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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Feb 21;60(3):485–492. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03867.x

Table 1.

Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Stage Threshold Definitions

Stages for ADLs Threshold Definitions for ADLStages
ADL 0 = NO Difficulty:
None, absent, or negligible ADL limitation		 Is the individual able to eat, toilet, dress, transfer, bathe, and walk without difficulty (all=0)?
ADL I = MILD Difficulty:
Slight or low level ADL limitation		 Is the individual able to eat and toilet without difficulty (=0), dress and transfer with no more than some difficulty (≤1), and bathe and walk with no more than a lot of difficulty (≤2)?
ADL II = MODERATE Difficulty:
Medium or fair ADL limitation		 Is the individual able to eat without difficulty (=0), use the toilet, dress, and transfer with no more than a lot of difficulty (≤2), and possibly unable to bathe and walk (≤3)?
ADL III = SEVERE Difficulty:
High or extreme ADL limitation		 Is the individual able to perform at least one ADL (i.e., eat, toilet, dress, transfer, bathe or walk) with or without assistance but does not meet the defined threshold for stage II?
ADL IV = COMPLETE Difficulty:
Total ADL limitation		 Is the individual UNABLE to eat, toilet, dress, transfer, bathe and walk (all=3)?