What are the Methods for Diagnosing MCI?

Abstract

Speech-language pathologists will be increasingly called upon to screen for, identify, and assess mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as the population ages. The diagnosis of MCI involves several professionals and requires an evaluation of normal and abnormal cognition and cognitive-communication, which a speech-language pathologist is in a unique position to provide. The general diagnostic criteria for MCI diagnosis are largely agreed upon at this point in time, and subtypes of MCI are receiving increasing attention. Early identification of MCI and detailed characterization of functioning will be more important as therapy targeting prevention of dementia and early cognitive dysfunction is developed. Speech-language pathologists should have a working knowledge of the diagnostic criteria and currently accepted subtypes in order to serve this population.

Automatic Prediction of Linguistic Decline in Writings of Subjects with Degenerative Dementia

“…Bucks et al, 2000, citing Sabat, 1994, assert that these structured tests break down language into artificial components that fail to represent the psychological and sociological context involved in daily conversations. As a consequence, such tests may be insensitive to early linguistic decline, when anomalies are already detectable by patients' families (Key-DeLyria, 2013).…”