Walking with purpose

I'm sure you have heard the term wandering ,its also known as walking with purpose . We tend to think that this is part of the dementia stating that the person wont settle We need to stop and think maybe they are reliving an old memory does it happen at a certain time of day? If a person has gone back to when there children were small they may feel the need to pick them up from school. They could be looking for someone who normally came at that time. I cared for a lady and every tea time she would pace up and down the corridor looking out of the window getting more and more anxious ,this was the time her husband used to come home. All you can do is defer the situation by maybe saying I think he is working late tonight lets go for a cup of tea while we wait and then you can tell me all about him. Its a small lie but rather that than cause distress by telling her every day he died 10 years ago. The person concerned might just be bored. Maybe they actually just want to walk if that's the case assess the risks are they ok to go alone will they come to harm on roads etc. will they fall have they been assessed for walking aids. each person is totally different and just because the word dementia has come into the equation people do not just give up and sit in a chair for the rest of there lives. So let them walk they are walking with a purpose.

Marina Barker