Hi Everyone, Hope you are all as well as can be. I have a wee question please, if anyone out there has experience of knowledge of cognitive testing? I have an appointment with a Neuro Psycologist at my local hospital next week for cognitive testing and I have no idea what to expect or what’s involved. He said that It’d be just me and him and would take approx 1 to 2 hours. Can anyone shed any light on this for me please? and also what’s the impact say on DVLA and such like if I fail these tests 
Thanks for reading this Jools X PS: my old laptop is playing up, so sorry if this thread looks a bit weird :-S!
Ooooh this thread does look weird…sorry…do hope you can still read it :-S ! Thanks Jools X
hi jools
the test is a bit like the sort you get in hospital after an operation
nothing to fear
stay calm and pass the test with flying colours
carole x
Thanks for your reply Carole, I just know, like many of us, that I am no way as sharp as I used to be! just being a worrywart I guess, but really not expecting to do well with the tests…an hour or 2 of testing tho…groan! …and worried about the impact if I am rubbish at it ! Jools X
Hi Jools,here’s hoping you’d forgotten about Friday 13th.Means nowt unless you work in a Mirror Repair workshop.
If memory serves,which is one of the reasons I had the ‘Sit Down’ with the Shrink it was quite fun .If you like Pub Quizzes,there were elements similar without the booze and cash prizes.I was starting to have issues with my left hand and this was tested very simply.
A report was generated,can I buggery find my copy, it reckoned I’m not as stupid as my school reports suggested,but my memory was sta…gaps in it occasionally.Theses tests are not pass or fail and are confidential and I don’t remember any questions on the Highway Code.
Have fun,
Wb
What you are going to get is a battery of tests, Jools. You may not even recognise some as tests.
Each one is designed to test a specific cognitive function - a bit like giving a car an MOT test.
It will not be a pass-or-fail thing (like an MOT) but more a matter of determining if you have any areas that could be a problem. Even a low score in one area means nothing on its own like you could be rubbish at mental arithmetic, or word association, but brilliant at what we call mental rotation.
It may be that you have lesions in one particular part of the brain, and the idea is to find out if these have any effect on your normal function. It may be just to get a “baseline” reading, that could be used next year or the year after to see what effect your MS has had.
No matter what the result(s) are, they will not change you in any way, but they may just help your healthcare team to give you more appropriate care. Just like Carole says - nothing to fear!
Geoff
Hey thanks guys…glad tho I’m not getting tested today Wb with it being Friday 13th!!! I just know Geoff that I’ve been struggling cognitively at work, I feel a big change! - mainly focus, concentration, short term memory and processing information…BTW: what’s mental rotation? and as for my concerns re DVLA, it’s just that I very much rely on my car, I have a wee boy and my walking is way too poor to walk him to school etc…and safety as a driver isn’t just viewed purely on a physical basis. Jools X
Hi Jools
Like everyone has said. The congitive tests are nothing to fear. I’ve had a couple of them done and they seem to consist quite a bit of the type of things you find in the brain training games you can play on a DS or online.
It’s not about what you get right or wrong. The answers you give build a picture of the areas of cognition that are affected or not. It’s not an intelligence test so try not to stress about it if you feel you’re not doing very well with some parts of it.
I found it really helpful as it confirmed that I wasn’t going mad, there was a problem with certain bits of my cognition and we then discussed ways to cope with the problems I was having.
Sue
x
Hi Sue, my wee boy has the brain trainer DSi games like you say, I used to play them and was very good at them, rubbish now, he always asks his Dad to join in these days :-S I’m as I said, I’m a bit of a worrywart and my MS has been latley and still is very active just now, off work, active lesions on MRI scans and back at Neuro next week for meds review and these cog tests, so pretty stressed just now I guess…but will try and take them in my stride! thanks again folks Jools X
Hi Jools,
Mental Rotation - you get a picture of a 3-d shape, and have to pick out another like it from a set which all appear to be oriented differently. Or it could be which shape will fit into this hole - and you have to rotate the things in your head to see which one fits…
Just approach the tests as a set of DS games on paper - and have fun.
Geoff
Thanks Geoff…I’ll try the have fun bit 
Jools X
Well guys I’ve had my cognitive testing!
First few questions were like: what’s the month? what’s the year?
Then a lot of repeating numbers, copying pictures and following sequences.
I found it okay, same parts I know I was fine with, other bits not too sure…
It was really tiring though, all the mental focus, cause afterwards I didn’t do a great deal, yet I hit the fatigue wall big time a few hours later ! :-S
Apparently they now analyse the results and compare it to what they think I’d have got pre-MS, which they will gage by my job and level of qualifications gained.
Jools X