I think enough of us would be willing to add the App to our phones to be of help in a search.
I am also pursuing other options for care, but the language patient speaks is a rare one, even for our diverse area. Small tribal language from a small country on another continent.
Anyone have general experience using Tile? Or any experience with a tracking option for wandering dementia patient?
Maybe a tracker that could be laced into his shoes might be more secure. I would wonder if the person might do dangerous things while wandering though—crossing heavily trafficked street, go into area which may be dangerous, walking alone at night, approaching wild stray animal, etc. My H’s friend had to go to an assisted living place once she started wandering, for her own safety. If one doesn’t have mental faculties not to wander, one may not have very reliable judgment.
I agree with HImom that there might be other concerns. Early on in my Dad’s dementia, it wasn’t that he was wandering, but he’d take a wrong turn and then not know where he was. He was always too stubborn to ask for help.
My mother kept losing her wallet so my sil put a tile in it. Unfortunately my mother forgot what it was and took it out.
This is a very elderly grandmother who is homebound, does not drive, does not speak or understand English, and her family is trying their best to keep her safe. She is never supposed to be outside her home without family supervision. They do not want to put her into a facility, since she will be terrified 24/7 and never understand due to her advanced dementia.
I will not tell them what they should do. I can only offer practical suggestions on technology that might prevent her from getting out their door, or better track her if she does wander.
Just from what I read it is hard to keep track of moving objects so Tile isn’t suggested for people or pets
But in your limited location if people around you are willing to just download the Tile app, it sounds like it might work if she were to go out wandering the neighborhood. At least it could give you a “last seen here” picture.
I’d think a GPS tracker would be more helpful than Tile which is limited by bluetooth range. Have a look at this website which has reviews of personal GPS trackers. There’s one they recommend for the elderly. The recommended one for kids triggers an alert if they leave a zone, which might be helpful for heading off problems before they develop. https://www.lifewire.com/best-gps-trackers-1683621
My aunt has pretty severe dementia now, and is now in a memory care unit. However they’d let her go wandering around town, which nearly every day there would be a neighbor or police person calling to say - hey, I just saw your mom here or there. The department of aging or the police should have a watch that can’t be removed put on them that is a tracker. I’ve also heard putting a black piece of paper in front of a door will sometimes work as well. Good luck, it’s a very difficult thing even without the langue issue.