Inexpensive door alarm for use with wanderers

[John Curtiss]

This is one of those products that actually works BETTER than I expected.
We needed to know when the patient with dementia was trying to open a door.
I picked up a couple of these at Home Depot. The they look like a big
padlock and hand on the door knob. The slightest movement causes an instant
alarm which has been enough to alert us in plenty of time to get to him in
time. (We didn't want to put a double-sided deadbolt on the door because of
the danger of trapping someone inside in case of a fire if the key can't be
found.)

I found these at Home Depot in October and have been using 2 of them every
day -- not a single failure yet. The alarm can be set at very high volume or
a chime. The chime is pleasant sounding and plenty loud enough for us. Easy
to use and runs off a 9v battery. Don't remember the exact cost, but it is
somewhere in the $8-10 range at Home Depot.

http://www.techkousa.com/ss-entry.htm

S184 DOOR GUARD
- Detects vibration from attempted entry when the door knob is turned
- Siren/Chime alarm options
- 9V battery operation (not included)

Packaging Details
Master Qty.: 6 PCs
Master Weight: 3lbs
UPC: 0 14575 18400 3

[John Curtiss]

I got to thinking.... at this stage, he is acting just like a 2 year old --
you know how they go all over the place, getting into everything, pulling
out things, short attention span, etc.

I gave up searching for a 'busy box' for elders, so I wondered if there
might be some kind of "learning toys" made for the 2 year old age group that
we could get some ideas from.

Most all the 2 year old toys made are not appropriate - red and blue with
cartoon characters, etc. Anybody heard of such things made just for the
eldery with dementia?

Thanks in advance.

John

[oh...@unc.edu]

Hi John,

Have you considered a consultation with an occupational therapist (OT)?
An OT is the healthcare professional trained to manage exactly these
sorts of issues, and there are even OTs who specialize in elder care.
Your elder's doc can probably refer you.

http://www.aota.org/featured/area6/

This one's in Canada but has good info:
http://www.otworks.com/otworks_page.asp?pageid=24

Good luck,

--Patti

[Fred]

Thanks very much! That's a good site. I couldn't figure out how to find a
OT in my area (western NC).

<oh...@unc.edu> wrote in message
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[oh...@unc.edu]

Fred wrote:
> Thanks very much! That's a good site. I couldn't figure out how to find a
> OT in my area (western NC).

Well howdy from central NC. :) Here's the professional org website
for NC OTs.
http://www.ncota.org/

I didn't see anything on their site about referrals, but if I were
looking for a geriatric OT in a rural area, I'd probably consider
contacting the professional org for help finding one. I've spent some
time in western NC. I know in some parts of the mountains, the list of
OTs is probably very, very short (like none). How far are you from
Asheville? If not too far, I feel certain there are plenty there,
since lots of folks retire in the NC mountains, so they'll have good
elder care resources around those parts. Remember you only need a
consultation, not weekly visits, since what you need is guidance for
yourself rather than rehab for your elder, so a one-time trip to
Asheville for a consultation may be just the thing.

--Patti

[Fred]

Many thanks, Patti!!

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