Question

Imagine that you are a neuropsychologist who just received a referral for a neuropsychological assessment for an 83-year-old man, Jim. His family is requesting a psychological assessment for dementia since they wanted to decide if the man needed to have an official Power Of Attorney to protect his bank account. Last month, Jim fell at the corner of a walking path on the side of a road in town when he was walking back from his family doctor, as he lost a balance when he was surprised by a truck that went by in a fast speed even though the truck did not actually touch Jim. After he fell on the ground and hit his head, he went through an X-ray assessment which showed no fracture. After two weeks of hospitalization, he returned home, though family members noticed his confusion in memory, slurred speech, and his occasional inability to maintain a cohesive thought process till the end of a conversation. The family members also noticed that he is no longer able to do the book-keeping of his family budget accurately, even though it used to be his role. Jim also appears to be much less suspicious of sales people who come to the door-steps of the house when the rest of the families are away, which made the family members even more concerned.  

As a neuropsychologist, you have access to all the neuropsychological assessment tools. Assuming that, if in need, you have a capacity to give referral to a physician for a separate MRI assessment, discuss what combination of assessment you would like to use to conduct a thorough psychological assessment of a potential dementia for Jim, within your capacity as a licensed psychologist (not as a physician nor as any other health care professional).  

Answer 1

ANSWER - A psychologist will suggest - THE MINI -Cog test and the ACE-R are the best alternative test for dementia and Montreal Cognitive Assessment is the best alternative for mild cognitive impairment .for brain damage assessment BENDER -GESTALT TEST developed by LAURETTA BENDER .For learning and memory test you can use WESCHLER MEMORY SCALE -3 .