Cognition - Page 2 of 2 - My Therapy Hub

Five things to remember when assessing cognition

Occupational Therapists often take the lead in functional cognitive assessment of a person with dementia. In the absence of a neuropsychologist, it can be difficult to outline each specific component of cognitive deficit. To help, here are five things to remember when assessing cognition. 1) Keep it functional As an OT, your role is to look at how a person’s cognition affects their safety and independence. Try to use as many functional assessments as possible to gather your information. It’s not necessary to use the psychological term for every error made during the assessment. 2) Don’t rely on...

Are cognitive screening tests still reliable?

Assessment, Cognition, Latest News

The cognitive performance of US President Donald Trump hit the headlines when it was announced he had passed the MoCA test. The news sparked a flurry of conversation and saw the test, a widely used cognitive screening tool, posted on news websites across the globe. But the media attention and sudden interest in the test has health professionals concerned. With the questions freely distributed across the internet, has the validity and reliability of the MoCA been compromised? What is the MoCA? The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a well-researched and widely used cognitive screening tool for detecting mild...

Can you train your brain?

Cognition, Intervention, Latest News

Brain Training is a popular subject in rehabilitation at the moment. The development of computerised programmes coupled with the clinician’s desire to improve cognitive functioning has encouraged more research in this area. Unfortunately, evidence to support brain training is not as concrete as we would like. Some studies demonstrate successful findings but it has been found that commercial providers of brain games have been funding this research and so the findings may be questionable. When brain training first began in the 1970’s and 80’s it was used extensively in rehabilitation. After some research it was found that the participants...

Best apps for Occupational Therapists to draw home modifications

Intervention

Home modification drawings can often be time consuming. However there are now a variety of useful apps which is making the lengthy process more efficient, whether it’s for minor or major home modifications. Here are some of the best apps to speed up the paperwork process: 1) MyMeasures Pro: Available on Apple and Android this app allows you to take a photo of an object (i.e. shower/staircase) or room and add the dimensions and specifications of your modifications. It has both imperial and metric units and you can add comments to the photos for ease of communication. Easy to...