Personal Identification for Persons With Alzheimer's

As the disease of Alzheimer's slowly attacks their brain, your loved one will loose their ability to use important cognitive skills in judging what's safe to do, and what isn't. They might have a tendency, as my father did, to wander around, and try to leave the safety of your care. Persons with Alzheimer's do not intentionally walk away and they don't do it to hurt the ones they love, or those who care for them. 

They simply do not know any better and they forget. If you are taking care of them now there are things that you can do to identify them in case they get away from your watchful eyes. I used some these techniques, and a few times it helped us in emergency situations. Remember, your first responsibility is to keep them safe and content, and do not feel intrusive and guilty for taking these actions.

The following list is made up of a few tips that will help you locate your loved one should they become separated from your or lost. All of these will aid local and state authorities with identifying them, and returning them to your safe keeping.

• Personal clothing. On every piece of clothing, either mark with a permanent marker or sew on tags with their full name and age, as well as phone number where you can be reached. This includes, t-shirts, underwear, and socks too. In most instances, you will have to sew or have sewed on a larger tag, so you will have room to write clearly their information. For a fee you could have a tailor stitch the information into the clothing so that it cannot be torn away or washed off. 

• Their shoes should be marked on the bottom with a contrasting color to be easily read. New studies have shown that Alzheimer's suffers easily identify the color red so mark everything. When marking shoes, don't mark the bottom of the sole. Mark the bottom side of the sole where the shoe sees less wear and the words are more likely to last.