Capacity evaluations in older adults: Neuropsychological perspectives

Abstract

Aging necessarily brings with it changes in one's functional abilities, and this often occurs in the setting of declining cognition. Changes in mental capacities may be subtle, even almost imperceptible, or they may be so glaringly apparent that no one can deny their presence. Older adults with cognitive decline are clearly vulnerable, and this places them at greater risk for abuse and exploitation. Neuropsychologists are becomingly increasingly called upon to consult about such mental capacities in the elderly, to provide opinions to families and courts of law regarding one's abilities to care for themselves as well as make decisions about their health care, finances and other important matters. In this chapter we discuss the role of the neuropsychologist in such capacity evaluations and provide an assessment framework for professionals who may be new to this interesting aspect of practice.