Living with dementia: recognising signs of distress

6 February 2026

Wearable technology aims to detect early signs of distress and reduce falls for people living with dementia.

“As long as I remember to ask for help, I’m all right. But that’s the problem, isn’t it?”

For Dr Jennifer Bute, this simple sentence captures one of the hardest realities of living with dementia. Distress does not always arrive loudly or visibly. Sometimes it builds quietly, until the ability to ask for help slips away.

Jennifer is a retired GP and long-standing dementia campaigner. She was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2009, at the age of 63.

She now lives in sheltered accommodation, where she has her own apartment and staff nearby if she needs support.

Distress is often misunderstood

She writes regularly about life with dementia and speaks openly about how care systems could respond better. From her perspective, distress is often misunderstood.

It may appear as agitation, withdrawal or sudden anger, but, she says, it always has a cause.

Pain, anxiety, confusion or changes in environment can all contribute. By the time distress becomes visible to others, the opportunity to intervene early has often passed.

Socks that sense what words cannot

A care-technology start-up called Milbotix is working to address that gap. Its SmartSocks combine wearable sensors with artificial intelligence to detect early signs of agitation, pain and increased risk of a fall.

The socks are designed for people living with dementia who may struggle to communicate discomfort or remember to ask for help. Subtle physiological changes can be detected before distress becomes outwardly visible.

Alerts can then be sent to carers or care home staff, allowing them to intervene earlier. The aim is to prevent escalation, reduce falls and support more personalised care.

Milbotix’s CEO Zeke Steer invented SmartSocks following a case of dementia in his own family.

I experienced the devastating impact of dementia firsthand having been part of my great-grandmother’s dementia journey.

Kath was a friendly and sociable lady with a passion for jazz, but she spent her final years confused, isolated and distressed.

Her dementia also took a toll on family who were trying to provide care at home under difficult circumstances.

Sadly, family caregivers shoulder most of the emotional, physical and financial burden of dementia care.

Zeke Steer

CEO, Milbotix

The company trialled the SmartSocks in care homes and Imperial College London’s Living Lab in 2025. Milbotix is now working in partnership with Cornerstone Healthcare.

The company’s smart tech was supported by three UK Research and Innovation grants between 2022 and 2025. The funding has helped the company refine and test the system in real-world care settings.

When behaviour is communication

Jennifer served on an advisory panel for the SmartSocks. Her perspective is shaped by lived experience and decades of medical practice.

I think they’re marvellous because they can pick up anxiety and pain and all that distress before it comes out. So many people don’t know how to cope with the consequences.

Dr Jennifer Bute

A retired GP and dementia campaigner

Jennifer explains that distress always has meaning. When someone cannot articulate what they feel, behaviour becomes their language.

“I have three principles,” she said. “First, there is always a reason. Second, feelings remain when the facts are forgotten. Third, people revert to childhood patterns.”

Helping carers respond sooner

In care settings, those early signals are sometimes missed. Jennifer has seen people become frightened or overwhelmed because staff did not recognise what lay behind their behaviour.

She described one woman who screamed in the evenings. The behaviour was labelled difficult, but Jennifer saw something else.

“She didn’t know who the people around her were,” she said. “She didn’t feel accepted. Eventually she screamed because she couldn’t cope.”

Jennifer believes technology like the SmartSocks could help carers respond sooner and more appropriately.

“With technology like these socks, that could have been picked up before she blew,” she said.

Supporting independence, not replacing care

Jennifer is clear that technology should support people, not diminish them. She often says people living with dementia should be enabled, not disabled.

She still lectures, writes and reflects deeply on care practice. She also recognises that memory loss changes what support is possible.

“These socks are for people who are probably not able to remember to ask for help,” she said.

In her own life, Jennifer can still reach out when she feels overwhelmed. She phones her son, who understands her condition well. Others may not have that option.

“Some people don’t like to admit they can’t cope,” she said. “So they would be perfect for those people as well.”

Listening earlier, responding better

For Jennifer, the promise of the SmartSocks lies in timing. They offer a chance to notice distress before it turns to crisis.

“I think they have tremendous potential,” she said. “I am a great supporter of them.”

Her hope is simple. That people living with dementia are supported before they have to ask. And before asking becomes impossible.

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