ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTIONAL ABILITY IN ALZHEIMER-DISEASE - A REVIEW AND A PRELIMINARY-REPORT ON THE CLEVELAND SCALE FOR ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING

Assessment of activities of daily living (ADL) in Alzheimer disease (A D) is critical in establishing the diagnosis, monitoring disease progr ession, evaluating the efficacy of treatment interventions, and determ ining the need for health and social services. The proper method to me asure ADL depends on the purposes to which the scale is to be put. Exi sting ADL scales differ as to the type of behaviors assessed, the natu re of the observations made, and the manner in which the observations are quantified. These scales were not specifically designed to evaluat e changes in the nature and extent of the broad spectrum of functional difficulties seen in individuals with AD. We describe the Cleveland S cale for Activities of Daily Living (CSADL), an informant-based instru ment designed to expand upon the capacity of existing physical and ins trumental ADL scales by assessing both premorbid and current component acts (e.g., initiation versus implementation) of daily living functio ns.