Measuring disability in population surveys “One of the principal difficulties in measuring outcomes for disabled people is the identification of those people to be classified as ‘disabled’.” 3.1 A conceptual framework for disability measurement Any discussion of disability concepts usually opens with a description of two models for understanding what it means to be disabled. These are commonly referred to as the social model and the medical model. ‘The medical model views disability as a feature of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma or other health condition, which requires medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. Disability, on this model, calls for medical or other treatment or intervention, to 'correct' the problem with the individual. The social model of disability, on the other hand, sees disability as a socially created problem and not at all an attribute of an individual. On the social model, disability demands a political response, since the problem is created by an unaccommodating physical environment brought about by attitudes and other features of the social environment.’ In 2001, the World Health Organisation endorsed a revision of the classification system used for disability related concepts. In this process, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) replaced the International Classification of Impairment, Disability and Handicap (ICIDH). The ICF classifies how well people function across three elements of a healthy life: body functions and structures; ability to perform day-to-day activities; and ability to participate in the social domain. Problems in these areas are referred to as: impairments; activity limitations; and participation restrictions respectively. ICF also identifies environmental and personal factors in recognition of the impact, positive or negative, that these factors can have on an individual's ability to function. A model based on the ICF has had growing acceptance as a useful attempt to synthesise social and medical perspectives. This model of disability, referred to as the biopsychosocial model, represents an integration of medical and social. ‘ICF provides, by this synthesis, a coherent view of different perspectives of health: biological, individual and social.’ The ICF framework, which has been described as ‘…less a conceptual model that it is a classification system of health status with a range of theoretical influences’ steers clear of the medical / social debate by not specifying the cause of disability.
8 Can the selected child use their hands to grasp an object such as a spoon or a crayon/pencil? Agility Type A 9 The selected child has difficulty taking off their T-shirt. Is that because they have difficulty raising their arms? Agility Type A 10 Does a condition or health problem make it difficult for the selected child in general to learn? Learning Type B 11 Does the selected child have a recognised intellectual disability? Intellectual Type B 12 Most children have occasional emotional, nervous or behavioural problems. Does the selected child have any of these problems long-term that limits the type or amount of activity that they can do? Type B 13 Does a long-term psychological or mental health condition make it difficult for the selected child to do everyday activities? Type B 14 Has the selected child been diagnosed with a disorder or impairment that significantly delays their development? delay Type B