Smart technology: GPS shoes for wandering seniors!
Some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and any other type of dementia are lack of memory, confusion, and wandering. These symptoms usually lead to loosing track of familiar surroundings and thus getting lost. Understanding the symptoms of dementia might help safeguard elderly people who are at risk for getting lost. While infections, tumors, and head injuries can all cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is most commonly behind the phenomenon of wandering. For patients who hallucinate, their risk for wandering might depend on how well they trust their caregiver. If they hallucinate, they may be at low risk or high risk, depending on their trust for the caregiver. If they are suspicious, they might try to get out.
In 2008, Texas Legislature enacted a statewide communication system to help find mentally impaired senior citizens. “I think they are a really good idea,” said Hester, a Lubbock Police sergeant. “(A Silver Alert) could have helped those people. I mean, nobody knew where they were.” But Silver Alerts alone can’t keep seniors safe. On Monday, police officials were preparing an alert for 70-year-old Lubbock resident Jim Hardy Clary, who left home for a doctor’s appointment he didn’t keep. He was found dead before a statewide alarm was raised. Read More about this article
In Virginia, law enforcement officers are learning how to search for missing persons who may not know they are lost. A 4-minute video produced by Kassie Bracken for The New York Times tells us the lessons they have learned.
See the video: lessons from the Lost
