1. Most activities of daily living (ADL) scales currently available for assessment of the older person's functional level were developed for the physically (not cognitively) impaired individual. 2. The Refined ADL Assessment Scale (RADL) measures three dimensions of functional ability: the components of a given task in sequential order, degree of assistance needed to carry out the task, and the amount of time needed to complete the task. 3. Each of the 14 tasks on the RADL is broken down into its simpler component parts, a process called task analysis. 4. The RADL may be used as a guide to providing assistance with the basic ADLs and to evaluate an individual's improvement with treatment.