What to Do When a Parent with Dementia Starts Wandering

When Wandering Becomes a Reality

For many carers, wandering is the moment dementia becomes genuinely frightening. Up until that point, the challenges - confusion, forgetfulness, personality changes - are difficult but manageable within the home. Wandering changes the risk profile entirely. A person who leaves the house unsupervised, does not know where they are, and cannot reliably communicate who they are or where they live is in a different kind of danger.

According to Dementia Australia, wandering is common in people living with moderate-to-advanced dementia. With an estimated 446,500 Australians living with dementia in 2026 - approximately two in three of them in the community rather than residential care - the number of families managing this risk at home is substantial.

This guide is written for those families. It covers what to do in the immediate moment when wandering happens, how to reduce how often it occurs, what to put in place before a crisis arrives, and how technology can close the gap between a person leaving and help reaching them.

Why People with Dementia Wander

Understanding why wandering happens does not always prevent it, but it changes how you respond - and makes clear why no single strategy works for every person or every situation.

Dementia Australia identifies several common reasons why a person with dementia may wander or attempt to leave the house:

• Memory loss - They may set off to go somewhere familiar - the shops, a friend's house - and then forget what they were doing or where they were going midway there.
• Following a past routine - A person who worked for decades may feel a strong compulsion to go to work, because in their mind, it is a normal working day.
• Looking for someone from their past - They may be searching for a partner who has died, or a childhood home that no longer exists. These memories carry real emotional urgency.
• Disorientation about location - If the person has recently moved house or started a new care arrangement, they may feel they are somewhere unfamiliar and try to "go home" - even if they are already there.
• Night-time confusion - Dementia can disrupt sleep patterns. A person who wakes at 2am may believe it is daytime and decide to go for a walk, or may act on a dream as if it were real.
• Boredom or restlessness - Wandering can be a sign that the person is not getting enough stimulation or physical activity during the day. Excess energy with nowhere to go often becomes movement toward the door.
• Agitation or physical discomfort - Pain, being too hot, needing the toilet, or anxiety can all express as movement toward an exit, without the person being able to explain why.

This variety matters practically. Someone leaving because they believe they need to go to work requires a different response than someone leaving because they are in pain. Keeping a brief log of when and under what circumstances wandering attempts occur can help identify patterns and triggers over time, making prevention more targeted.

Why Time Is Critical When Someone Goes Missing

A person with dementia who has left the house alone faces risks that compound quickly as time passes.

Unlike someone who is simply lost and can ask for directions, a person with moderate-to-advanced dementia may not be able to communicate who they are, where they live, or that they need help. They may not recognise that they are lost. They may give a former address from decades ago, or become more distressed as disorientation deepens. In warm weather, the risk of heat exhaustion rises within hours. In cold weather, hypothermia can set in quickly, particularly at night and without adequate clothing. Falls become more likely as the person grows increasingly confused and tries to navigate unfamiliar terrain.

The most dangerous period is the gap between the person leaving and the family realising they are gone. That gap tends to be longer than people expect - particularly for night-time wandering, where the absence may go unnoticed for several hours. The faster a family can confirm someone is missing and begin a search with useful information, the safer the outcome is likely to be. Planning and preparation directly affect that response time.

What to Do the Moment You Realise They Are Missing

If you discover that the person in your care has left the house and you do not know where they are, move through the following steps as quickly as possible.

1. Check inside first. Before assuming they have left the property, check every room in the house, the garden, any garage, shed, or outdoor area. Some wandering episodes end very close to home.
2. Note what they are wearing. Do this immediately, before memory fades. Include colours, footwear, whether they had a coat, and anything distinctive. You will need this information for neighbours and police.
3. Divide the response. If other family members or neighbours are available, have one person begin searching the immediate area - known local routes, the nearest shops, a park they used to frequent - while another stays at home in case the person returns on their own.
4. Alert neighbours immediately. A quick call or message to nearby neighbours can expand your search radius significantly within minutes. Include a description and ask them to check their own gardens and nearby footpaths.
5. Contact the police. Call 000 if there is any immediate safety concern - night-time, cold weather, known mobility issues, or significant time elapsed. Otherwise, call your local police station and explain clearly that the missing person has dementia. Police treat missing persons reports involving dementia as high priority. Do not wait to see if they come back on their own.
6. Call the National Dementia Helpline. The helpline (1800 100 500) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Advisors can help you manage the immediate situation, provide guidance on next steps, and connect you with local services if needed.

Once the person is found, tell the police immediately. Then prioritise reassurance over explanation - they may be frightened and confused. Getting back into a familiar routine as quickly as possible helps settle the distress.

Prevention: Reducing How Often Wandering Occurs

No prevention strategy eliminates the risk of wandering entirely, but a combination of approaches can significantly reduce how frequently it happens and how far the person gets when it does.

