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Aim: To examine the most relevant aspects of functioning of adults with cerebral palsy (CP) from their perspective, in order to develop an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for adults with CP. Method: We conducted six focus group discussions with adults with CP without intellectual disability and seven interviews with adults with CP with intellectual disability and caregivers, addressing all ICF components. Meaningful concepts were identified from verbatim transcripts and linked to ICF categories by two independent researchers. Results: In total, 31 adults with CP without intellectual disability (mean [SD] age 46y 1mo [14y 1mo]; 20 females, 11 males; Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] levels I–IV) and seven adults with CP and intellectual disability (mean [SD] age 25y 8mo [6y 8mo]; four females, three males; GMFCS levels III–V) participated. We identified 132 unique second‐level categories: 47 body functions, seven body structures, 43 activities and participation, and 35 environmental factors. The most frequently mentioned categories were emotional function, pain, muscle tone function, support of family, products and technology, and health services. Interpretation: Adults with CP experienced problems in a broad range of body functions and activities and indicated the importance of environmental factors for functioning. The identified categories will be added to the list of candidate items to reach consensus on an ICF Core Set for adults with CP. What this paper addsIncluding the lived experience is crucial for fully understanding functioning of adults with cerebral palsy (CP).Adults with CP perceive environmental factors as essential elements for everyday functioning.Adults with intellectual disability should be considered as a group with specific problems. What this paper adds: Including the lived experience is crucial for fully understanding functioning of adults with cerebral palsy (CP).Adults with CP perceive environmental factors as essential elements for everyday functioning.Adults with intellectual disability should be considered as a group with specific problems. This article is commented on by Escorpizo on page 766 of this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with diverse social, educational, and occupational challenges. To date, no standardized, internationally accepted tools exist to assess autism spectrum disorder-related functioning. World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health can serve as foundation for developing such tools. This study aimed to identify a comprehensive, a common brief, and three age-appropriate brief autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. Four international preparatory studies yielded in total 164 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health candidate categories. Based on this evidence, 20 international autism spectrum disorder experts applied an established iterative decision-making consensus process to select from the candidate categories the most relevant ones to constitute the autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. The consensus process generated I 11 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health categories in the Comprehensive Core Set for autism spectrum disorder--one body structure, 20 body functions, 59 activities and participation categories, and 31 environmental factors. The Common Brief Core Set comprised 60 categories, while the age-appropriate core sets included 73 categories in the preschool version (0- to 5-year-old children), 81 in the schoolage version (6- to 16-year-old children and adolescents), and 79 in the older adolescent and adult version (3= 17-year-old individuals). The autism spectrum disorder Core Sets mark a milestone toward the standardized assessment of autism spectrum disorder-related functioning in educational, administrative, clinical, and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), this paper presents the results of the process to develop the Comprehensive and Brief Core Sets for schizophrenia that allow to comprehensively describe functioning in persons with schizophrenia. Methods: Twenty health professionals from diverse backgrounds participated in a formal and iterative decision-making process during an international consensus conference to develop these Core Sets. The conference was carried out based on evidence gathered from four preparatory studies (systematic literature review, qualitative study, expert survey, and empirical study). The first step of this decision-making and consensus process comprised of discussions and voting in working groups and plenary sessions to develop the comprehensive version. The categories of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for schizophrenia served as the basis for the second step -a ranking and cutoff procedure to decide on the brief version. Results: Of the 184 candidate categories identified in the preparatory studies, 97 categories were included in the Comprehensive Core Set for schizophrenia. A total of 25 categories were selected to constitute the Brief Core Set. Conclusions: The formal decision-making and consensus process integrating evidence from four preparatory studies and expert opinion led to the first version of the Core Sets for schizophrenia. Comprehensive and Brief Core Sets for schizophrenia may provide a common language among different health professionals and researchers, and a basic international standard of what to measure, report, and assess the functioning of persons with schizophrenia. Implications for rehabilitation: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that has a tremendous impact on functioning and daily life of persons living with the disorder. