Describing the Consequences of Disorders

Stuttering and the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps

jsyaruss{at}nwu.edu

The International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO, 1980) can be a useful method for describing the experiences of individuals exhibiting speech and language disorders such as stuttering. Unfortunately, the definitions for the terms impairment, disability, and handicap that were previously presented in the stuttering literature have not accurately represented the true purpose of the ICIDH as a tool for describing the consequences of disorders. This paper reviews the history of these terms in the stuttering literature and proposes alternate definitions that are more consistent with the use of the ICIDH elsewhere in the field of communication disorders, as well as within the health-related professions in general. Based on the ICIDH framework, a model is proposed for discussing the outcomes of various types of stuttering treatments in the context of an individual's experience of the stuttering disorder, and the implications for treatment outcomes research using this framework are discussed.

KEY WORDS: stuttering, ICIDH, World Health Organization (WHO), impairment, disability, handicap

Submitted on May 12, 1997
Accepted on October 27, 1997

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. R. Smith, R. McCauley, and B. Guitar Development of the Teacher Assessment of Student Communicative Competence (TASCC) for Grades 1 Through 5 Communication Disorders Quarterly, January 1, 2000; 22(1): 3 - 11. [Abstract] [PDF]