ABCD Flashcards
What is the citation for the ABCD?
Arizona Battery for Communication Disorders of Dementia (ABCD) (Bayles and Tomoeda, 1993)
What is the purpose of the ABCD?
To ID and quantify functional linguistic communication deficits (cognition, orientation, memory, ability to recall info) associated with Alzheimer’s dementia. Functional communication assessment is required for all who are nursing home residents if the facility will qualify for medicare reimbursement.
Do you have to give all subtests?
No, you can use subtests individually or collectively to screen for dementia.
What can affect test performance?
Speech discrimination deficits Visual perceptual problems Visual agnosia Illiteracy Depression Apraxia
What are the five constructs?
Mental status Episodic memory Linguistic expression Linguistic comprehension Visuospatial construction
How does scoring work?
Each construct is rated 1-5, with 1 being the most severe. Add up the constructs for an overall score.
What is an example of a mild overall score? Moderate?
- 5 for mild
12. 1 for moderate
How would someone with mild dementia do on the ABCD?
Would be significantly inferior to normal aging- score around 18.
Would still do well with comparative questions, word reading comprehension, and figure copying.
Impairment with mental status/orientation, episodic memory, linguistic expression (naming, describing, defining), linguistic comprehension (following commands), and visuospatial construction.
How would someone with moderate dementia do on the ABCD?
Would be significantly poorer than mild AD- around 10.5 for example.
Most significant decline would be with story retell- delayed.
Would also do poorly on mental status, episodic memory, linguistic expression, linguistic comprehension, and visuospatial construction.
How would someone with severe/late stage dementia do on the ABCD?
The patient would not even be able to participate in testing at this point.
