Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination (SLUMS)
What It Measures
The SLUMS is a brief cognitive screen for older adults, built to catch problems earlier than the MMSE does. It leans less on orientation questions and more on the executive tasks that tend to slip first.
Eleven items cover orientation to day, year, and state; remembering five objects and recalling them later; a money calculation; naming as many animals as possible in a minute; a digit span; a clock drawing with the hands set to ten minutes to eleven; picking out shapes by size; and a short story followed by questions about it. Totals run 0 to 30. Score bands differ by education level, with lower thresholds for people who did not complete high school.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: The SLUMS is in the public domain and free to administer, with the form and instructions posted by SLU. Note the developers' guidance that users should be trained by viewing a VA-produced video and retrained annually.
Learn More: Two limits. The SLUMS is validated for adults aged 60 and above and not for younger patients. And there is limited normative data and limited work in diverse samples.