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) offers an internationally recognized standard for describing the functioning status of these individuals. The Core Sets for schizophrenia have potential use in supporting rehabilitation practice such as for planning mental health services and other interventions or defining rehabilitation goals, and documenting patient care. The Core Sets for schizophrenia may also be used to promote interdisciplinary coordination and facilitate communication between members of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team. Rehabilitation research is another potential area of application of the Core Sets for schizophrenia. This is valuable, since rehabilitation research provides crucial evidence for optimizing rehabilitation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with significant impairments in social, educational, and occupational functioning, as well as specific strengths. Currently, there is no internationally accepted standard to assess the functioning of individuals with ADHD. WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health—child and youth version (ICF) can serve as a conceptual basis for such a standard. The objective of this study is to develop a comprehensive, a common brief, and three age-appropriate brief ICF Core Sets for ADHD. Using a standardised methodology, four international preparatory studies generated 132 second-level ICF candidate categories that served as the basis for developing ADHD Core Sets. Using these categories and following an iterative consensus process, 20 ADHD experts from nine professional disciplines and representing all six WHO regions selected the most relevant categories to constitute the ADHD Core Sets. The consensus process resulted in 72 second-level ICF categories forming the comprehensive ICF Core Set—these represented 8 body functions, 35 activities and participation, and 29 environmental categories. A Common Brief Core Set that included 38 categories was also defined. Age-specific brief Core Sets included a 47 category preschool version for 0-5 years old, a 55 category school-age version for 6-16 years old, and a 52 category version for older adolescents and adults 17 years old and above. The ICF Core Sets for ADHD mark a milestone toward an internationally standardised functional assessment of ADHD across the lifespan, and across educational, administrative, clinical, and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the third in a series of four empirical studies designed to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to describe functioning in ASD (as operationalized by the ICF) derived from the perspectives of diagnosed individuals, family members, and professionals. A qualitative study using focus groups and semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 19 stakeholder groups (N = 90) from Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden. Meaningful concepts from the focus groups and individual interviews were linked to ICF categories using a deductive qualitative approach with standardized linking procedures. The deductive qualitative content analysis yielded meaningful functioning concepts that were linked to 110 ICF categories across all four ICF components. Broad variation of environmental factors and activities and participation categories were identified in this study, while body functions consisted mainly of mental functions. Body structures were sparsely mentioned by the participants. Positive aspects of ASD included honesty, attention to detail, and memory. The experiences provided by international stakeholders support the need to understand individuals with ASD in a broader perspective, extending beyond diagnostic criteria into many areas of functioning and environmental domains. This study is part of a larger systematic effort that will provide the basis to define ICF Core Sets for ASD, from which assessment tools can be generated for use in clinical practice, research, and health care policy making. Autism Res2018, 11: 463–475. © 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: The study findings support the need to understand the living experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a broader perspective, taking into account many areas of an individual's functioning and environment. The ICF can serve as foundation for exploring these living experiences more extensively by offering tools that enable wide variety of individual difficulties and strengths to be captured along with important environmental influences. As such, these tools can facilitate interventions that meet the needs and goals of the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:The purpose of the study was to identify aspects of functioning and related environmental factors that are relevant to schizophrenia from the perspective of health professionals experienced in treating individuals with this disorder using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Method:An international pool of experts from diverse health care disciplines was surveyed to identify problems in functioning experienced by individuals with schizophrenia and the environmental factors that impact their functioning. On the basis of established rules, all answers were translated to the ICF by two independent researchers. Results:One-hundred and eighty-nine experts from all six World Health Organization regions identified 4776 meaningful concepts, of which 92% were linked to 347 different ICF categories. Of the 347 categories, 194 were second-level categories, 151 were third-level categories and 2 were fourth-level categories. Ninety-five second-level ICF categories, 43 third-level categories and 1 fourth-level category reached percentage frequency of at least 5%. The majority of the categories were attributed to body functions, activities and participation, and environmental factors. Conclusions:Health professionals identified a wide range of problems in functioning that reflect the complexity and breadth of schizophrenia, specifically activity limitations and participation restrictions that are particularly relevant for individuals with schizophrenia. Knowing these functioning problems can guide the design of patient-oriented rehabilitation programmes.Implications for rehabilitationSchizophrenia may result in impaired functioning in multiple daily life activities. