ADL= Activities of Daily Living
Eating: Can your loved-one feed themselves? Please note that this ADL refers to feeding themselves specifically; if your loved-one cannot prepare meals but can still feed themselves then they pass this ADL. Common eating complications are a physical inability to swallow, difficulty chewing food, and trouble moving food from the plate to the mouth.
Bathing & Hygiene: When you visit, is your loved-one clean? Do they bathe themselves on a regular basis? Do they maintain good dental hygiene? Notable queues that your loved one cannot maintain healthy hygiene practices are greasy skin, unkempt hair, long and dirty fingernails, or a foul body odor.
Dressing: Can your loved one physically dress themselves? If so, have they retained the ability to make acceptable clothing decisions? Due to a limited range of mobility, your loved-one may experience a particular difficulty with dressing their lower region (such as socks, underwear, and pants) or their upper region (such as shirts and coats). Your loved-one may also experience pain when straining for lower-extremity or upper-extremity dressing. Dramatically mismatched outfits, inappropriate clothing choices (such as nightgowns or pajamas in public), or wearing underwear overtop clothes, are also signs your loved-one can no longer dress themselves.
Grooming: Does your loved-one comb their hair? Does your loved-one keep their toenails and fingernails filed and tidy? Is their makeup properly applied (and properly removed), or is their facial hair properly maintained?
Mobility: Mobility is often judged on whether or not your loved one can move around without the assistance of a walker, wheelchair, or cane. Mobility also applies to your loved-one’s ability to successfully get out of bed, get onto and off-of the toilet, ascend and descend stairs, as well as sitting and rising from the couch or other furniture.
Toileting & Continence: This category considers both bowel and bladder management. Can your loved-one successfully use the restroom without assistance? Are they physically capable?
