Think You're Losing Your Mind?

Well, among Villagers, you’re not alone. From time to time, we all experience moments when we question our cognitive abilities. You know what I’m talking about... you walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water, stop to pick up a book off the sofa, gaze out the window, go into the kitchen and stand there helplessly trying to recall why you’re in the kitchen.

Apparently, there is more to cognitive decline than forgetfulness. Several intrepid (if less than totally confident) Villagers came together in the Village Community Room to face any concerns we may have had about the loss of our brain cells. Villager Wayne April, a retired Social Therapist who specialized in Geriatrics, organized the session on behalf of the Education Team. Fortunately, his natural good sense of humor put us all at ease and assured us that this exercise was certainly not serious since we were gathering as a group rather than individually.

With pencils in hand, we were given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is often used to detect mild cognitive impairment. Out of a total of 30 points possible, a score of 26 or higher is considered normal (I’ve never been clear on how or who determines what that is!). The questions cover memory, executive functions, attention, language, and orientation.

It was really quite entertaining to listen to little asides as well as a fairly regular call to repeat the question or talk louder. There was absolutely no cheating, perhaps a bit of collaboration as seemed necessary... after all, we’re good people who like to be helpful. Fortunately, Wayne was a good sport and didn’t seem to get frustrated in the least. Each of us seemed to enjoy the challenges that were presented, and none of us walked away in tears.

The Village Educational Programs Team plans various presentations by community professionals that address a wide range of subjects of interest to older adults. This MoCA session was just one of the interesting topics to be addressed recently. Be sure to review the monthly calendar and the email that Villagers receive each Monday entitled Your Week at the Village. You can learn more about the Educational Team on our website – who knows, you may have a good suggestion for a topic. Many of the programs are open to the public, which offers an opportunity to meet people beyond the Village. You may be relieved to know (those attending certainly were) that we all landed in that nebulous area called ‘normal’. So, while some of us may seem a tad bit off our rockers, this test proved that we are at least not certifiably cognitively impaired. However, do not ask me to do math problems in my head!