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can help in identifying the needs and problems of these individuals.The reported list of ICF categories can facilitate a systematic application of the ICF in schizophrenia and can help to design and implement coordinated and patient oriented rehabilitation programmes with a biopsychosocial approach.According to health professionals surveyed, activity limitations and participation restrictions are broadly affected in this population and are highly influenced by neurocognitive and social cognitive deficits and environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the variability seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD), accurate quantification of functioning is vital to studying outcome and quality of life in affected individuals. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health ( ICF) provides a comprehensive, universally accepted framework for the description of health-related functioning. ICF Core Sets are shortlists of ICF categories that are selected to capture those aspects of functioning that are most relevant when describing a person with a specific condition. In this paper, the authors preview the process for developing ICF Core Sets for ASD, a collaboration with the World Health Organization and the ICF Research Branch. The ICF Children and Youth version ( ICF-CY) was derived from the ICF and designed to capture the specific situation of the developing child. As ASD affects individuals throughout the life span, and the ICF-CY includes all ICF categories, the ICF-CY will be used in this project ('ICF(-CY)' from now on). The ICF(-CY) categories to be included in the ICF Core Sets for ASD will be determined at an ICF Core Set Consensus Conference, where evidence from four preparatory studies (a systematic review, an expert survey, a patient and caregiver qualitative study, and a clinical cross-sectional study) will be integrated. Comprehensive and Brief ICF Core Sets for ASD will be developed with the goal of providing useful standards for research and clinical practice and generating a common language for functioning and impairment in ASD in different areas of life and across the life span. Autism Res 2014, 7: 167-172. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Vocational rehabilitation (VR) plays a key role in bringing persons with acquired disabilities back to work, while encouraging employment participation. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the systematic application of International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF)-based documentation tools by using ICF Core Sets in VR shown with a case example of a client with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Participant: The client was a 26-year-old male with paraplegia (7th thoracic level), working in the past as a mover. Methods: This case study describes the integration of the ICF Core Sets for VR into an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program by using ICF-based documentation tools. Results: Improvements in the client's impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions were observed following rehabilitation. Goals in different areas of functioning were achieved. Conclusion: The use of the ICF Core Sets in VR allows a comprehensive assessment of the client's level of functioning and intervention planning. Specifically, the Brief ICF Core Set in VR can provide domains for intervention relevant to each member of an interdisciplinary team and hence, can facilitate the VR management process in a SCI center in Switzerland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the World Health Organization's Rehabilitation 2030 initiative that led to its landmark resolution on rehabilitation, the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists have been developing functioning-based standards and tools using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a reference framework the past few years. This evidence brief aims to enable rehabilitation practitioners to implement these functioning-based standards and tools in rehabilitation care, management, and programming by clarifying functioning as the foundational concept for rehabilitation, introducing the functioning-based standards and tools and presenting concrete applications. This evidence brief also calls for the continuous development of these standards and tools and discusses the implementation challenges and opportunities in the context of the interaction between practice, science and governance.

To facilitate the interaction between the health professional and the patient, a framework to guide the rehabilitation process is needed. This framework would encompass three interwoven aspects: the rehabilitation management plan, Individual Rehabilitation Project (IRP), and rehabilitation cycle(s). All three framework aspects focus on the patient and on the aim of rehabilitation, i.e. to optimize a person's functioning across the continuum of care. An IRP is a multi-element, person-centered rehabilitation management scheme, in which rehabilitation is generally provided by a multiprofessional team under the leadership of a physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) physician, working in an interdisciplinary manner and together with the patient (or proxy). A reference system for operationalizing functioning and standardizing the process is the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) - for assessing functioning needs, defining rehabilitation goals and outcomes. The objective of this paper is to present the IRP as a framework for rehabilitation in Europe (EUR-IRP). The specific aims are: 1) to introduce the IRP; and 2) to describe the framework components, elements and variables of the IRP. Demonstration projects (case studies) using the EUR-IRP will be conducted. The present paper presents the efforts to date for developing the EUR-IRP, a key part of the action plan of the PRM Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists to implement the ICF systemwide across the care continuum. This paper serves as another step to bring together practice, science and governance in calling for contribution from rehabilitation clinicians and researchers and professional societies in PRM and beyond.

