Activities of daily living is a commonly used term in the health care and professional caregiving world to describe a person's ability to care for him or herself.  Often the ability or inability to perform specific Activities of Daily Living [ADL's] is used as qualifying criteria for special services or programs.   One could be used to establish disability levels necessary to support a claim for Social Security Disability or other government programs as well as determine the level of assistance required.   Some diseases, such as Huntington's Disease, cause a gradual loss of the ability to provide self-care. The plan of care in such cases may then be habilitative with the goal of helping the person to function at their highest level vs rehabilitative which typically is for temporary health issues such as stroke, major surgery, etc..    In a progressive disease, such as Huntington's, measuring your loved one's Daily Living capabilities on a frequent basis (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) can provide you and their primary care physician the ability to evaluate the severity of the changes and develop a plan of care that allows for meeting both the physical and psycho-social needs of the care recipient.   ADL's are the everyday activities involved in personal care such as feeding, dressing, bathing, moving from a bed to a chair (also called transferring), toileting and walking.   Examples of services that measure ADLs as a part or all of their eligiblity criteria include: Adult Day Services, Assisted Living Home Health Services , The Virginia Caregiver Grant Program Nursing Homes, and Hospice

On this website you will find some of the standard measurement tools used by physicians, insurance companies, therapist, etc. to determine the level of ability (either physically or mentally) of a person with Huntington's Disease to better access their needs.  Where available, a link to the scale is included.    You can request your physician and/or child's school utilize onf of these scales to better understand what help may be required.  In many cases, the caregiver can also complete the survey and use the measurements to discuss a plan of care with the person's physician, a social worker, etc..   For example, the Huntington's Disease ADL  should be completed on a regular basis (every 3 to 6 months) to help assess the changes in the person with HD's ability to handle specific tasks and to discuss a plan of care with their physician.     In many instances, insurance providers (including Medicare/Medicaid) will require one or more of these ratings to be completed  by the physician in order for someone to quality for specific services such as therapists, medical equipment or even long term care insurance.    You can request which survey you want to be utilized and submitted by the primary care physician in accessing the needs of your loved one as some of  the industry standard scales do not specifically cover area's affected by Huntington's Disease.   As a caregiver you should ask the health care professionals in your life to tell you how they use ADLs to determine eligiblity for services or to make a plan of care. Please click on Index to view the various types of ADL's available to help you in caring for someone with HD.