http://informahealthcare.com/pdr ISSN: 1751-8423 (print), 1751-8431 (electronic) Dev Neurorehabil, Early Online: 1–7 ! 2014 Informa UK Ltd. DOI: 10.3109/17518423.2014.948638 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Identification of functional domains in developmental measures: An ICF-CY analysis of Griffiths developmental scales and Schedule of Growing Skills II Susana Castro 1 , Vera Coelho 2 , & Ana Pinto 2 1 University of Roehampton, School of Education, London, UK and 2 Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Center of Developmental Psychology and Child Education, Porto University, Porto, Portugal Abstract Objective: This study aims to identify functioning categories of the International Classification of Functionality, Disability and Health for Children and Youth covered by the Griffiths developmental scales and the Schedule of Growing Skills II (SGS-II), as well as to analyse levels of agreement between coders when assigning its items to the ICF-CY classification system. Methods: Items were linked to the ICF-CY following a content analysis procedure and the published linking rules. Agreement was calculated with Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient. Results: All SGS items assess mostly Activities and Participation, alike most of the Griffiths’ scales except for the Language and Eye-hand coordination scales, which assess mostly Body Functions. Consistently with previous studies, agreement levels between coders vary considerably, thus being highly dependent on the nature of the concept analysed. Conclusion: Although necessary from a capacity-driven approach to assessment, information collected with these instruments should be complemented with other assessments in order to cover all aspects of the child’s life, in line with a systemic approach. Keywords Functioning, Griffiths, ICF-CY, SGS II History Received 28 April 2014 Revised 17 July 2014 Accepted 21 July 2014 Published online 1 September 2014 The International Classification of Functionality Disability and Health for Children and Youth The International Classification of Functionality, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) [1] is part of the ‘Family of Classifications’ of the World Health Organization (WHO) and it was preceded by an adult version, the ICF [2]. The ICF model is based on the biopsychosocial approach to disability [3, 4]. Prior to the ICF, the most widely used classifications – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) [5] and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) [6] – were based on a medical approach to disability. While the ICD and the DSM provide etiological information on specific diseases, the ICF was designed to classify aspects of functioning within a person’s health condition, which may or may not be a specific diagnosis. Therefore, as it has been widely recognized in scientific literature in the field of rehabilitation, the definition of health condition in the scope of the ICF/ICF-CY is a broad one, and concerns all aspects related to well-being, such as education, for instance [1, 2]. This definition is in line with the WHO’s perspective on health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ [7, p. 942]. Well-being is defined as ‘the general term encompassing the total universe of human life domains, including physical, mental and social aspects, that make-up what can be called as a ‘‘good life’’’ [1, p. 227]. Health domains, in turn, comprise the total universe of human life. Thus, the publication of the ICF reflects the shift of paradigm that has been occurring from medically-based models of disability and health to multidi- mensional, biopsychosocial and systemic approaches. The efforts that have been made in several countries to use the ICF framework and taxonomy as a way to improve service delivery in health and education are very illustrative of this shift [3]. However, the WHO [1, 2] recommends that the two types of classification – the diagnostic manuals and the ICF/ ICF-CY, be used together, as the information they provide is complementary [3, 4, 8, 9]. In fact, Simeonsson et al. [10] studied the utility of a hierarchical algorithm incorporating codes from both the ICF-CY and the ICD-10 to classify reasons for eligibility of young children to early intervention and concluded that the two classifications can be jointly used to classify disability characteristics of children. Multidimensional, biopsychosocial and systemic approaches to disability and the contribution of the ICF-CY to developmental assessment The ‘child is a moving target’, and the ongoing developmental process receives influences from both the individual child Correspondence: Susana Castro, School of Education, University of Roehampton, London SW15 5PJ, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8392 3872. E-mail: susana.castro@roehampton.ac.uk Dev Neurorehabil Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by 2.26.240.25 on 09/02/14 For personal use only.