Nursing Home Blog

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What are ADLs and IADLs?

Posted on Thu, May 29, 2008 at 8:19 pm

If you are looking into placing your loved one in a nursing home or retirement home, you will be asked about ADLs and IADLs. But, what do these terms mean?

ADL – Activities of Daily Living – tasks that a person MUST be able to perform to live independently, more specifically:

– maintaining continence

– eating

– dressing

– bathing

– transferring (getting in and out of bed, sitting down and getting up from a chair)

– toileting (being able to use the toilet).

IADL – Instrumental Activities of Daily Living – tasks that are important, but not critical, for someone to be able to do in order to live independently, more specifically

- using the phone

- shopping

- preparing meals

- housekeeping

- laundry

- using transportation

- managing medications

- able to handle finances

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