The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the version for children and youth as a tool in child habilitation/early childhood intervention--feasibility and usefulness as a common language and frame of reference for practice.
Early childhood intervention and habilitation services for children with disabilities operate on an interdisciplinary basis. It requires a common language between professionals, and a shared framework for intervention goals and intervention implementation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the version for children and youth (ICF-CY) may serve as this common framework and language. This overview of studies implemented by our research group is based on three research questions: Do the ICF-CY conceptual model have a valid content and is it logically coherent when investigated empirically? Is the ICF-CY classification useful for documenting child characteristics in services? What difficulties and benefits are related to using ICF-CY model as a basis for intervention when it is implemented in services? A series of studies, undertaken by the CHILD researchers are analysed. The analysis is based on data sets from published studies or master theses. Results and conclusion show that the ICF-CY has a useful content and is logically coherent on model level. Professionals find it useful for documenting children's body functions and activities. Guidelines for separating activity and participation are needed. ICF-CY is a complex classification, implementing it in services is a long-term project.
Björck-Åkesson
Eva
E
School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.
Wilder
Jenny
J
Granlund
Mats
M
Pless
Mia
M
Simeonsson
Rune
R
Adolfsson
Margareta
M
Almqvist
Lena
L
Augustine
Lilly
L
Klang
Nina
N
Lillvist
Anne
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000145:classification* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical