ABSTRACT
This chapter is a comprehensive reference manual providing information on the Impact on Participation and Autonomy (IPA), which is a self-rating scale, designed for people with chronic disabilities, including stroke and traumatic brain injury. The IPA is one of the growing number of scales adopting a client-centred focus to measure participation. As such, its emphasis is on the individual’s perceptions, a commonly ignored area of assessment in rehabilitation, particularly in the arena of acquired brain impairment. The IPA has sound psychometric properties, although effect sizes for its responsiveness are small. A brief history of the instrument's development is provided, along with a description of item content and administration/scoring procedures. Psychometric properties are reviewed and a critical commentary is provided. Key references are cited and in most cases the actual scale is included, giving the reader easy access to the instrument.
