“Pattern” is defined as a configuration of behaviours that occur sequentially over time and that provide an adequate structure that helps define and identify the life styles of an individual, irrespectively of the quality of care or health problems of the user. Within the framework of Geriatric Nursing, I have carried out a descriptive study on the type and quality of care that a an older independent person administers to him or herself, as well as the difficulties that he or she may encounter in Activities of Daily Life (ADLs) that characterise the day to day of the studied individual in this case. The objective of this exposition is not to assess the health status of the person but to study in an orderly fashion the type and degree of care that a self-sufficient elderly person may be able to self-administer. Data collection was carried out by means of personal direct interview, which provided a very personal touch to the case, while the organisational structure corresponded to M. Gordon’s functional patterns.
Aging in itself can lead to disabilities in the individual that limit the activities of daily life; however, after the work herein depicted was conducted, I have become aware that it is not aging what limits our abilities but our bad adjustment to the situation or the lack to look for alternatives to compensate the deficits caused by aging.