Addressing Cognitive Decline: Evaluating the Effects of a Cognitive Training Program for Individuals with Mild to Moderate Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive training offers a nonpharmacological method for increasing or stabilizing cognitive functioning through the use of guided practice on a set of tasks designed to reflect particular cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, language, or executive function. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive training program for individuals with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Six participants who displayed mild to moderate cognitive impairment were recruited at a local care facility and participated in a cognitive training program that consisted of 24 sessions conducted over 12 weeks. At the request of the facility’s activities staff, the program was repeated in its entirety a second time. Thus, participants were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological assessments in a pre-post-secondary-post manner. Effect size data indicates that the cognitive training program offers promise for improvement or stabilization on a number of cognitive domains, although patterns are variable. Results of this study suggest that this cognitive training program may be a useful tool for individuals with mild cognitive impairment