When a parent with dementia starts heading for the door, the fear of one unsupervised exit can take over everything else.
Written by Esther C. Kane, CAPS, C.D.S., retired occupational therapist and CARES® Dementia Specialist, this workbook helps families and adult children secure the home, understand why the leaving happens, and have a plan ready before the night they need it.
Inside the workbook, readers will find:
- A twelve-question scored risk audit
- Pages to record every exit and near-miss
- A home profile covering doors, windows, gates and keys
- The six reasons people head for the door
- Three days of trigger tracking sheets
- Notes on the restless hour, often called sundowning
- The safety rule that comes before every lock
- A door-by-door lock audit
- What to install, and what to take out
- Camouflage ideas that cost little or nothing
- Alarms, chimes, pagers and pressure mats compared
- A placement plan with install and test dates
- A twelve-month test-and-battery schedule
- GPS and wearables, and the consent conversation
- What to say at the door, and what backfires
- Space to write your own scripts
- Ideas for filling the restless hour
- Identification that works when you are not there
- A script for telling the neighbors
- A contact table showing who knows what
- How to register with police and ask about Silver Alert
- The first fifteen minutes, step by step
- What to tell the 911 dispatcher
- A search assignment table
- A debrief page for afterward
- The night shift problem and the sibling task list
- The five objections you will hear, and answers
- Three tear-out cards for the fridge, the neighbor and the cupboard
- A short closing list of three things to do first
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Important Disclaimer: The Wandering Plan is general information for planning purposes. It is not medical, legal, or safety-code advice, and reading it does not create a clinical relationship between you and the author. Questions about your parent’s condition, medications, or changes in behavior belong with their physician. Questions about capacity, guardianship, or legal authority belong with an elder law attorney licensed in your parent’s state. Lock and egress requirements vary by state, city, and lease, so confirm yours before you install or remove any hardware. Nothing here replaces an in-person evaluation by an occupational therapist, which a physician can often order. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
