Further test from an ACE test ??

Mommidizzle

Registered User
Mar 15, 2012
44
0
Hi Fellow nightmarers |!!|

As some of you already know i tend to dip in out of this, but thank you to all for your posts, i read more than i post/comment on and some of the stuff i read really helps or i can sympathise with as we are all going through this dreadful journey in our own time, at our own pace and with our own different version of events !! Some of it proper breaks my heart or scares me to death!!

I have a question re something called (and i think this is what she called it?? and due to the fact i questioned my OH score in his last ACE test, as he answered so many questions wrong or didn't answer at all but only scored a diff of 2 points from 62 just 6 months ago to 60 1 month ago and i have seen quite a significant decline in the last 6 months) Alan's Test which involved a lady, referred from the memory service and called herself OT) who came here last week with a piece of kit that resembled a hide of some kind with holes around the edge, to which he was shown how to 'sew' he was tasked with completing three different 'stitches' running stitch, over stitch, and i cant remember the third one ?? (not that it matters) which apparently gives a snap shot in time of where his dementia is at that point !!?? She is coming back nxt week to reveal results ?? My question is - has anyone else had any experience of this? does it prove anything?? and is there any specific things i should be asking this woman which would give me any further information?
The slope we on right now is significant and doesn't seem to be leveling out he is 3.5 yrs post diagnosis, (with maybe 12/18 months prior problems??) has anyone else experienced a slope like this without any underlying probs like infct ect?? He has deteriorated quite a bit in the last 6 months to the point of not knowing his family or that this is our home, to who i am most of the time ......

on the pos side he has had his 1st outing today with a carer ..... (and he didn't tell him to DO ONE !!) nxt week we have a free session at a day centre which i have to go with him ............ not sure how thats gonna go ??

Thanks for reading and i look forward to your responses and advice

Terri x
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
Well that's me failed, "'stitches' running stitch, over stitch" I get a stich from running is that the same thing? It sounds like something off the Generation Game an expert does something then you have to copy it (for any of you old enough to remember it).
I'm sure a woman would have more of an existing skill set making the test easier for them, bearing in mind that older people may have lived in a more "traditional" relationship, that said my wife can't even sew a button on and I'm the one that uses the sewing machine. Would it be a fair test if you opened the car bonnet and asked a woman to point to the distributor cap and the alternator?
As for the rate of decline it does appear to go in steps rather than a gradual curve.
K
 

Mibs

Registered User
May 26, 2014
73
0
Derbyshire
Sewing - good grief whatever next, Scottish Country dancing with real swords ??
This is what I love about this forum - given the hell hole we're all living in, there's always something comes along to make your jaw drop.
Do let us know what the result is, maybe a nice bag or belt if you're lucky.
Sorry to be flippant Terri, I love the 'fellow nightmarers' spot on.
Mx
 

optocarol

Registered User
Nov 23, 2011
315
0
Auckland, New Zealand
Have to agree with the "Good grief!" My OH has had ACER (R meaning revised), but I've never heard of this sewing test. Must Google it.

Hope this testing achieves some result, Terri.
 

cragmaid

Registered User
Oct 18, 2010
7,936
0
North East England
....in my own, personal opinion.....what a load of BS.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::mad:
I was taught dressmaking, I have sewn for years ( and years and years...) I knit and do handicrafts. I read the instructions and found them to be anything but user friendly.:confused::(

Still....each testing authority to it's own....no doubt the results bring their own reward!:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

Grey Lad

Registered User
Sep 12, 2014
5,736
0
North East Lincs
I think the ACE 3 test is probably a waste of time. Maureen did relatively well on a test that is culturally loaded in the extreme. She is a wordsmith and has always hated maths. However, the test would not have taken that into account. The test would not have revealed Maureen's dwindling functional capacity. She used to be able to make a decent salad sandwich: now it is distressing to watch her efforts. However, she could still tell you the name of the Prime Minister.
 

lin1

Registered User
Jan 14, 2010
9,350
0
East Kent
....in my own, personal opinion.....what a load of BS.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::mad:
I was taught dressmaking, I have sewn for years ( and years and years...) I knit and do handicrafts. I read the instructions and found them to be anything but user friendly.:confused::(

Still....each testing authority to it's own....no doubt the results bring their own reward!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

I'm with you their Sue
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
I dont think there is a good test for cognitive problems, but this test is at least trying to get away from language (spoken or written) testing and trying to see how things are in the real world.
As far as i can see, the test consists of the therapist showing the person being tested how to do the stitches and the person being tested tries to copy them. The material has holes punched into it and I think should be quite easy to do (if you are following someone else) and doesnt seem to be a test of sewing ability, but whether you can follow instructions and/or learn new tasks in real life.
My husband has cognitive problems, but passes all the tests easily. I think he would probably have difficulty with this though as its an actual task, rather than a theoretical one.
I would guess that as your OH passed the ACE test, but you are saying that there are problems, they thought they would try a different approach.

PS to Kevin: I take your point about traditional tasks, but I think even I could check the oil or change a spark plug if you showed me how to do it first and I did it myself straight afterwards!
 

Spamar

Registered User
Oct 5, 2013
7,723
0
Suffolk
What a load of rubbish, I'm afraid I couldn't read all of it, I was getting so annoyed. Then it said point out where they are wrong! Sorry no one with dementia is ever wrong! I mean, OH doesn't use one hand fully, how us he meant to manage. I wish people would just get real!
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
I was taught dressmaking, I have sewn for years ( and years and years...)

That's the point women tend t be much more familiar with the activity, it's hardly a "gender neutral" test, it wouldn't surprise me if women generally outperformed men in this test so under diagnosing the severity of their condition.
Maybe their could be a second part to the test something like assembling a flat pack wardrobe or something more male orientated.
I did think parallel parking a car but then I though best not say that:D
K
For "their" read "there"
 
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canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
I never said it was a good test, and if problems show up on the ACE test then theres no need to investigate it further. I just thought it might show up problems with people like my husband who pass the ACE test easily, but would fail that test.

"Maybe their could be a second part to the test something like assembling a flat pack wardrobe or something more male orientated." I think you could be onto something there. Maybe not a whole wardrobe, but screwing and assembling things. Hubby would fail that too!

Horses for courses.