“I think we saw paraphasias and impaired recall during that televised press conference in Paradise, California. He kept calling the town “Pleasure,” even when corrected. His publicly available videos are hard to watch and are not like formal assessment, obviously. They often capture him when he is performing or promoting something, and saying whatever he thinks the crowd wants. If there is footage of his more unguarded moments, (perhaps when he thinks he is between takes), that would be informative. On the other hand, sometimes he doesn’t care about what he is saying and does not seem to make an effort to get things right. The “man, woman, camera” thing, those were all lazy picks. Sometimes it seems that he believes that it doesn’t matter what he says, as long as he sort of follows his well-rehearsed stock phrases and formulas. (So far, he has been correct. There have been no consequences. And as you point out, even well rehearsed words and phrases are deserting him.) As you say, there are unmistakable clues of progressive impairment and decline. I am reminded that there are many people who are not available for testing for various reasons, including their own resistance, and doctors have to rely on other sources, like family members. For these public figures, we have far more information than we have ever had, for any patients. The problem is, how to assess the unique information that we have, with its biases and limitations. I think you are pointing the way forward.”
aafan via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/15/24