The ICF is designed to help families and professionals see that there are many things that together impact on how someone can function. In the ICF, disability is seen as an outcome (or a consequence) of the way a person’s body functions, their skills and abilities and their environments and personal preferences. Disability doesn’t happen because a person has a diagnosis – it happens when society is not set up to support people to function in the places they want to be.

Figure: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), World Health Organisation, 2001. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Image adapted and used with permission.

The different components of the ICF are:

• Body structure & function: These are the anatomical structures and physiological and psychological functions. Problems with the body structure or function are called impairments.
• Activity: This is the execution of a task or action. Difficulties with this are called activity limitations.
• Participation: This is involvement in a life situation. Difficulties with this are called participation restrictions.
• Environment: Includes physical, social, attitudinal, institutional factors. The environment can support or be a barrier to activity and participation, and/or cause impairments.
• Personal Factors: Factors that are not related to the health condition (e.g., age, gender, education, preferences).

The arrows in the diagram illustrate that it is how these components work together that helps someone function, or results in disability.