What questions assess orientation to time and place, and what is considered normal?

• A. Ask about favorite color
• B. Ask about childhood home
• C. Ask about last meal
• D. Ask date, day of week, season, location; normal: accurate orientation to person, place, time

Answer: (D)

Orientation to time and place is tested by asking straightforward questions about current date, day of the week, season, and where you are. These items check whether a person knows the present time and their current location, which are key aspects of mental status. The best approach is to ask: what is today’s date, what day of the week is it, what season is it, and where are we right now. Normal performance means the person accurately reports time and place, and, by standard, also correctly identifies who they are. This combination—time and place orientation with accurate responses—is what indicates intact orientation. Other questions mix in different domains (for example, favorite color doesn’t assess orientation, childhood home tests remote memory, last meal assesses recent memory), so they don’t specifically measure orientation to time and place.