Memory Changes in a Parent: When a Memory Evaluation Can Help

November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and it is a natural time to talk about memory. Families usually call when something has shifted: a parent repeating stories, missing bills, getting lost on a familiar drive. Sometimes the person notices first and is frightened by it.

If you have been filling in the gaps for someone you love more often lately, here is what a memory evaluation looks at, how it works at our office, and how family members can help.

Normal Aging or Something More?

Everyone forgets a name now and then. Concern grows when forgetting starts to affect daily life: paying bills, managing medications, cooking, driving or keeping appointments.

Memory changes are not always dementia. Depression, grief, poor sleep and medication side effects can all look like early dementia, and those causes are often treatable. That is one of the best reasons to get a careful look rather than wait and wonder.

What a Memory Evaluation Measures

A neuropsychological evaluation measures memory, attention, language and problem solving against what is expected for age and education. It helps sort normal aging from something that needs medical follow-up, and it looks at patterns that point to specific causes.

Families come to us with questions like these:

• Memory complaints or confusion
• Questions about dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• Changes in thinking after illness or surgery
• A traumatic brain injury
• Planning for safety, work or driving
• A baseline before changes progress

How It Works at Sugar Land Counseling Center

1. Interview. A clinical interview with Dr. Jenna Turner, Licensed Psychologist, done remotely, with the person and, when helpful, a family member.
2. Testing. The person comes in to our Sugar Land office for paced, standardized tests of memory, attention, language and problem solving, given by our psychometrician, Shelby Taylor.
3. Interpretation and report. Dr. Turner interprets the results and writes the report.
4. Feedback. Dr. Turner meets with you for a feedback session to go over the results in plain language, and you get a copy of the written report.

Testing is paced with breaks, and family members are welcome at the interview and feedback. The written report is designed to go straight to your physician or neurologist.

An evaluation does not replace a visit to a neurologist. It adds information your physician can use alongside medical tests.

How Family Members Can Help

A family member who knows the person well can describe changes the person may not notice. With permission, we invite that person to the interview and the feedback session.

Before the first appointment, it helps to gather:

• A list of medications
• Recent medical records
• Any brain imaging reports

Talk With Us About an Evaluation

Psychological testing at our office is private pay. To ask about scheduling a memory evaluation, call or text 832-876-3232 (opens in a new tab). You can read more on our Memory, Dementia and Cognitive Evaluations page.