Information on Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)
The term "activities of daily living," or ADLs, refers to the basic tasks of
everyday life, such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and transferring.
When people are unable to perform these activities, they need help in order
to cope, either from other human beings or mechanical devices or both.
Although persons of all ages may have problems performing the ADLs,
prevalence rates are much higher for the elderly than for the non-elderly.
Within the elderly population, ADL prevalence rates rise steeply with
advancing age and are especially high for persons aged 85 and over
(Rivlin and Wiener, 1988).
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Excerpt from: Measuring
the Activities of Daily Living: Comparisons Across National Surveys
http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/meacmpes.htm
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ADLs (activities of daily living): The things we normally do in daily living
including any daily activity we perform for self-care (such as feeding
ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming), work, homemaking, and leisure.
The ability or inability to perform ADLs can be used as a very practical
measure of ability/disability in many disorders.
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2152
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