The Revised Kingston Standardized Cognitive Assessment

The original Kingston Standardized Cognitive Assessment (KSCA) was designed to assess cognitive functioning in the elderly with suspected organic brain damage (i.e. dementia). It was specifically designed to be a relatively quickly administered assessment tool available to mental health professionals who were not trained in specialized cognitive assessment techniques. It was introduced over a decade ago to bridge a gap between brief, narrowly focused rating scales, and intensive, expensive, full neuropsychological assessments. Recently, a revision of the KSCA was completed. This revision includes the addition of a word-list memory task with immediate recall, delayed recall and recognition formats, as well as new norms for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The updated norms reflect the abilities of higher-functioning (community-dwelling) patients. In order to facilitate the Revised KSCAs use we have developed a new scoring and analysis form as well as a more comprehensive scoring and administration manual. These changes have resulted in better detection of earlier Alzheimer's disease and use of comparison groups that reflect the changing referral base. The structure of the revised scale and updated normative data are described. An illustrative clinical case example is also provided.