Compatibility between Independent Activities in the Course of Study for Schools for Special Needs Education and ICF Categories

In the 2009 amendment to the course of study for schools for special needs education, the new teaching guideline "independent activities" was introduced to teach skills that ease difficulties in learning and daily living. The present study aimed to clarify compatibility between the independent activities and ICF categories by conducting a survey of teaching staff in schools for special needs education. The independent activities consist of 6 major items accompanied by a total of 26 sub-items. The ICF involves 4 components: body functions and structures, activities and participation, environmental factors and personal factors. Thirty items at the first level of classification were employed for the present investigation, excluding personal factors. The independent activities were linked not only to activities and participation in the ICF, but also body functions and structures and environmental factors. Amongst the independent activities "psychological stability" had the largest degree of compatibility with ICF items (15 items); while "health care" and "understanding situations" had the smallest number (6 items). The results suggest that a combined use of independent activities and ICF categories provides a more useful and quantitative foundation to assess the independent activities and to facilitate individual teaching plans

Associations between Mobility Restriction and Motor and Intellectual Impairments, and the Impact of Environmental Factors in Children with Disabilities

The present study was conducted to clarify associations between motor and intellectual impairments and mobility restriction, and the impact of environmental factors on the mobility of children in residential institutions for children with motor impairments. Mobility restriction was assessed using the 1^st and 4^th qualifiers defined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Motor and intellectual impairments were characterized by gross motor function and intelligent quotient, respectively. The relationship between mobility restriction and the two impairments was examined using Spearman\u27s rank correlation analysis. The 1^st and 4^th qualifiers in mobility were moderately correlated to both motor and intellectual impairments. The correlation coefficient for the 1^st qualifier was somewhat smaller than that for the 4^th qualifier. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that the 1^st qualifier was significantly smaller than the 4^th qualifier in mobility (p<0.001). The present results suggest that mobility restriction is influenced not only by motor impairments, but also by intellectual impairments. The contextual assistances are considered to play an important role in reducing the impact of motor and intellectual impairments and improving mobility