{"id":4509,"date":"2025-06-26T09:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/?p=4509"},"modified":"2025-03-10T21:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T02:00:16","slug":"what-are-the-dementia-stages-and-scales-for-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/what-are-the-dementia-stages-and-scales-for-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the Dementia Stages and Scales for Assessment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dementia Stages and Scales for Assessment<\/span><\/p>\n

When assessing the stages of Dementia, there are three main scales or systems that are used by most Doctors.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) Scale<\/span><\/p>\n

Both are used mainly for the initial assessment of the Dementia Stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) is used to fine-tune the assessment once dementia has been diagnosed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assessing what stage of dementia a patient is in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the most widely used staging system in dementia research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, the person with suspected dementia is evaluated by a health professional in six areas:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7memory\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 orientation<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 judgment and problem solving<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 community affairs<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 home and hobbies<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 personal care<\/span><\/p>\n

One of five possible stages is assigned.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. CDR-0 – No dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

2. CDR-0.5 – Mild-Memory problems are slight but consistent<\/span><\/p>\n

Some difficulties with time and problem-solving<\/span><\/p>\n

Daily life slightly impaired<\/span><\/p>\n

3. CDR-1 Mild-Memory loss moderate, especially for recent events, and interferes with daily activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderate difficulty with solving problems<\/span><\/p>\n

Cannot function independently at the community affairs<\/span><\/p>\n

Difficulty with daily activities and hobbies, especially complex ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. CDR-2 Moderate-More profound memory loss, only retaining highly learned material<\/span><\/p>\n

Disoriented concerning time and place<\/span><\/p>\n

Lacking good judgment and difficulty handling problems<\/span><\/p>\n

Little or no independent function at home<\/span><\/p>\n

Can only do simple chores and has few interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. CDR-3 Severe<\/span><\/p>\n

Severe memory loss<\/span><\/p>\n

Not oriented concerning time or place<\/span><\/p>\n

No judgment or problem-solving abilities<\/span><\/p>\n

Cannot participate in community affairs outside the home<\/span><\/p>\n

Requires help with all tasks of daily living and requires help with most personal care<\/span><\/p>\n

The patient often experiences incontinence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Functional Assessment Staging (FAST)<\/span><\/p>\n

Another staging method for dementia, the Functional Assessment Staging (FAST), focuses more on an individual’s level of functioning and activities of daily living versus cognitive decline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note: A person may be at a different stage cognitively (GDS stage) and functionally (FAST stage).<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 1 — Normal adult – No functional decline<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 2 — Normal older adult<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patient is aware of some functional decline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 3 — Early Dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

There are noticeable deficits in demanding job situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 4 — Mild Dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

The patient requires help in complicated tasks such as handling finances, balancing a checkbook, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 5 — Moderate Dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

The patient needs help in picking out the appropriate clothes to wear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 6 — Moderately severe Dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistance is required for dressing, bathing, and toileting. Patient experiences urinary and fecal incontinence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 7 — Severe Dementia<\/span><\/p>\n

Speech ability declines to about a half-dozen intelligible words. A progressive lack of ability to walk, sit up, smile, and hold head up.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Global Deterioration Scale (GDS)<\/span><\/p>\n

Developed by Dr. Barry Reisberg, The Global Deterioration Scale gives caregivers and health providers an overview of the progression of dementia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The scale consists of seven different stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stages 1-3 are the pre-dementia stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stages 4-7 are the dementia stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting at stage 5, a patient will need assistance to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Caregivers can get a general idea of what stage an individual is at by observing the individual’s behavior and comparing it to the GDS.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dementia Stages and Scales for Assessment When assessing the stages of Dementia, there are three main scales or systems that are used by most Doctors….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"What are the Dementia Stages and Scales for Assessment? - Alzheimer's and Dementia","description":"Dementia Stages and Scales for Assessment When assessing the stages of Dementia, there are three main scales or systems that are used by most Doctors. The Clini"},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alzheimers-and-dmenetia","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/alzheimers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}