Questions and CORRECT Answers
Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - The development of multiple cognitive deficits,
including memory impairment and at least one of the following: aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or a
disturbance in executive functioning. Cognitive deficits must represent a decline from previously
higher level functioning, and must be sufficiently severe to cause impairment in occupational or
social functioning.
Symptoms of Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - Memory impairment, aphasia, apraxia,
agnosia (failure to recognize/identify objects despite intact sensory function), and executive
dysfunction (impaired ability to think abstractly and to plan, sequence, monitor, and stop
complex activities).
Cortical Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - Typically produced by Alzheimer's disease;
could also be caused by Pick disease; neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and
granulovacuolar degeneration.
Subcortical Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - Gradual decline in cognitive abilities
without any appreciable loss in associational cortical areas/language; emotional and personality
changes; memory disorders are present and a defective ability to manipulate acquired
knowledge; hypophonia that may progress to mutism; Parkinson's, Huntington's, HIV, and
Wilson's disease can cause it.
Vascular Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - Can involve multiple infarcts in cortical,
subcortical, or both areas. Second highest incidence (15-20% of dementia cases); will present a
history of hypertension, heart disease, strokes, abrupt onset, focal neurological signs, and
stepwise breakdown in progression to dementia.
Mixed Dementia - CORRECT ANSWER - Both cortical and subcortical involvement;
display the language abnormalities stemming from cortical and speech abnormalities from
subcortical; Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, HIV, drug intoxication, tumors, etc.
What are the main symptoms of Dementia? - CORRECT ANSWER - Memory impairment
, Aphasia
Apraxia
Agnosia (failure to recognize objects despite intact sensory function)
Executive dysfunction (impaired ability to plan, sequence, monitor and stop complex activities
and to think abstractly)
Dementia vs. Aphasia - CORRECT ANSWER - Aphasia patients at any level of severity
may have semantic, syntactic, and phonological impairment (except the types where phonology
is intact like Wernicke's or Transcortical sensory), but may retain pragmatics. Dementia
progresses through stages, and patients may have pragmatic impairment.
What are 2 therapy techniques for memory? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1.) Vanishing- the
client is given progressively less cues after recall attempts of the task information.
2.) Spaced Retrieval- recalling information over expanded intervals of time. Clients try to recall
targeted information/skills without prior models or prompts, and the clinician only models if
there are errors.
What are 2 goals for improving memory? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1.) Orient the person
to time, place, and person in a concrete manner.
2.) Determine and practice what functions the patient will perform in daily activities.
What are 2 therapy techniques for improving language? (Dementia) - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1.) Simplify the form of language.
2.) Amend the content of language (talk about the present and concrete things that can be
observed)
What are 2 goals for improving language in dementia? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1.) Help
the client develop functional skills, compensatory strategies, and support systems.
2.) Help the client make the most of their residual cognitive abilities.
Define Schizophrenia - CORRECT ANSWER - A disorder that affects the whole
personality in all aspects of its functioning. Symptoms vary, but the disorder permeates every