Assessment & Diagnosis

Assessing the needs of Alzheimer's families can be complex. Provided in this section are several examples of assessment tools utilized by Alzheimer's Demonstration grantees for assessing persons with Alzheimer's disease. You may download the documents and adapt for local use.

• General Alzheimer's Assessment Information. From the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, 1999. (Off Site)

There are also a number of standardized tests that clinicians use to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Below are links to just a few of the more common tests:

• Geriatric Depression Scale and scoring (In all languages) (Off Site)
• Mini Mental Status Exam (Off Site)
• List of Assessment Instruments and Tools (Off Site)
• CESD Depression Scale (Off Site)

There are also a number of tools used to assess caregiver burden and stress. We suggest you contact the Family Caregiver Alliance at http://www.caregiver.org or the National Family Caregivers Association at http://www.nfcacares.org for more information about assessing family caregivers.

National Geriatric Education Centers