Using the ICF within speech-language pathology: Application to developmental language impairment

Abstract

The conceptual framework proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, (ICF), provides a multidimensional approach to the investigation of various communication disorders, including developmental language impairments. The comprehensive view of health and common language offered by the ICF framework is useful for guiding clinical and research practices within speech-language pathology. Some sub-specialities (e.g., aphasia and traumatic brain injury (TBI)) have already begun to use the ICF framework to guide assessment and treatment practices. However, its application for children with specific language impairment (SLI), a type of developmental language impairment and one of the most common communication disorders in preschool and school-age children, is somewhat limited. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to emphasize the usefulness of the ICF framework as a tool for describing SLI and (2) to illustrate how consideration of the ICF framework may be helpful in the management and evaluation of outcomes for children with SLI.