Article

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.

Langue : ANGLAIS