The ICF explained…
Sharing a language is extremely important to discuss and measure impact and outcomes for human participation. Thanks to our colleagues in Northern Macedonia for this new publication explaining the ICF to parents. The publication is open access and available in multiple languages: https://icf-school.eu/images/outputs/o2/icf_brochure_en.pdf
The original International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health is the WHO framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels.
ICF was officially endorsed by all 191 WHO Member States in the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly on 22 May 2001 (resolution WHA 54.21) as the international standard to describe and measure health and disability. It also includes a list of environmental factors to reflect that functioning and disability of individuals occur within a context.
It is a comprehensive and highly useful book for practitioners, however the new parent edition published by the Association for Promotion of Education, Culture, and Sport 'Education for All', Skopje, North Macedonia is designed so that parents can communicate on an equal level and in a common language with the professionals.
The new guide describes the ICF as a tool which, 'enables parents to plan the help for their child with specialists. The ICF describes what children are able to do and what kind of support or help a child needs. With the ICF, parents tell professionals what is important for the support'.
It goes on to explain the role of the parent as the 'most important people in their child's life' and that as, 'they know their child best, by using the ICF, parents can tell professionals what is important for their child' s support'.
We welcome this new compassionate initiative from Northern Macedonia that puts considerate communication at the heart of their work and highlights the need for wider standardisation of language that is accessible to all.