Tests for Dementia: SLUMS Assessment 

I replied denial

Our cousin 70 and my Aunty 80 have just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and aterial dementia double wammy 😢

This reply is so rare ,honest, and hilarious. You made me laugh in discussion about such a horrible disease!

Alcohol dependence is no joke

Additionally, @kevinwallace3415, the test doesn't address the level of a person's daily functions, if they can care for themself, if they are safe to be alone, and so forth.

@@labab1048 @kevinwallace3415 is making an excellent point on the off-topic test. He could be making a joke because the test has nothing to do with daily functions, if he is indulging it could be a one-time thing, and so forth. Additionally, there is insufficient information to make a diagnosis which is actually illegal unless a person has the credentials. I say bravo to @kevinwallace3415 point which is well made.

😂😂😂 that's great!!!

Binary is not a great challenge. Try base 3; it's more of a difficulty for me. I once wrote a series of numbers on a whiteboard with equal signs between using every base from 2 to 9, but not in order. Annoyed the hell out of some people, but one bloke took a good look and said that's 42. And called me mad.

I'm 71 but haven't seen a round clock face in decades.

or extremely tired people

Sorry to hear this. I hope you find the answers you're looking for. Thanks for watching.

Check your house (and possible work place) for mold usually in the drywall. Also do a visual contrast sensitivity test.

I'm not writing you off, but at your age, you need to explore all the things that can masquerade as dementia. I would imagine there is an array of other things that can cause the same symptoms and you need to explore them all, especially at your age. True, a lot of doctors sadly do the opposite, and will write off young people as paranoid and/or refuse to perform certain tests, and miss serious diagnoses such as cancer, dementia, etc. because they are so certain someone so young can't possibly have something so serious. Don't let a doctor do that to you. Find one that will take you seriously. But, you do need to approach it more logically than emotionally. I will be straight-forward in that you seem to be fighting for a dementia diagnosis as opposed to fighting to explore all possibilities of what this could be. It's not impossible it could be dementia, but it would be very unusual. Best of luck in finding your answers. Please explore all things this could be from the most simple. Diet (like gluten intolerance...saw a TV special where a baby would just space out and go in a paralyzing trance-like state after eating...and they caught it on video..they discovered he couldn't tolerate gluten), sleep patterns, depression, medications that could be mixing with things, environmental factors, etc.

Thank you for the reply! I appreciate it. Meant to reply to all of these, actually. I've gotten quite a bit worse in terms of short term memory and focus, as well as struggling with word finding, forgetting what I'm doing, apathy, anhedonia, and some other things. Saw my primary/family doctor on April 22nd and she did a MMSE and Minicog test on me, scored 30/30 and 4/5. Only got a 4/5 because I couldn't remember the other word to recall which was picture, I think the others were garden and captain. Also waiting for a neuropsych referral to go through, my primary thought a neuropsych and psychiatrist would be my best route forward, and I see the neuro that was meant to replace my retiring one (not the one that dismissed me who was apparently only supposed to help me with the sleep apnea) on June 7th. I also had a full blood workup and everything was normal, B12 was on the lower side of normal but nothing was abnormal. I found out my uncle has FTD a few months ago, he just turned 65. My mother is 67 I think and she doesn't seem to be showing signs. I worry about genetics and because of how it's presenting that it might be FTD and I thought it was ADHD not responding to meds the whole time, so I dunno. I might ask for genetic testing to check for the gene that causes it since my mother won't get herself tested. I'm definitely trying to rule out other things and eat healthier, exercise when I can get myself out of bed, keep myself distracted, etc so I don't stress, too. I also will make sure I find someone who takes me seriously, thankfully my primary is very sweet and advocates for me so if this new neuro doesn't work out, she'll help me find another. I'm just very limited with my insurance, unfortunately. Sorry for the paragraph, haha. Just thought I'd give an update while I'm replying.

Deja vu is a sign of the brain growing It usually happens when we are adolescents but can happen at anytime

Did you have dementia

If you take the test the second time you're bound to do much better than before, so the second take will not be accurate

No it is not stress. You repeated the test, you knew 80% of it during your second attempt

I am so sorry.

I am so sorry to hear that. 😢

So sorry to hear that. May God bless you and keep you. 🙏 💖 🌹

One Day at a time.

👍🥰

So did I at 78. Really thought I would stuff up the short-term memory side.

I think we should have some standardized measure for people to keep their DL here in the states, too.

In the UK we are gone by 80.

I never remember numbers and only recalled three things. I’m a bit dyslexic with numbers especially if spoken. My memory also has never been that great. I make notes of things I want to remember. On the other hand I file my own taxes on paper. I can figure out things logically. It was hard in school with a poor memory. I’m directionally impaired. Turn me around a couple of times and Im lost. The app maps helps me immensely. I guess I just use things to compensate. Not great at conversation but ok at communicating in writing. I wonder if you don’t rely on your memory as in writing everything down does it get worse.

(Pen, not pencil)

I just told myself a story - I got an Apple Pencil & tie and took them from the house to the car

OMG, I created almost the exact same picture in my mind - an apple with a pen stabbed into it with a tie tied around it, inside a house. The only difference was that I was inside a car that was sitting outside said house with the apple/pen/tie in it lol

Good point. Personalizing it would probably not help because the test doesn't address what a person needs to know to be safely independent. Since it is an off-topic test, then they can cause more people to go to nursing care facilities and make a larger profit.

They are not willing ..

