Better Every Day™ Assessments

Every six months, we ask our clients to participate in physical and quality-of-life assessments. This information ensures that they are on the appropriate path toward success and gives them an opportunity to gauge their progress. Information from assessments allows our clients to start a constructive conversation with their neurologist/movement disorder specialist and allows them to track their progress.

Assessments allow us to create a specialized program for our clients, focusing on the specific areas that will help them move and feel better. As they participate in classes over the next six months, clients will experience changes in:

  • Stability
  • Power
  • Strength
  • Balance
  • Mobility
  • Gait
  • Posture
  • Flexibility, and
  • Mental focus

Using information from client assessments, we have created four levels of ability. The blue, orange, and green color levels are determined using the aggregate score that a client has earned on their physical assessment. 

  • The BLUE level is for clients who can workout without limitations and are capable of pushing to the max.
  • The ORANGE level is for clients who can workout with some limitations. Most orange clients can get on and off the floor without assistance.
  • The GREEN level is for clients who do not require a chair or walker and can workout without a care partner, but do require more accommodations than orange clients. 
  • The YELLOW level is for clients who require the use of a wheelchair, walker and require a care partner for chair-based programming.

Since opening our doors in 2015, we have been committed to implementing a rigorous data collection and analysis program using validated measures. To date, our results show that motor performance and quality of life were stable or improved over a 12-month period in the group we studied, illustrating the power of a holistic community-based approach to wellness for people with Parkinson’s disease and their families.

As a 100 percent donor-supported organization, aggregate assessment results provide support for our approach and drive our conversations with funders, the key to keeping our services free of charge.