Assisted Living Care: What’s the Difference Between ADLs and IADLs?
When you stop to think about it, there is a huge variety of tasks that every adult performs each day as a part of their routine. Between waking up in the morning and going to bed at night, you may perform hundreds of individual tasks that serve many different purposes.
When older adults enter assisted living care, it’s usually because they need help performing some or all of these tasks. In order to provide the best care possible, assisted living professionals separate these tasks into two categories — ADLs and IADLs.
What are ADLs?
ADLs, or activities of daily living, are the basic tasks people perform each day to care for themselves and safely interact with the world around them. Some of the activities categorized as ADLs include:
Brushing teeth
Using the bathroom
Showering or bathing
Moving from room to room
Getting up or sitting down
The staff at assisted living communities, as well as in-home caretakers, are equipped to help older adults with these tasks.
What are IADLs?
IADLs are similar to ADLs, but they expand upon those basic tasks and incorporate some more complex ideas. IADLs, or instrumental activities of daily living, can be described as the next level up from ADLs. Some of these include:
Cooking
Managing medical needs
Financial management
Driving or taking public transit
Trained caregivers will determine whether an individual needs more assistance with ADLs, IADLs, or both. Some IADLs, such as managing finances, can be placed into the hands of a trained professional in a specific field rather than a healthcare worker.
How Assisted Living Facilities Manage ADLs and IADLs
People can require the services of an in-home caregiver or an assisted living facility for many reasons. While many of those using these services are older adults who need help with the typical challenges of aging, some people require assisted living following a serious injury or health event.
Individuals who need assistance for different reasons will also have differing goals when it comes to their ADLs and IADLs.
When caregivers are assisting older adults, ADLs are the first priority. This means that healthcare professionals will focus on helping their clients perform the basic functions of daily self-care before moving on to anything more complex.
If the individual’s ability and mobility are improving, they will move onto IADLs. However, many healthcare workers will handle both ADLs and IADLs indefinitely for their clients.
Enjoy Retirement With High-Quality Assisted Living
Your golden years should be filled with quality time with loved ones, seeking entertainment, and leisurely enjoying your retirement. With help from an assisted living facility or in-home caregiver, you can safely savor this period of life.