How drawing a clock can indicate whether you have memory loss disorders like Alzheimer's.
It seems strange to think that anyone would forget how to draw a clock, and even stranger that it could be indicative of Alzheimers, but once you analyze what indicators go into Alzheimer's screening, it can seem to make more sense.[1]
First, those who have Alzheimers typically struggle to interpret a traditional clock as it requires someone to interpret the placement of the hands on a clock and the time they are meant to represent. This spatial comprehension tends to be lost with the development of AD (Alzheimer's disease). Along with this, some of the skills required for interpreting and drawing a clock are:
Executive function: mental skills involving working memory and flexible thinking
Visual-spatial ability: ability to perceive objects in space and relativity to one another
Motor programming: ability to perceive sequences of movements in an abstract form
Attention and concentration [2]
The cumulative lack of these skills can cause a seemingly simple task of drawing a traditional clock to prove very challenging if not impossible depending on the severity of the condition.
[3]
Here is a rubric depicting what the drawing can indicate. Those with early AD can have only slightly warped interpretations of a traditional clock but clocks drawn by those with late AD can hardly resemble a clock at all.
How to conduct the test:
The clock-drawing test can be given by a doctor or other qualified professional. It only requires a pencil and a piece of paper with a pre-drawn circle on it.
The doctor will first ask the person to draw the numbers on the face of the clock. Next, the person will be asked to draw the hands to show a specific time. Different times can be used, but many doctors choose 10 minutes after 11 as a standard value. [4]
Limitations:
The simplicity of the test comes with pros and cons. Only takes a couple of minutes and requires only a pen and paper. However, due to its broad application, it cannot be distinguished between various conditions, like Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, and delirium[5]. Thus, specific diagnoses should not be made without the supervision of a trained medical professional.
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