That is correct. It gives us a good idea of people's deficits (areas they struggle with the most) but it does not necessarily let us know how well they can function at home. For that, we use other testing, such as the Allen Cognitive Levels, which gives us a score that correlates to what a person can do and how much assistance they require. It can also tell us if the person is safe to live alone, live alone with some support or requires 24/7 care.

@@jenniferturley8031 👍

I'm sorry to hear that. And at such a young age. Do things to keep your heart as healthy as possible...that will help!

Never too late to take care of yourself. Someone needs you❤

Look into vitamin therapy. I’m seeing that substance users seem to have vitamin deficiencies. I did lots of popcorn and ice cream in college, so I’m basically in that category also, but had significant health improvements when I was eating mostly out of my garden for a few years, when my children were teens.

Please look into keto. A doctor recommended that to a young friend that had a rod go through her head in a car accident .

Goes I totally for got the apple list. I got apple tie and house. I’m 65 but under extreme stress and depression .

I've never given the Mini-Cog Test (or 3 word recall test) but from the research I've done, It appears to surpass the MMSE on brevity, sensitivity and acceptability which has an overall sensitivity of 79%. I personally like to administer the SLUMS or MoCA, both with a 5 word recall and delayed recall portion. These 2 assessments provide me with more detailed information into what the patient can and can't do well using my 10+ years of experience in the field. I hope this helps with your question. Would love to hear more about your memoir. Let me know if I can be of any more assistance.

My 70 year old mother can remember not only 3,not 5 but 10 words I ask her to remember not only for a few minutes but even hours later. So idk what's up with your college freshman..

@@wioiyoung folks don’t like to train their memories, nor does media help… Those who are over 60 or so also grew up before handheld memory banks were common!

You’re right - this is a ridiculous test - probably from the ‘60’s!

Five isn’t bad, if you make a connection such as eating an apple in the car after you leave home/house for a business meeting (hence the pen and tie)…

I find the SLUMS to be a bit more challenging than the MMSE. Most normal people miss 1-3 points on the SLUMS.

Are you noticing any short-term memory problems in your every day life?

@@CrackingtheCodeforCaregivers If I had these memory problems, I wouldn't remember having them. But I often forget names of actors I used to know repeatedly.

Please don't be. Repeat test. Keep trying. ❤

Fear not! I never could do that 5-word test. I'm 85 and don't have dementia--thank God.

It's all bs, don't worry about it.

I would follow up... Knowing if you have a cognitive deficit is the only way you can start working on things to improve or maintain function. Best of luck to you. I'm sorry to hear that is happening...58 is so young.

@@CrackingtheCodeforCaregivers thank you for your reply. I'll definitely follow up then. Thanks again for your help. God bless.

@@CrackingtheCodeforCaregivers after talking to my daughter, my memory problems have been going on since I was injured. (I was only two years out. Lol.). My meds have been changed and or adjusted. Hopefully this will have a positive effect. My GP rattled off a whole bunch of questions and I was able to answer all straight away. It did take me a little while to remember what I had for dinner last night.

I’m in the same boat with you. I’m 60 and experiencing the same as you. It’s scary and frustrating. I’ve an appointment to see a neurologist and psychiatrist in a few days

I heard there’s a new drug that slows progression 30%

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia. There are many forms of dementia with Alzheimer’s being one of them. Other forms are Lewy body, and vascular.

Who is Christine?

Test is attached or given in the video. And yes, short-term memory loss is one sign of certain types of dementia.

Standard. But there are other assessments if a person is familiar with this one enough to influence scoring.

$3 for the dozen

Good point - not precise enough English was it?!

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂!!!

I would just equate states with provinces for the purpose of the memory test.

Just switch out Chicago for Montreal and make the question "What province did she live in?"

The score for the animal naming is as follows: 0-4 = 0 points, 5-9 = 1 point, 10-14 = 2 points, 15+ = 3 points

@@CrackingtheCodeforCaregivers thanks! That’s not really so difficult, if you consider categories of animals beyond household pets, such as zoo, farm, or wild. Still, does it count if you name a variety of the same type, like penguin, hawk, cardinal, ostrich, etc.?

@@salauerman7082 yes. The point of naming is to see how well the brain is able to retrieve stored information. With dementia, the brain's ability to categorize and retrieve words begins to worsen. So, let's say you could name 30 animals one year and only 20 the next, then only 15 the next, you can start to see the decline in the brain's memory and language centers. This often translates to more difficulty with finding words in everyday conversation, too.

@@CrackingtheCodeforCaregivers keeping brains active is really important, to delay or inhibit decline, right?

@@salauerman7082 yes. One of the best things you can do is learn something new. But, equally important is keeping your body active.

I guess it shows you're lazy and egocentric.

Cracking the Code for Caregivers

lol

Yes because Jennifer Turley has J & T for initials so I assumed it must be her child’s or partner’s initial

Just what I was going to say lol

I don't see why you're assuming the "shapes" are 3 dimensional objects. They were only labeled "shapes", not objects, and look 2 dimensional, so I think the correct answer is the one that seems the more obvious. The largest is #1.

@@canbenchecocat9729 In the discipline of solid geometry, 3-dimenstional objects, like the 2-dimensional objects in plane geometry, are referred to as "shapes." That said, I understand your discomfort with my answer to the question.

You flunked because you can’t spell President’s name

😂😂😂

So funny. Sad, but funny as hell.

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

You shall not pass!