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Forum on International Collaborative Research in Rehabilitation
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(METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS: THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONING, DISABILITY, AND HEALTH (ICF))
Matilde Leonardi, MD, Pediatric Neurologist,
Chair
International Scientific Research & Disability Project / World Health
Organization (WHO); Italian National Neurological
Institute Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
Rune J. Simeonsson, Ph.
D., M.S.P.H., Professor of Education, Research
Professor of Psychology
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Abstract
Documentation of childhood disablement is important both in terms of prevention and early intervention efforts and for comparison of findings from research and practice. The nature of functioning unique to childhood and adolescence presents special challenges for measurement of the manifestation of disability in children. Variability in terminology and estimates of disability complicate the comparison and interpretation of data on the nature and scope of childhood disability. A standardized conceptual and taxonomic framework is needed to allow comparison of findings across countries. A universal language is also needed to develop surveillance and screening tools that can be used readily with primary caregivers and other key respondents. This presentation (a) identifies issues related to classification of childhood disability; (b) describes the potential of the ICF for a universal language in research with children; (c) describes activities of a work group to develop an adapted version of the ICF.