Device to help family member with dementia?

[Pbwj]

I currently live with my grandmother, and her dementia is gradually getting worse. Sometimes she will sleepwalk in the middle of the night and step outside of the apartment. I was wondering if you guys have any helpful solutions to track or warn in similar situations (elderly or children). I was initially thinking about an Apple watch with GPS functionality however it would be a hassle to have her charge repeatedly. I was thinking if there was some type of sensor or GPS that could warn me when she leaves the apartment. Thanks in advance.

 

[0128672]

That's definitely a big concern and it's wonderful that you want to help her stay safe. If you haven't already, you may want to work with her healthcare team to get a recommendation. I don't know if such devices are covered under health insurance, but it might be worth researching.

 

[chown33]

How about a simple door switch, such as one would use for a burglar alarm? There are wireless versions of them (search terms: wireless door switch), as well as alarm-system base stations that can be configured in many ways.

Staying in the alarm-system domain, there are also indoor wireless motion detectors, which could be installed in a hallway that must be traversed to exit the apartment.

Alarm sensors can often be configured to trigger another device, such as an outdoor camera, so you can see which direction she goes. You might need landlord permission to install outdoor equipment, so check first. If it's allowed, I'd probably go for solar-cell and wireless, to avoid replacing batteries. Indoor sensors have pretty good battery life, and are easier to reach.

The theme in these devices is "Monitor the path", as distinct from "Monitor the person", which is what a watch or other type of body-worn device would do.

Another possibility might be a wireless baby monitor. They offer many different capabilities, such as detecting noises, IR cameras, and probably other features like sending alerts to a phone app.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I currently live with my grandmother, and her dementia is gradually getting worse. Sometimes she will sleepwalk in the middle of the night and step outside of the apartment. I was wondering if you guys have any helpful solutions to track or warn in similar situations (elderly or children). I was initially thinking about an Apple watch with GPS functionality however it would be a hassle to have her charge repeatedly. I was thinking if there was some type of sensor or GPS that could warn me when she leaves the apartment. Thanks in advance.

Dementia is a condition with a trajectory that goes only one way, and where the condition can only become more marked, more pronounced; unlike a broken wrist, for example, it is not a condition which is painful or inconvenient for a while, and which then improves when the patient, or individual in question, recovers.

In this instance, I am writing from personal experience as my mother had the condition for the best part of a decade, and, to offer one example, she would not - or could not - remember to take the alarm she had for possible falls with her. Ever.

This is because the onset of dementia is not the time to attempt to teach someone to try to master a new skill (or to remember a new fact, such as charging up a device); this is already beyond them. Their memory loses what it already has; to learn something new is an ask too far.

However, I'd recommend that you get a baby-monitor, - just noticed that @chown33 has also suggested this - and leave it in her room at night, the other part in your room, or whoever else is on primary carer duty during the night, so that you will be alert to - and able to hear - any changes in her movement and sleeping habits. We used a baby monitor for my mother.

@Namara's suggestion of chatting with and working with the healthcare team and sounding them out for suggestions is a good one.

Ultimately, what you will need is someone present with her at all times to ensure that she doesn't wander; community health care, family, or paid carers. Try to make sure the building is well locked and secured at night - so that he she cannot actually get out when she is in a mood to roam.

The wandering ("sundowning" is the term used) phase can be very unsettling, and very upsetting, and very unpredictable, - and exhausting for carers and daily embers - as it doesn't take place every day; in my experience, it is a phase that lasts around two years.