their sight is inadequate; something as simple and everyday as reading the newspaper. It gradually presents an increasing impediment to a range of everyday activities as the condition progresses. Reading, driving or using a computer can all be made more difficult or impossible. At a more severe level of sight loss, independent mobility becomes a challenge. Dealing with obstacles needs external intervention in the form of equipment and training but the rehabilitation process in relation to older people is made more difficult by frailty and tiredness, lack of confidence, poor motivation and the degenerative nature of sight loss and memory loss; all potential accompaniments to the ageing process. The complex circumstances of progressive disability with age cannot be understood by using the simplistic dualism of medical and social models. They are no longer fit for purpose in an age when we are looking at joined up health and social care. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001) offers a way forward but the complex taxonomy that it provides is difficult to use intuitively and although it is a valuable tool for exchange of information between professionals it is less suitable for informing relatively informal interviews in rehabilitation situations. ICF describes an individual’s type and severity of impairment, potential for, and actual level of social activity. It provides a shared terminology and structure that professionals can use to frame their perceptions of a person’s condition and how they function in the wider society, with the option of presenting this as a numerical code for the standardised exchange of information between professionals who may operate between different professional frames of reference. The ICF structure and terminology is complex and be difficult for a VIOP to follow in discussing their circumstances and possible rehabilitation options. It is not the normal language with which individuals talk about themselves. A more accessible presentation of ICF has been developed at Royal Dutch Visio which identifies the relationship between environmental factors and personal factors in determining an individual’s potential for increased engagement in activities and participation. Medical Functions
their sight is inadequate; something as simple and everyday as reading the newspaper. It gradually presents an increasing impediment to a range of everyday activities as the condition progresses. Reading, driving or using a computer can all be made more difficult or impossible. At a more severe level of sight loss, independent mobility becomes a challenge. Dealing with obstacles needs external intervention in the form of equipment and training but the rehabilitation process in relation to older people is made more difficult by frailty and tiredness, lack of confidence, poor motivation and the degenerative nature of sight loss and memory loss; all potential accompaniments to the ageing process. The complex circumstances of progressive disability with age cannot be understood by using the simplistic dualism of medical and social models. They are no longer fit for purpose in an age when we are looking at joined up health and social care. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001) offers a way forward but the complex taxonomy that it provides is difficult to use intuitively and although it is a valuable tool for exchange of information between professionals it is less suitable for informing relatively informal interviews in rehabilitation situations. ICF describes an individual’s type and severity of impairment, potential for, and actual level of social activity. It provides a shared terminology and structure that professionals can use to frame their perceptions of a person’s condition and how they function in the wider society, with the option of presenting this as a numerical code for the standardised exchange of information between professionals who may operate between different professional frames of reference. The ICF structure and terminology is complex and be difficult for a VIOP to follow in discussing their circumstances and possible rehabilitation options. It is not the normal language with which individuals talk about themselves. A more accessible presentation of ICF has been developed at Royal Dutch Visio which identifies the relationship between environmental factors and personal factors in determining an individual’s potential for increased engagement in activities and participation. Medical Functions
EBU-joint-position-paper-on-Rehabilitation.docx