An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework

This is the third in a series of four empirical studies designed to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to describe functioning in ASD (as operationalized by the ICF) derived from the p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mahdi, S., Viljoen, M., Yee, T., Selb, M., Singhal, N., Almodayfer, O., Granlund, M., de Vries, P., Zwaigenbaum, L., Bolte, Sven
Format: Journal Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67138
_version_ 1848761485146193920
author Mahdi, S.
Viljoen, M.
Yee, T.
Selb, M.
Singhal, N.
Almodayfer, O.
Granlund, M.
de Vries, P.
Zwaigenbaum, L.
Bolte, Sven
author_facet Mahdi, S.
Viljoen, M.
Yee, T.
Selb, M.
Singhal, N.
Almodayfer, O.
Granlund, M.
de Vries, P.
Zwaigenbaum, L.
Bolte, Sven
author_sort Mahdi, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This is the third in a series of four empirical studies designed to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to describe functioning in ASD (as operationalized by the ICF) derived from the perspectives of diagnosed individuals, family members, and professionals. A qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 stakeholder groups (N = 90) from Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden. Meaningful concepts from the focus groups and individual interviews were linked to ICF categories using a deductive qualitative approach with standardized linking procedures. The deductive qualitative content analysis yielded meaningful functioning concepts that were linked to 110 ICF categories across all four ICF components. Broad variation of environmental factors and activities and participation categories were identified in this study, while body functions consisted mainly of mental functions. Body structures were sparsely mentioned by the participants. Positive aspects of ASD included honesty, attention to detail, and memory. The experiences provided by international stakeholders support the need to understand individuals with ASD in a broader perspective, extending beyond diagnostic criteria into many areas of functioning and environmental domains. This study is part of a larger systematic effort that will provide the basis to define ICF Core Sets for ASD, from which assessment tools can be generated for use in clinical practice, research, and health care policy making. Autism Res 2018, 11: 463–475. © 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: The study findings support the need to understand the living experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a broader perspective, taking into account many areas of an individual's functioning and environment. The ICF can serve as foundation for exploring these living experiences more extensively by offering tools that enable wide variety of individual difficulties and strengths to be captured along with important environmental influences. As such, these tools can facilitate interventions that meet the needs and goals of the individual.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:32:25Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-67138
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:32:25Z
publishDate 2018
publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-671382024-05-30T08:34:15Z An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework Mahdi, S. Viljoen, M. Yee, T. Selb, M. Singhal, N. Almodayfer, O. Granlund, M. de Vries, P. Zwaigenbaum, L. Bolte, Sven This is the third in a series of four empirical studies designed to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to describe functioning in ASD (as operationalized by the ICF) derived from the perspectives of diagnosed individuals, family members, and professionals. A qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 stakeholder groups (N = 90) from Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden. Meaningful concepts from the focus groups and individual interviews were linked to ICF categories using a deductive qualitative approach with standardized linking procedures. The deductive qualitative content analysis yielded meaningful functioning concepts that were linked to 110 ICF categories across all four ICF components. Broad variation of environmental factors and activities and participation categories were identified in this study, while body functions consisted mainly of mental functions. Body structures were sparsely mentioned by the participants. Positive aspects of ASD included honesty, attention to detail, and memory. The experiences provided by international stakeholders support the need to understand individuals with ASD in a broader perspective, extending beyond diagnostic criteria into many areas of functioning and environmental domains. This study is part of a larger systematic effort that will provide the basis to define ICF Core Sets for ASD, from which assessment tools can be generated for use in clinical practice, research, and health care policy making. Autism Res 2018, 11: 463–475. © 2017 The Authors Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: The study findings support the need to understand the living experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a broader perspective, taking into account many areas of an individual's functioning and environment. The ICF can serve as foundation for exploring these living experiences more extensively by offering tools that enable wide variety of individual difficulties and strengths to be captured along with important environmental influences. As such, these tools can facilitate interventions that meet the needs and goals of the individual. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67138 10.1002/aur.1905 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ John Wiley & Sons, Inc. fulltext
spellingShingle Mahdi, S.
Viljoen, M.
Yee, T.
Selb, M.
Singhal, N.
Almodayfer, O.
Granlund, M.
de Vries, P.
Zwaigenbaum, L.
Bolte, Sven
An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title_full An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title_fullStr An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title_full_unstemmed An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title_short An international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the World Health Organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
title_sort international qualitative study of functioning in autism spectrum disorder using the world health organization international classification of functioning, disability and health framework
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67138