There are specific activities, called activities of daily living or ADLs, that indicate how well your elderly family member is able to keep up with the basic demands of life. For someone who is striving to be as independent as possible, having help with these ADLs can actually be a beneficial way to continue to age in place.
Functional Mobility
Functional mobility is mobility that your senior requires to be an active adult every day. That covers the mobility involved in getting up from a seated or prone position, walking around, and navigating obstacles safely. Your senior is still considered mobile if she’s using assistive tools, but her mobility may change over time. As your elderly family member’s health changes, so too can her ability to remain mobile.
Eating
Preparing food, gathering ingredients from the store, and cooking are all part of the eating process. But in terms of ADLs, what’s really important is whether your senior actually is eating. Specifically, that can mean that she’s able to feed herself and that she does so on a regular basis. If she’s using assistive devices, this still counts as feeding herself. Having occasional assistance can also count.
Dressing and Bathing
Bathing and dressing herself is likely something that your senior has done for years and years. As she ages, though, those tasks can become more and more challenging. At first your elderly family member might modify these activities in some ways to make them easier for her to do. Or she might stop doing them altogether. Bathing and changing clothing are both important for hygiene because your senior’s skin becomes more fragile and susceptible to infections.
Dealing with Toileting and Continence
When your elderly family member is able to go to the bathroom and handle those activities on her own, she’s experiencing success with another ADL. As with some of the other activities of daily living, she might be relying on a few assistive devices, but that still counts as success. This ADL includes continence concerns, too. If your elderly family member is able to manage the activities around continence, like properly using incontinence products, she’s able to count that as a win.
As your elderly family member starts to have more difficulties with activities of daily living it’s important to line up assistance for her and for you. Home care providers can help both of you to deal with these big changes in your senior’s abilities.
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING HOME CARE IN OLD TOWN, IL FOR AN AGING LOVED ONE, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT BRIGHTSTAR CARE CHICAGO. CALL TODAY: 312.382.8888.
Functional Mobility
Functional mobility is mobility that your senior requires to be an active adult every day. That covers the mobility involved in getting up from a seated or prone position, walking around, and navigating obstacles safely. Your senior is still considered mobile if she’s using assistive tools, but her mobility may change over time. As your elderly family member’s health changes, so too can her ability to remain mobile.
Eating
Preparing food, gathering ingredients from the store, and cooking are all part of the eating process. But in terms of ADLs, what’s really important is whether your senior actually is eating. Specifically, that can mean that she’s able to feed herself and that she does so on a regular basis. If she’s using assistive devices, this still counts as feeding herself. Having occasional assistance can also count.
Dressing and Bathing
Bathing and dressing herself is likely something that your senior has done for years and years. As she ages, though, those tasks can become more and more challenging. At first your elderly family member might modify these activities in some ways to make them easier for her to do. Or she might stop doing them altogether. Bathing and changing clothing are both important for hygiene because your senior’s skin becomes more fragile and susceptible to infections.
Dealing with Toileting and Continence
When your elderly family member is able to go to the bathroom and handle those activities on her own, she’s experiencing success with another ADL. As with some of the other activities of daily living, she might be relying on a few assistive devices, but that still counts as success. This ADL includes continence concerns, too. If your elderly family member is able to manage the activities around continence, like properly using incontinence products, she’s able to count that as a win.
As your elderly family member starts to have more difficulties with activities of daily living it’s important to line up assistance for her and for you. Home care providers can help both of you to deal with these big changes in your senior’s abilities.
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING HOME CARE IN OLD TOWN, IL FOR AN AGING LOVED ONE, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT BRIGHTSTAR CARE CHICAGO. CALL TODAY: 312.382.8888.