16 Oct Using Daily Living Activities to Assess Your Parents’ Care Needs
Without objective metrics, it can prove challenging to know just when to bring in extra care for your parents or help them transition to an elder care home in Redlands. Thankfully, there are some metrics you can use. All you have to do is take a look at their daily living activities. With a glimpse into their daily lives, you can assess your parents’ care needs and decide if it is time for additional support. To help you get started, here’s a guide on what you need to know about using daily living activities to gauge your parents’ care requirements.
What are Activities of Daily Living?
Activities of daily living are all the things people do every day to care for themselves, such as:
- Making food and eating
- Getting dressed
- Bathing
- Toileting
- Walking
- Driving
- Making phone calls
- Managing their money
- Shopping
- Doing laundry
- Taking medications
When your parents cannot complete their normal activities independently, their quality of life may decrease unless they receive assistance or accommodations. Before you can get them the help they need, or discuss the move to an assisted living facility, you have to assess their ability to complete each task independently. You can do so on your own and with help from a physician.
Assessing Daily Living Activity Levels
As you spend time with your parents, you can start to see where they might need a little or a lot of extra assistance. When your parents need help with an activity, note just how much assistance is required at that time. Keep track of activities where your parents are dependent on others for the majority of steps, noting where their difficulties lie. With these observations, you can develop an understanding of their challenges and even learn how to best help them.
Finding the Right Level of Assistance for Your Parents
If your parents are completing most of their activities independently, then simply find accommodations for difficult tasks and plan to redo the assessment at a later date. Repeating this process monthly is a great idea. As more and more difficulties arise, you can start talking about how to improve your parents’ daily lives with extra care or a move to an assisted living community.
So, get started today and assess your parents’ quality of life in living independently. Take an honest look at their ability to complete daily living activities on their own. Then, start the conversation about making accommodations, bringing in extra care, or transitioning to an Angelus Oaks nursing home, as needed to maximize your parents’ wellbeing. When they are ready to discuss the move to an assisted living community, contact our team anytime to schedule a tour.