(REAL) The Roll Evaluation of Activities of Life

The REAL offers a useful screening instrument to help professionals assess children’s ability to care for themselves at home, at school, and in the community. This standardized rating scale provides information on the activities of daily living (ADLs) and the independent activities of daily living (IADLs) most common among children.

The REAL helps measure how a child:

• Obtains the supplies needed to complete the activity
• Is or is not able to maintain a safe body position while performing the activity
• Sequences all the steps required
• Problem-solves and makes appropriate and safe choices during the activity

The REAL may be used as a screening tool by medical professionals, occupational therapists, psychologists, mental health workers, and special education teachers in a variety of settings, such as outpatient hospitals, outpatient public or private clinics, mental health facilities, and educational settings. This assessment helps to:

• Determine the need for skilled and supportive services—Presents standardized scores that quantify a child’s ability level and highlight the individual’s deficits and strengths in functional ability. The assessment results help professionals determine services that are needed and quantity of care.
• Develop individualized educational programs and choose intervention services—Can be administered to help identify children with special needs during a school’s early intervention screening process, evaluate children with special needs who transfer from different school districts, and assess the high school special-needs population to develop transition plans.
• Make decisions on placement and living arrangements—Yields valuable information to help professionals and caregivers determine appropriate placement and living arrangements for children with special needs so that they can reach their highest level of independence and best quality of life.
• Evaluate programs—Offers a useful measurement of participants’ abilities prior to and after a program and can highlight program areas that have been successful and program areas that require improvement.
• Conduct research—Provides valid, reliable data and standardized scoring information to support assessment of children for research projects on child development and skill attainment.