ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces selected ways in which the common language of the international classification of functioning, disability and health for children and youth (ICF-CY) can advance policy as well as practice in education. Specifically, the ICF-CY can inform policy in education by offering a holistic framework, a common language and a standard reference for student rights. With reference to educational practice, the common language of the ICF-CY can serve to document functioning and engagement of students, the nature of their school environments and the outcomes of their education. Priority in education in many developed countries is evidence-based documentation of outcome. There is a growing literature on the utility of the ICF-CY for the activities of planning interventions and setting goals. The ICF-CY can address the problem of limited information of diagnoses for the development of individualised intervention plans by matching a child's e profile of functional characteristics based on the ICF-CY with needed environmental supports and services.
