Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study ADL Scale

Synonyms

Alzheimer’s disease co-operative study ADL scale for mild cognitive impairment (ADCS-ADL-MCI); Alzheimer’s disease co-operative study ADL scale for severe impairment (ADCS-ADL-sev).

Description

The ADCS-ADL assesses the competence of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs). It can be completed by a caregiver in questionnaire format, or administered by a clinician/researcher as a structured interview with a caregiver. All responses should relate to the 4 weeks prior to the time of rating. The six basic ADL items each take an ADL (e.g., eating) and provide descriptions of level of competence, with the rater selecting the most appropriate option (e.g., ate without physical help and used a knife; used a fork or spoon but not a knife; used fingers to eat; was usually fed by someone else). The 16 instrumental ADL items follow the format “In the past 4 weeks, did s/he use the telephone,” with the response options of...