Senior woman washing her hands
Infographic

Aging - Record of Abilities Infographic

AIDE Canada
A record of abilities is a simple way to document and/or illustrate a person’s functional and cognitive abilities over time. It can be helpful when working with or caring for older individuals with developmental disability. This infographic can help you get started using this tool.
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TIP SHEET
Aging – Record of Abilities
A record of abilities is simply a way to document and/or illustrate a person’s functional
and cognitive abilities over time.
A video alongside the NTG-EDSD would
be a good personal record of abilities.
Use a cell phone or video to make short
recordings of the person.
Select tasks the person is familiar with and able
to do.
Include some tasks to illustrate: gait/ambulation
(aided or unaided as necessary), an activity of
daily living, a ne motor task, and language/
communication
Annual updates should be a repeat of the
original tasks recorded.
Sometimes the original record of abilities is referred to as a baseline. With age, we experience changes
that may aect our abilities. A personal record of abilities can help identify changes by comparing the
abilities we had before with those held at a future date. There are dierent ways to document a personal
record of abilities. One way is to use the National Task Group – Early Detection and Screen for Dementia
(NTG-EDSD) and a short video.
The NTG-EDSD
Documents both functional and cognitive
abilities as well as health history.
No special training required; the manual helps
explain each section.
The NTG-EDSD and Manual are available in
multiple languages for free. Download from the
NTG website: www.the-ntg.org/ntg-edsd
Have a look at it and decide if it will suit your
purposes.
If you decide to use the NTG-EDSD
Remember it is NOT a diagnostic tool, it simply
documents functional and cognitive abilities
over time to help identify changes.
If there are concerns about changes that
become apparent in completing the form, make
an appointment to see a healthcare provider to
discuss the changes.
Highlight the NTG-EDSD section(s) on the form
that are concerning and bring this to the
appointment.
If your healthcare provider is not familiar with
the NTG-EDSD, bring a copy of the NTG-EDSD
Manual to the appointment.
Contact
Nancy Jokinen, MSW, PhD E: Nancy.Jokinen@unbc.ca
Adjunct Professor, UNBC School of Social Work Board Member, National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG),
Co-lead, NTG Canadian Consortium on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia.
Keep the personal
record of abilities in
a safe place and
update it on an annual
basis unless on a more
often basis is required
to monitor a
change.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

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