ADL evaluations in long-term-care facilities.

[n the August 1994 issue of AjOr. authors Atwood, Holm, and James ("Activities of Daily Living Capabilities and Values of Long-Term-Care Facility Residents," pp. 710-716) concluded that residents of long-term-care facilities tended to report greater ability in activities of daily living (ADL) than did staff members. In my many years as an occupational therapist, [ have also found this to be true. Perhaps these residents viewed their inabilities in ADL as temporary; after all, in their 80-something years of living, their dependence in ADL may be recent, such as the result of a fraclllred hip that happened only last month. And they may continue to see themselves as or state that they are independent in their ADL abilities. Thus, when asking residents to describe their ADL status, [ specify the time frame. For exampJe, instead of asking "Do you need help with bathing'" ] might ask "Did you bathe yourself this morning?" "Did you need some help with bathing this morning?" or "What did you need help with this morning while bathing?" This helps reveal to both of us the true current ADL abilities. [ hope this small revelation of mine can be useful to other occupational therapists doing ADL evaluations in long-term-care facilities. Debra L. Karplus, OTRIL Champaign, Illinois