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How to Navigate Holiday Travel With Someone Who Has Dementia

Wondering what to keep in mind when traveling with a loved one who has dementia for the holidays? Here are some tips for ensuring a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable trip.

ByAlex Orlando
(Credit: marchmeena29/Getty Images)

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With the holiday season in full swing, you may have already booked your flights and are starting to plan your next trip to visit friends and family. But if someone you know is living with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, you might be wondering if travel is even a realistic option for them in the first place.

It’s always a bit stressful to travel around the holidays: Airports are packed, highways are congested, and flight delays and cancellations can derail even the best-laid plans. For those with dementia — who may have difficulties with memory, thinking, and other cognitive abilities — those environmental stressors can trigger feelings of anxiety, disorientation, and confusion.

Luckily, living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of cognitive decline doesn’t mean that an individual has to stop traveling altogether. Here are some tips and tricks for ensuring a safe and comfortable holiday experience — and how travel ...

  • Alex Orlando

    Alex is a senior associate editor at Discover. Before he joined the Discover team in 2019, he worked as a reporter for the Half Moon Bay Review and as a staff writer for Houston’s Texas Medical Center. His work has also appeared in The Verge and San Francisco Magazine. Alex holds a master's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley.

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