Physical modifications to the home

• Move door locks to a position higher or lower than standard. People with dementia often cannot adapt to unexpected lock placements, even when they are determined to leave.
• Install a door chime or alarm that activates when any exterior door opens. This is one of the most effective single changes for night-time wandering, giving carers advance notice before the person has gone far.
• Place a large stop sign or visual barrier on exit doors. Simple visual cues are surprisingly effective even in moderate-stage dementia.
• Use a curtain or cover over exit doors. If the door does not look like a recognisable exit, many people with dementia will not approach it.
• Ensure the garden is fenced and gates close securely if the person has outdoor access.

Routine and engagement

• Regular physical activity during the day - even a short supervised walk - can reduce the restlessness that drives wandering. Boredom and excess energy are genuine triggers that a predictable routine can address.
• A consistent daily structure creates the predictability that reduces anxious disorientation, particularly in the late afternoon and early evening when sundowning is most common.
• Remove items that can act as cues to leave. Visible keys, coats near the front door, mail waiting to be posted, or work clothes can all trigger the impulse to go out. Storing these out of sight removes the prompt.
• Check for unmet needs before agitation escalates. Pain, hunger, discomfort, or a full bladder can all express as a drive toward the exit if they are not identified and addressed.

When someone is about to leave

If the person is heading toward the door and you need to redirect them, avoid arguing or physically blocking them - confrontation tends to escalate agitation rather than resolve it. Instead, walk with them, acknowledge where they want to go, and gently redirect. In many cases the urge passes within a short time if not met with direct opposition. The section on the 90-second rule in the FAQ below covers the reasoning behind this approach in more detail.

Planning Ahead Before a Crisis

The best time to prepare for a wandering crisis is before one happens. Most carers are still adapting to the previous stage of dementia when the next one arrives; having a plan in place changes how quickly and calmly you can respond when it does.

Identification

Make sure the person carries or wears clear identification that includes their name, your contact number, and ideally their home address. A Medic Alert bracelet, an ID card in their wallet, and information sewn into a regularly worn jacket are each a different layer of the same protection - having multiple forms of ID increases the chance that whoever finds the person can reach you quickly. If the person uses a KISA device, the back panel can be printed with their name, home address, and your contact number - making the device itself a passive ID that is always present on the lanyard, readable by anyone who encounters them even without any technology involved. Take a recent clear photo and keep it saved on your phone; you will need it for police and neighbours the moment something happens.

Know their patterns and likely destinations

Create a list of places the person used to frequent and may head toward if they leave. Former workplaces, a childhood home, a regular shop, a familiar park, the home of a friend or relative they visited for years - people with dementia often move toward places that held significance in an earlier part of their life. Knowing these locations in advance narrows down the search area significantly and can save critical time.

Brief your neighbours

Let immediate neighbours know that the person has dementia and may occasionally leave the house in a confused state. Ask them to call you directly if they see the person outside alone. Most neighbours are willing to help once they understand the situation - they simply need to be told. A brief conversation now can mean a phone call that finds the person two houses away rather than a street-by-street search.

Local businesses and community

If the person is still mobile and sometimes goes out independently, introducing yourself to nearby shopkeepers, a local cafe, or the newsagent creates an informal network of people who will recognise them and know to call you if something seems wrong. This layer of community awareness is low-effort to set up and can be very effective in practice.

GPS Tracking: What It Changes in a Wandering Situation

The strategies above improve outcomes, but they share a common limitation: they depend on the carer already knowing the person is missing before anything useful can happen. There will always be a gap between the person leaving and the family realising they are gone. That is the gap where the most serious harm tends to occur.

GPS tracking closes that gap.

A GPS-enabled safety device worn by the person allows authorised family members and carers to check their location at any time - without needing to wait for something to go wrong. If you wake at 3am and want to confirm the person is still in the house, you can check the app in seconds. If an SOS button is pressed or fall detection activates, the device automatically sends an SMS to nominated contacts with a Google Maps link showing the person's exact location. You know immediately that something has happened, and you know exactly where they are.

For night-time wandering specifically - where a person may have been gone for hours before anyone notices - this is the practical difference between navigating directly to where they are and beginning a blind search with no idea which direction they went.

GPS tracking does not stop wandering. Nothing reliably does. What it does is make the period between the person leaving and help reaching them as short as possible. Our guide to GPS trackers for people with dementia in Australia covers in detail what to look for in a device, how to approach the consent conversation, and how to choose between the options available.

KISA Devices for Dementia Wandering Safety

All KISA safety and communication devices - the KISA Guardian, KISA Companion, and KISA Phone - include GPS tracking alongside an emergency SOS button and automatic fall detection. Authorised family members can check the wearer's location at any time through the MyKISA app or web portal. When an SOS button is pressed or fall detection activates, the device sends an SMS to up to five nominated contacts, including a Google Maps link showing the person's current location.

