Continuing challenges of functional assessment in rehabilitation: recommended changes

Many innovative developments are under way to meet the challenges related to appropriate, valid, and practical functional assessment in occupational therapy. There is increasing agreement that occupational therapy's unique contribution to function is through its emphasis on occupational performance. There is also recognition, although limited, that assessing function without regard to the patient's life tasks and roles has serious shortcomings. If we accept that decisions related to intervention and program evaluation are only as good as the information on which they are based, our only option in the face of recognized shortcomings is to dedicate our efforts to develop improved strategies.