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DidDunMegasploded t1_j9q2ab5 wrote

Reply to comment by Coffee-FlavoredSweat in Missing intellectually disabled persons- please share widely! by uppitycrip

Let me take it one step further: they shouldn't be driving at all.

Seriously. Even my grandfather gave up driving when he hit his late 60s, and over the years, he became afflicted by memory loss until he was almost a vegetable by the time I visited him in the nursing home in what would be the final time I ever saw him.

If these women come out of this alive, I will be utterly floored. But elderly people who are disoriented and don't have a good sense of direction should not be on the roads.

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Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j9q3g61 wrote

I wouldn’t go that far. There are a number of reasons why this could have happened, some of which include unbalanced medications for mental health issues.

I have a family member who is perfectly capable of driving a vehicle and getting from place to place without issue, but twice in the past decade she’s gone off her meds and there were issues. Once she drove across 3 states before she got pulled over and the officer recognized a mental health issue, the second time she was just 2 towns over knocking on a random door asking if she could buy their house.

I don’t know these two women or their situation, but I don’t think we can just assume they both have advanced dementia and belong in a nursing home, rather than just an isolated issue that can be fixed.

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procrastinatorsuprem t1_j9r6le3 wrote

They are in their early 50s and don't have dementia. If they are on meds they've probably run out since they've been missing for days.

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