Each device is worn on a lanyard around the neck, which matters for dementia care. A device worn consistently and without effort is one that is actually present when it is needed. The back of the device can be printed with the wearer's contact details and home address - a practical safety net that works even without GPS, for anyone who encounters the person and needs to help them get home.

The appropriate device depends on age and funding pathway:

• KISA Guardian - designed for Australians aged 65 and over. The primary device for older Australians managing dementia at home, typically funded through the Support at Home program's assistive technology budget.
• KISA Companion - designed for NDIS participants under 65. Dementia is not exclusively a condition of older age, and the Companion is the relevant device for younger Australians managing dementia-related safety needs under an NDIS plan.
• KISA Phone - available as a private purchase for families who need to act quickly, who are not yet enrolled in a funding program, or who prefer not to go through an assessment process. The same GPS, SOS, and fall detection features, with no referral or eligibility check required.

Full details on features and how tracking works are on the KISA GPS Tracking page. For families also thinking about how the person communicates as dementia progresses, our guide to phones for someone with dementia covers the communication and safety features that matter at each stage.

Funding a GPS Safety Device in Australia

The cost of a GPS safety device does not have to come out of pocket. There are two main government-funded pathways that can cover a KISA device for a person with dementia, depending on age and circumstances.

For Australians aged 65 and over, the Support at Home program includes an assistive technology and home modifications budget that can fund safety and communication devices for eligible participants. A needs assessment by a registered allied health professional is typically required. The Support at Home and Home Care Package page has more detail on how the program works and what the process involves.

For Australians under 65 who hold an NDIS plan, GPS safety devices may be funded under the Assistive Technology budget category. KISA is a registered NDIS provider. The NDIS assistive technology page covers how to include this type of device in an existing plan and what supporting documentation is typically needed.

For families who need to act immediately - while waiting for a plan to be approved, or who prefer to move without going through the assessment process - private purchase is available with no referral or eligibility requirement. Some families use this option as a bridge while formal funding is confirmed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 90-second rule for dementia patients?

The 90-second rule refers to a caregiving principle based on how quickly emotional states shift in the brain. When a person with dementia becomes distressed - wanting to leave, calling for someone from their past, or agitated without a clear reason - the intensity of that emotional state typically peaks and then begins to ease within about 90 seconds, if the carer responds calmly and does not escalate the situation. Arguing, correcting, or physically blocking tends to extend and intensify the agitation. Acknowledging what the person is feeling, staying calm, and waiting briefly before gently redirecting is usually more effective - and relies on the fact that the emotional circuit runs its course on its own given the chance.

At what stage of dementia does wandering usually start?

Wandering is most common in the moderate to advanced stages of dementia, when memory loss and disorientation are significant enough to affect the person's sense of where they are and what they should be doing. It can begin in the moderate stage and often increases as the condition progresses. Some people with early-stage dementia may also wander if they become disoriented or are in an unfamiliar environment. Planning ahead - identifying likely triggers, setting up home modifications, and putting GPS tracking in place - is substantially easier to do before wandering has become a regular occurrence.

How can I reduce night-time wandering in someone with dementia?

Night-time wandering is often linked to disrupted sleep cycles and disorientation on waking. Practical steps include installing a door alarm that sounds when exterior doors open, maintaining a consistent and calm bedtime routine, reducing afternoon napping, and ensuring the person gets adequate physical activity during the day. Keeping a soft light on at night can reduce the disorientation that occurs when the person wakes in the dark. If night-time wandering is frequent or distressing, speak with the person's GP - pain, medication side effects, and underlying sleep disorders can all be contributing factors and may be manageable with the right support.

What door locks help prevent a person with dementia from wandering?

Locks positioned higher or lower than the standard handle height are often effective, because people with dementia tend to look for a lock where they expect one to be, and cannot easily adapt when it is placed unexpectedly. Deadbolts requiring a key from the inside can work when the key is kept out of sight. Door alarms that alert the carer the moment an exterior door opens are at least as important as locks - they allow a rapid response even when prevention has not worked. GPS tracking on the person provides the critical backup layer for when physical barriers have failed and the person has already left.

Do I need a separate GPS tracker and a personal alarm, or can one device do both?

One device can do both. KISA devices include GPS tracking, a manual SOS button, and automatic fall detection in the same wearable worn on a lanyard. There is no second device to manage, charge, or remember. When the SOS button is pressed or a fall is detected, the device automatically sends a text message including the person's GPS location to nominated contacts - meaning the carer receives both the alert and the location simultaneously. For families managing the dual risks of wandering and falls, this removes the need for two separate pieces of equipment.