Background: Aligned with WHO's Global Disability Action Plan 2014-2021, the Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS-PRM) set up a plan to strengthen rehabilitation and support International Classification for Functioning, Disability and Health-based clinical quality management. Accordingly, the UEMS-PRM developed the European Framework of Rehabilitation Service Types ("European Framework"). The specifications of these service types may differ across countries and for specific application areas., Aim: The objective of this paper is to report on the development of a framework of rehabilitation service types for spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D) in Switzerland ("SCI/D Framework")., Design: Quality improvement in healthcare., Setting: The setting of this study was in Switzerland., Population: Representatives of medical societies., Methods: A multistage consensus process was conducted and involved representatives of national medical and rehabilitation societies recruited based on a situational analysis of existing national quality management documents. The process comprised the development of an initial framework based on the European Framework, a survey, a face-to-face consensus meeting, and a confirmatory feedback round on the version of the SCI/D Framework resulting from the meeting., Results: Representatives of 12 national medical societies, one political body in rehabilitation, one national interprofessional rehabilitation society, the Swiss representative of two international rehabilitation societies and heads of four SCI/D specialized centers participated in the multistage consensus process. After the modifications based on the results of the survey, the consensus meeting and confirmatory feedback round were made, the resulting SCI/D Framework version encompassed 19 rehabilitation service types, structured in nine different clusters, of which six were subdivided into general, other specific or SCI/D-specific rehabilitation service types., Conclusions: Developing the SCI/D Framework for Switzerland was a further step toward refining existing quality criteria and national quality standards for rehabilitation and toward scaling up SCI/D rehabilitation in Switzerland., Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: The SCI/D Framework can support national efforts to address any gaps in health care provision and guide an optimal response to meet the rehabilitation needs of persons with SCI/D in Switzerland. Furthermore, the development of the SCI/D Framework illustrates an outline that can be used to develop a similar framework for other health conditions and for other countries to follow in adapting the European Framework for their own country context.

Objective: To identify areas of functioning in adults with cerebral palsy that are considered relevant by experts, in order to develop an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for adults with cerebral palsy., Participants: Experts from various professional backgrounds worldwide who had experience working with adults with cerebral palsy for ≥2 years and were able to complete the survey in the English language., Methods: A cross-sectional study using an international internet-based survey. The experts were asked to address relevant areas of functioning in adults with cerebral palsy. These areas of functioning were then linked to the ICF and the frequencies analysed., Results: A total of 126 experts from 32 countries completed the survey. From the responses, 217 unique second-level ICF categories were identified. The three most frequently mentioned categories were "design, construction and building products and technology of buildings for public use (e150, 77%) and private use" (e155, 67%), followed by "sensation of pain" (b280, 62%)., Conclusion: The broad diversity of ICF categories reported by the experts emphasize the known heterogeneity of cerebral palsy and the variety of func-tioning in adulthood. They also reported on many environmental factors, illustrating the importance of person-environment interactions. These findings provide information about relevant issues for use in developing an ICF Core Set for adults with cerebral palsy.

Introduction: In light of global mandates and in recognition of the value of data collection and reporting based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the UEMS PRM Section and Board established an action plan to implement the ICF in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, rehabilitation and health care at large. This includes, among other steps, the development of a framework of rehabilitation service types for Europe (European Framework) and corresponding clinical assessment schedules (CLASs) for each service type. A CLAS encompasses the recommendation for what aspects of functioning to document, for whom and when, and the data collection tools to use. The objective of this paper is to report on the development of the CLASs for the European Framework developed in Stockholm in 2018, with focus on what to document., Methods: Involving UEMS PRM delegates across European regions, a multistage Delphi process comprised the development of an initial proposal of the CLASs (i.e. default and optional ICF Sets to document), two feedback (pre- and post-Stockholm) rounds via e-mail, and a deliberation by the UEMS PRM during its March 2019 meeting in Budapest. In both Delphi rounds, participants were asked whether the initially proposed default and optional ICF Sets represent what is currently documented at an exemplary service provider in the country or in consideration of their own expertise. The European Framework was revised between the two Delphi rounds, requiring a revision of the CLAS proposal accordingly. Participants were additionally asked whether they support the suggested ICF Sets as the specification of the CLAS. Level of support (strong = ≥80%, moderate = between 80-60%, weak =≤59%) was calculated as the percentage of countries supporting the suggested CLAS over the number of responding countries. The results of the post-Stockholm round were presented for discussion, revision and approval at the Budapest meeting., Results: Pre-Stockholm Delphi round: due to low response rate only a summary of comments made by the responding countries was provided as reference information for the post-Stockholm round. Post-Stockholm Delphi round: results indicated moderate to strong support for the proposed CLASs. Deliberation Budapest Meeting - Motions for specific revisions to the CLASs based on the results of the Post-Stockholm round were predominately accepted. With additional minor revisions, the UEMS PRM General Assembly approved a version of the CLASs for the European Framework., Conclusions: To kick-off the implementation of these CLASs, UEMS PRM plans demonstration projects in at least one rehabilitation facility in each delegate country that exemplifies the rehabilitation service types of the European Framework which exist in the respective country. The demonstration projects are intended to orient service providers and clinicians to the CLASs and illustrate how the CLASs can be implemented.

