MOCA Test

[ShipwreckSunset]

My dad had a stroke earlier this year and further issues a few months ago. Whilst his mobility and speech are fairly unchanged from before, his memory has gone downhill and he has been referred to the memory clinic for a moca test.

It has come to light that he had one of these a couple of years ago via the gp (parents didn’t say at the time) and scored badly then but refused to follow up. I can only imagine it will be even worse this time. He is quite worked up about it and doesn’t want to do it but my mum is insisting as she recognises there is definitely an issue and it is getting worse.

What should we expect once they do the assessment? I have no idea where this is going, could it signal dementia, is there any treatment possible etc?

Any advice gratefully received. Thank you.

I use the Moca in my practice although not in a memory clinic. It just adds to the overall picture. It would never be taken on its own. I would always include functional assessment. I've had people perform badly on the moca but be functionally capable and the same in reverse
It isn't my area but I understand there is medication to slow the progression of dementia
What is he like functionally?

Do you mean the day to day stuff @RepentBirthingPersonFucker?
He is ok with regular conversations but will repeat or forget stuff over the course of an afternoon. My mum has always done most of the stuff at home like cooking but has said he is now forgetting where to put some stuff in the house, she manages his medications post stroke as he can’t work it out. She said today he can’t work out the heating controls, they have been in the house for over 20 years. He isn’t driving and I don’t want him to, don’t feel it is safe. He forgets the odd word in conversation but can remember who people are.

What other things are they likely to do in conjunction with moca test?

If he is going to a memory clinic it will probably be similar stuff to the moca
In my setting I would be looking at things like can he wash and dress independently, does he sequence so put things on in the right order. Cam he make a cup of tea. Is he orientated to place and time
It is all about building a picture of how he manages day to day and what he needs support with.
I like the moca and it can be useful, particularly to compare with if it was done earlier, but it is only a small part of a full assessment

Apart from memory does he cope
Can he manages strategies to cope with the poor memory. Would he be able to use a list, diary or daily prompt sheets?