Activities of Daily Living   

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Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) are defined as the following activities:

-  Continence which means the ability to maintain control of bowel and bladder functions;  or when unable to maintain control of bowel or bladder functions, the ability to perform associated personal hygiene (including caring for catheter or colostomy bag). -  Dressing which means putting on and taking off all items of clothing and any necessary braces, fasteners or artificial limbs. -  Eating which means feeding yourself by getting food into the body from a receptacle (such as a plate, cup or table) or by a feeding tube or intravenously. Eating does not include preparing a meal.

-  Toileting which means getting to and from the toilet, getting on and off the toilet, and performing associated personal hygiene.

-  Transferring which means moving into or out of a bed, chair or wheelchair. This does not include the task of getting into or out of the tub or shower.

How is assistance defined when you need help with your Activities of Daily Living?

The need for long-term care is usually defined by two types of assistance which are:

Substantial Assistance is when you need hands-on or standby assistance while you are performing an Activity of Daily Living.

-   Hands-on assistance means the physical assistance of another person without which you would be unable to perform the Activity of Daily Living.

-  Standby assistance means the presence of another person within arm’s reach of You that is necessary to prevent, by physical intervention, injury to you while you are performing the Activity of Daily Living.

Substantial Supervision means you need continual supervision due to your Cognitive Impairment (which may include cueing by verbal prompting, gestures, or other demonstration) by another person that is necessary to protect you from threats to your health or safety (such as may result from wandering).

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