Background: Effectiveness in health services is achieved if desired clinical outcomes are reached. In rehabilitation the relevant clinical outcome is functioning, with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as the reference system for the standardized reporting of functioning outcomes. To foster the implementation of the ICF in clinical quality management (CQM) across the rehabilitation services continuum, the UEMS-PRM Section and Board approved an ICF implementation action plan that includes the identification of types of currently provided rehabilitation services in Europe. The objective of this paper is to report on the development of a European framework of rehabilitation service types that can provide the foundation for the standardized reporting of functioning outcomes and CQM programs., Methods: A multistage consensus process involving delegates (participants) from the UEMS-PRM Section and Board as well as external experts across European regions comprised the development of an initial framework by an editorial group, two feedback rounds via e-mail and a deliberation by the UEMS-PRM Section and Board in its September 2018 meeting in Stockholm (Sweden). In the first feedback round, participants were asked whether: 1) the initial framework of service types exists in their respective country: 2) the description represents the service type: and 3) an existing service type was missing. Based on the first-round results, the framework proposal was modified by the editorial group. In the second feedback round, participants were asked to confirm or comment on each of the service types in the revised framework. Based on the second-round results, the framework proposal was again modified and presented for discussion, revision and approval at the Stockholm meeting., Results: In the first feedback round, eight rehabilitation services were added to the framework proposal and two service types that were deemed "missing" were not included. In the second round, all seven initially proposed and six of the added service types were reconfirmed, while two of the added service types were not supported. Based on deliberations at the Stockholm meeting, some modifications were made to the proposed framework, and the UEMS-PRM general assembly approved a European Framework of Rehabilitation Service Types that comprises of: Rehabilitation in acute care, General post-acute rehabilitation, Specialized post-acute rehabilitation, General outpatient rehabilitation, Specialized outpatient rehabilitation, General day rehabilitation, Specialized day rehabilitation, Vocational rehabilitation, Rehabilitation in the community, Rehabilitation services at home (incl. nursing home), Rehabilitation for specific groups of persons with disability, Rehabilitation in social assistance, Specialized lifelong follow-up rehabilitation, and Rehabilitation in medical health resorts., Conclusions: The European Framework of Rehabilitation Services Types presented in this paper will be continuously updated according to new and emerging service types. Next steps of the UEMS-PRM effort to implement the ICF in rehabilitation include the specification of clinical assessment schedules for each service type and case studies illustrating service provision across the spectrum of rehabilitation service types. The European Framework will enable the accountable reporting of functioning outcomes at the national level and the continuous improvement of rehabilitation service provision in CQM.

Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic-30 Set (previously referred to as Rehabilitation Set) is a minimal set of ICF categories for reporting and assessing functioning and disability in clinical populations with different health conditions along the continuum of care. Recently, the Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (SIMFER) developed an Italian modification of the simple and intuitive descriptions (SID) of these categories. This study was the first one to implement the use of the SID in practice., Aim: The main aims of this study are: 1) to implement the use of the ICF in clinical practice and research among Italian Residents in PRM, and 2) to verify if the SID made the application of ICF Generic 30 Set more user-friendly than the original descriptions; 3) to examine the prevalence of functioning problems of patients accessing Rehabilitation Services to serve as reference for the development of an ICF-based clinical data collection tool., Design: Multicenter cross-sectional study., Setting: Italian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PRM) outpatient rehabilitation services., Population: Patients referring to Italian PRM outpatient rehabilitation services and Italian Residents in PRM., Methods: Each School of Specialization involved, randomly, received the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID. Residents collected over a 4-month period (April-July 2016) patients data related to the ICF Generic-30 Set categories. Moreover, the residents self-assessed their difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID, through a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)., Results: Ninety-three residents collected functioning data of 864 patients (mean aged 57.7±19.3) with ICF Generic-30 Set: 304 with the original descriptions and 560 with SID. The difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with SID was rated as lower than using the original descriptions (NRS 2.8±2.5 vs. 3.5±3.1; P<0.001). The most common disease was the back pain (9.6%) and the most common altered ICF categories were b280 (76.3%) and b710 (72.9%)., Conclusions: This multicenter cross-sectional study shown that the ICF Generic-30 Set is a valuable instrument for reporting and assessing functioning and disability in clinical populations with different health conditions and along the continuum of care and that SID facilitate the understanding of the ICF categories and therefore their use in clinical practice., Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: By increasing the knowledge of ICF among Italian PRM residents, this national survey makes an important step towards the system-wide implementation of ICF in the Italian healthcare system.

