What+is+the+ICF

The ICF is the World Health Organisation's ,(WHO), language and framework for the description of health and health related states, (WHO, 2002). It is a scientific tool for consistent, internationally comparable information about the experience of health and disorders that can help guide the SLT when formulating a management plan.It is important that the goals of swallowing rehabilitaion are realistic, ethical and consistant with best practice for the patient. It is also very important that the clinician makes sure that their management and decisions made about the care of a particular patient are well researched and evidence- based. The clinician should not just look at the disability itself but take a holistic view, which sees safety, nutrition and participation of the patient when setting goals and planning treatment for the patient, (WHO,2002). The ICF is a synthesis of both the medical model, (which views disability as a feature of the person, directly caused by disease trauma or another health condition) and the social model (which see's disability as a socially created problem and not attributable to an individual, (WHO, 2002), without making the mistake each makes in reducing the whole complex notion of disability to one of its aspects, (WHO,2002)

In the ICF, disablity and functioning are viewed as an outcome of:


 * 1) **Health Conditions**: (diseases, disorders and injuries)
 * 2) **Contextual Factors** : Which are made up of, **(A) External Environmental Factors** :(social atttudes, architectural characteristics, legal and social structures, climate, terrain etc.), and **(B) Internal Personal Factors:** (gender, age, coping styles, social background, education, professional past and current experience, overall behavioural pattern, character).