Stuttering and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: an update

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently presented a multidimensional classification scheme for describing health status and the experience of disablement. This new framework, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001), is a revision of WHO's prior framework for describing the consequences of disorders, the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH; WHO, 1980). In previous papers, Yaruss had shown how the original ICIDH could be adapted to describe the consequences of stuttering at several levels that are relevant to the communication and life experiences of the person who stutters. The current manuscript presents an update of the Yaruss (1998) model that accounts for the new structure of the ICF. A comparison of the WHO's ICIDH and ICF frameworks is presented, followed by an analysis of how the ICF can be adapted to describe the speaker's experience of the stuttering disorder. Emphasis is placed on the fact that stuttering involves more than just observable behaviors. Specifically, the speaker's experience of stuttering can involve negative affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions (both from the speaker and the environment), as well as significant limitations in the speaker's ability to participate in daily activities and a negative impact on the speaker's overall quality of life.

As a result of reading this manuscript, participants, willgain an understanding of the updates to the World Health Organization's original International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps that are seen in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health understand how the ICF can be applied to the study of stuttering recognize that health conditions such as stuttering are affected by both internal and external factors, and can involve more than just observable behaviors that are seen on the surface.