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with diverse social, educational, and occupational challenges. To date, no standardized, internationally accepted tools exist to assess autism spectrum disorder-related functioning. World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health can serve as foundation for developing such tools. This study aimed to identify a comprehensive, a common brief, and three age-appropriate brief autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. Four international preparatory studies yielded in total 164 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health candidate categories. Based on this evidence, 20 international autism spectrum disorder experts applied an established iterative decision-making consensus process to select from the candidate categories the most relevant ones to constitute the autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. The consensus process generated 111 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health categories in the Comprehensive Core Set for autism spectrum disorder-one body structure, 20 body functions, 59 activities and participation categories, and 31 environmental factors. The Common Brief Core Set comprised 60 categories, while the age-appropriate core sets included 73 categories in the preschool version (0- to 5-year-old children), 81 in the school-age version (6- to 16-year-old children and adolescents), and 79 in the older adolescent and adult version (⩾17-year-old individuals). The autism spectrum disorder Core Sets mark a milestone toward the standardized assessment of autism spectrum disorder-related functioning in educational, administrative, clinical, and research settings.

This is the third in a series of four empirical studies designed to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to describe functioning in ASD (as operationalized by the ICF) derived from the perspectives of diagnosed individuals, family members, and professionals. A qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 stakeholder groups (N = 90) from Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden. Meaningful concepts from the focus groups and individual interviews were linked to ICF categories using a deductive qualitative approach with standardized linking procedures. The deductive qualitative content analysis yielded meaningful functioning concepts that were linked to 110 ICF categories across all four ICF components. Broad variation of environmental factors and activities and participation categories were identified in this study, while body functions consisted mainly of mental functions. Body structures were sparsely mentioned by the participants. Positive aspects of ASD included honesty, attention to detail, and memory. The experiences provided by international stakeholders support the need to understand individuals with ASD in a broader perspective, extending beyond diagnostic criteria into many areas of functioning and environmental domains. This study is part of a larger systematic effort that will provide the basis to define ICF Core Sets for ASD, from which assessment tools can be generated for use in clinical practice, research, and health care policy making. Autism Res 2018, 11: 463-475. © 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Lay Summary: The study findings support the need to understand the living experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a broader perspective, taking into account many areas of an individual's functioning and environment. The ICF can serve as foundation for exploring these living experiences more extensively by offering tools that enable wide variety of individual difficulties and strengths to be captured along with important environmental influences. As such, these tools can facilitate interventions that meet the needs and goals of the individual., (© 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Given the variability seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), accurate quantification of functioning is vital to studying outcome and quality of life in affected individuals. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides a comprehensive, universally accepted framework for the description of health-related functioning. ICF Core Sets are shortlists of ICF categories that are selected to capture those aspects of functioning that are most relevant when describing a person with a specific condition. In this paper, the authors preview the process for developing ICF Core Sets for ASD, a collaboration with the World Health Organization and the ICF Research Branch. The ICF Children and Youth version (ICF-CY) was derived from the ICF and designed to capture the specific situation of the developing child. As ASD affects individuals throughout the life span, and the ICF-CY includes all ICF categories, the ICF-CY will be used in this project ("ICF(-CY)" from now on). The ICF(-CY) categories to be included in the ICF Core Sets for ASD will be determined at an ICF Core Set Consensus Conference, where evidence from four preparatory studies (a systematic review, an expert survey, a patient and caregiver qualitative study, and a clinical cross-sectional study) will be integrated. Comprehensive and Brief ICF Core Sets for ASD will be developed with the goal of providing useful standards for research and clinical practice and generating a common language for functioning and impairment in ASD in different areas of life and across the life span., (© 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: To optimize patient functioning, rehabilitation professionals often rely on measurements of functioning as well as on classifications. Although the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) are used, their joint use has yet to become an established practice. To encourage their joint use in daily practice, the World Health Organization (WHO) has invited all rehabilitation practitioners worldwide to support the ICD-11 revision process by identifying the ICF categories that correspond to specific rehabilitation-relevant health conditions. The first step in completing this task, generating the list of these health conditions, was taken at a February 2012 workshop in São Paulo, Brazil., Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to present the results of the São Paulo workshop, and to invite practitioners to participate in the ICD-ICF joint use initiative., Discussion: Alternating plenary and small working group sessions were held and 103 rehabilitation-relevant health conditions were identified. With this list available, WHO together with the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), is reaching out to clinicians of all rehabilitation disciplines to take on the challenge of identifying the ICF categories for at least one of the health conditions listed.