ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what is meant by cognition and look at the separate aspects in more detail, especially how they can affect someone’s capacity to make a decision. It discusses the usefulness of cognitive assessments in relation to mental capacity assessments. The Adults with Incapacity Act that the factors required to have mental capacity are to understand, make and communicate the decision, retain the memory of the decision, and act on the decision. Capacity is also decision-specific, and people lacking capacity in one area may retain it in another, even if the decisions are related and appear to be similar. Speed of information processing should be considered during a capacity assessment, as it will affect the person’s ability to take in and process information that is given to him. Consulting a Speech and Language Therapist before the capacity assessment would be recommended if the person has any speech or language difficulties.
