Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are activities that allow an individual to live independently in a community. They are more complex than Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and require planning and thinking. While ADLs are basic self-care tasks like bathing, IADLs include more complex tasks such as cooking, cleaning, transportation, laundry, and managing finances. The ability to perform IADLs can significantly improve the quality of life, although they are not necessary for functional living. IADLs are used to measure how well an individual can live on their own, and difficulties with IADLs can be an early sign of cognitive impairment or dementia. Medical professionals, like physicians, can assess an individuals IADLs by asking questions about their ability to perform tasks such as cooking, cleaning, transportation, laundry, and managing finances.