Senior Helpers, one of the largest in-home senior care companies in the country, has created the Senior Helpers' Stay At Home Score quiz. It's a quick, eight-question quiz adult children take to help determine whether their parents can live independently in their own homes.
The quiz was created for Senior Helpers by Dr. John Bowling, a professor at Southern Oregon University and an expert on senior care and positive aging.
"Aging parents may insist they're well enough to live in their own homes even if they're not," Bowling says. "I developed this quiz to give adult children a guideline to determine their parents' needs, whether they are self-sufficient, if they can live at home with help from an in-home caregiver or if it's time to move them to a place where they can get round-the-clock care."
Here are some sample questions - answers range from "never" to "always":
1. Support: My parent has easy access to a caring support system of family and friends that he or she can rely on for daily assistance with physical, financial, and emotional needs. These family members and friends can provide this support willingly, without compromising their own daily lives and schedules.
2. Mobility: My parent is very mobile and can walk indoors and outdoors easily without falling. He or she can get into and out of bed, chairs, showers and tubs easily, and can climb stairs without slipping or pausing. He or she can safely operate an automobile and navigate city streets and highways.
To access the quiz, visit www.stayathomescore.com. For more information on Senior Helpers, visit www.seniorhelpers.com.