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Articles - Wandering and Alzheimer's Disease
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A nationwide program helps ensure a "Safe Return"

"I knew things had gotten bad when Mom got up at 3 AM, wandered out a side door that she had never used, and was walking around the parking lot. She was certain that someone was picking her up," recounts one woman of her mother with Alzheimer's disease. Fortunately the woman was spotted quickly before she had a chance to wander off.

A person with Alzheimer's may wander for many reasons. They might be searching for someone or something familiar. They may need something and can't communicate, so they set out to find it. Confused and sometimes unable to ask for help, a person with Alzheimer's disease who wanders off is at risk from weather, traffic and those who prey on the helpless.

Wandering is a common and potentially life-threatening behavior that may accompany Alzheimer's disease. Statistics show that as many as 60 percent of the over 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease will wander and become lost during the course of the disease. Nearly half of those that wander may die if not found within 24 hours. Individuals can become disoriented and lost in their own neighborhood, or end up far from home.

There is help. The Alzheimer's Association's Safe Return program assists in the safe return of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia who wander and become lost. Safe Return provides registrants and their families with a personalized bracelet and other identification materials (for a one-time fee of $40.00) that help law enforcement and emergency personnel quickly return wandering individuals. The program's nationwide toll-free number listed on the bracelet is linked to a network of 17,000 law enforcement agencies, so a wandering individual can be helped even if he or she is far from home.

In conjunction with the Safe Return program, many lawmakers are urging local enforcement agencies to provide dementia-specific training to police officers and emergency personnel. In Virginia, 50 law enforcement professionals attended workshops where they learned, among other topics, about specific intervention techniques for managing a person with Alzheimer's disease. They also learned of resources in the community for helping those with Alzheimer's disease and their families, including the Safe Return program and the Alzheimer's Association.

To register, please call the Alzheimer's Association, Northern Virginia Chapter at (703) 359-4440.

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Last updated: March 30, 2000

Please return to https://www.alz-nova.org or
call toll-free (866) 259-0042 or (703) 359-4440
for more information about services in Northern Virginia.

© 1997 - 2001 Alzheimer's Association of the National Capital Area. All rights reserved.

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