What Are ADLs and IADLs?

These are terms that you will become familiar with as you begin the process of finding an assisted living facility for a loved one. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are a collection of the daily tasks that a person is required to do to live on their own. It focuses on a loved one’s self-care and tasks around their home to evaluate if they are able to continue to live independently.

The term ADLs is derived from the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL) and assigns points based around independence and dependence. Some of the activities it reviews and assigns points based on the responses are:

• Bathing: They earn one point if they can bath themselves completely or only need help on a single part of the body (i.e., back).
• Dressing: If your loved one needs help with dressing themselves then they will likely not receive a point towards independence.
• Toileting: When a loved one is no longer able to reach the toilet on their own and cannot clean themselves after going to the restroom, they will not receive a point towards independence.
• Mobility: Can your loved one get out of bed without any help? They will likely have a point assigned to the independence column.
• Feeding: If your loved one requires aid (full or partial) to get the food into their mouth then they will likely not receive a point towards dependence.

Depending on the response, the points will be added up with 6 being the highest and 0 being the lowest. This is one of the major tools utilized to determine what level of care a loved one needs.

IADLs

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are some of the skills that a senior need and requires to completely live on their own. This is a step up from the ADLs and can include things like:

• Being able to use technology like phones, tablets, or computers.
• Being able to drive a vehicle safely.
• Keeping a clean house or living area which can include regular maintenance.
• Understanding where their money is, and monthly finances associated with it.
• Knowing their prescriptions and the right amount to take each day.

Utilize the IADLs evaluation to determine if your loved one can live completely independent without any help. Senior Living Specialists can help you during this process to determine what stage of care your loved one might need.