Table 3: Thanksgiving dinner conversation responses.
| Cognitive flexibility | Patient's possible responses | Assessment of responses |
| Good | Clearly, [name of family member] cooks the best turkey but we all bring our specialty dish. |
Can appreciate the closeness with family. |
| Fair (Average cognition) | I like everything, it doesn’t matter to me. [Patient wonders why this is being asked] | Passive in regard to family context. This passive stance may note their limited motivation to comply with treatment. |
| Limited (Below average cognition) | Not sure? [Looking puzzled] I hope I don't have to bring anything? [Feeling embarrassed] I don't know. [Indifference] |
Sees self as an outsider and fears needing to participate. Non-adherence is likely due to limited ability to tolerate the steps and time it takes for recovery. |
| Limited (Below average cognition due to learning weakness) | Not sure who cooks. [Displays a sense of failure, an experience with which he or she seems to be familiar] Begins sharing their view of Thanksgiving and within a few sentences they change topics without being aware. |
Struggles in knowing what physician is asking and quickly loses sense of what question was about. Will likely view treatment on as needed basis and not understand the need for consistency. |
| Impaired (Intellectual Disability) | Is unable to understand, and the clinician will need to find a more reasonable form of verbal interaction. |
Usually are accompanied by family or caretakers that explain reasons for visit. |