ADL refers to daily activities such as feeding, bathing, personal hygiene, and moving around the house. Occupational therapists evaluate individuals to determine if they need assistance or therapy to perform these activities. Other ADLs include shopping, cleaning, and managing money, which determine if someone can live independently or in an assisted living facility. Occupational therapists can also evaluate patients to determine if they need specialized care in a nursing home.
The phrase “activities of daily living,” or ADL, is used to refer to those people who are elderly, injured or disabled, mentally ill, chronically ill, or who otherwise may potentially be unable to care for themselves. Activities of daily living include elements such as feeding, bathing, practicing personal hygiene and moving around the house, to name a few. An occupational therapist can evaluate an individual to determine if she is able to perform these activities or needs occupational therapy or living assistance.
First, activities of daily living include all activities that need to be done on a daily basis. This includes the ability to get out of bed in the morning without assistance, undress and wash, get dressed for the day, eat food during the day, and at least walk into a chair to sit. It also includes the ability to control one’s biological bodily functions. These are the most basic activities of daily living, as well as the most important, and it is the job of the occupational therapist to determine whether these activities are possible based on a variety of medical factors.
Other activities of daily living that are not necessary to physically survive, but are necessary to live independently, include the ability to shop and prepare meals, clean the house, take medications as scheduled, manage one’s money, and be able to to use the phone to call for help if needed. These are just some of the activities of daily living that determine whether someone can remain to live alone, or should choose to live in an assisted living facility, where meals will be prepared, household chores will be done, and on-site help will be available. Many people often find an assisted living facility to be an acceptable and safe compromise, rather than living alone or being confined to a nursing home.
Many people simply work with an occupational therapist to regain the ability to live independently, for example following an injury or illness such as a stroke. An occupational therapist can continually evaluate a patient to determine whether it is safe for him or her to live independently, or should be placed in an assisted living facility, either short-term or long-term. Patients who are unable to perform most or all of the basic activities of daily living may need to be placed in a nursing home, for more in-depth and specialized care.
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