Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS)
Time required: 10 minutes
Equipment needed: None
Criteria: Any score of 22 or less indicates possible cognitive impairment
The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is a short cognitive screening tool, valid across different cultures, that assesses the following items:
- Memory
- Visuospatial orientation
- Praxis
- Visuoconstructional drawing
- Judgement
- Memory recall
- Language
RUDAS guidelines have also been developed to support the use of the assessment tool.
Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE)
Time required: 10 minutes
Equipment needed: None
Criteria: A score of 24 or less indicates cognitive impairment.
The Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) is a commonly used tool to assess for cognitive impairment in older adults. The SMMSE is a measure consisting of 12 items that test a variety of cognitive domains, including:
- orientation to time and place
- short and long term memory
- registration
- recall
- constructional ability
- language
- ability to understand and follow commands.
SMMSE guidelines have also been developed to support the use of the assessment tool.
Other cognition screening tools
If you are concerned about an individual’s fear of falling, rather than their overall cognitive capacity, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) has developed an app called icon-FES that uses pictures to assess the individual’s fear of falling.
