Genre 3
This is an interview/ evaluation done with a 67-year-old man named Bill. He is in the middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. These are the first stages where problems are noted in a clinical observation. Typically, patients in this stage are considered to have a mild cognitive impairment, have word finding difficulties, poor reading retention, problems remembering their own personal history, and deficits in knowledge of recent events, (Bloom and Ferrand, 1997).

C= clinician
B= Bill

C: Hi Bill, how are you today?

B: Hi, I'm ok.

C: My name is Andrea, I am a speech therapist, and I just want to sit and chat with you, if that is ok.

B: Sure

C: Can you tell me your full name?

B: William Frank Jones

C: Ok, good. Now, can you tell me the name of your daughter who brought you here today?

B: Um, I have a daughter, but I can't remember her name. She's out in the waiting room.

C: Yes, I spoke to her earlier. Where do you live? Can you tell me your address?

B: I live in a blue house on a long street beside a church.

C: Do you know your house number or zip code?

B: No.

C: Ok, tell me how old you are?

B: I'm 67, and I'll be 68 in October.

C: What day in October?

B: Um, well, sometime in the middle.

C: Ok, good. Now, tell me about your job, where did you work before you retired?

B: I worked in the mines for 50 years. I worked my way up from $30 a month starting out to $30 an hour when I retired. I used to get up for work at 4AM every morning, and my late wife, Linda, would have breakfast ready and a sack lunch packed for me. She always made the best lunches. Every day she would pack me a bologna sandwich with cheese and mustard, crackers, carrots, and a piece of homemade dessert.

C: Wow, sound like you had a very caring wife. When did she pass away?

B: I don't know. A few years ago maybe.

C: Well I'm sorry to hear that. Bill, can you tell me what you ate for breakfast this morning?

B: Um, I think I had, no, I'm not sure. My daughter fixed it, so you could ask her.

C: Ok.

C: Bill, I’m going to show you some picture cards and I want you to name the object on each card. Do you understand what I want you to do?

B: Yes.

C: (Holds up picture of a cup). Bill, what is this a picture of?

B: A cup.

C: Good. (Holds up picture of keys). And what are these?

B: Uh, those are, um, those things, oh you know, they start your car, and unlock your door, you can never find them when you need them. Shoot, I don’t know.

C: Keys.

B: Yeah, keys.

C: Okay, let’s try another one. (Holds up picture of a dog). What is this?

B: That’s a dog, right?

C: Yes, you’re right.

C: All right Bill, now I’m going to ask you to read me a couple sentences and then I’ll ask you a couple questions. Is that okay with you?

B: Okay, fine.

C: (Holds up a card that reads, “My brother and my sister go to the store. They buy milk, eggs, bread, and sugar. The groceries cost $8.00.”) Please read these sentences out loud.

B: My brother and my sister go to the store. They buy milk, eggs, bread, and sugar. The groceries cost $8.00.

C: Good. Now, Bill, who went to the store?

B: My brother.

C: Anyone else?

B: No.

C: Okay, what did he buy at the store?

B: Milk, cheese, no, not cheese, um…. bread, and tobacco.

C: All right. And how much did the groceries cost?

B: About $4.00

C: Okay. Nice job.

C: Well that’s all we need to do today Bill. Thank you for talking with me and maybe I’ll be seeing you again soon. I’ll take you back out to the waiting room to meet your daughter.

B: Okay. See you later.

Clinician’s notes:
Bill is exhibiting the signs that would typically be seen in a person that is in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. He could remember some details of his distant past quite well, but didn’t know what he had for breakfast. His naming skills, and reading retention showed deficits. A good therapy plan would include activities such as the ones done in this interview/evaluation to assess the increasing deficits. Also, some compensatory strategies could be taught. A good activity would be to make a memory book including pictures of things that are important to Bill.