Class of international functioning disability and health core sets for autism spectrum disorder: Occupational therapists’ perspective

Abstract

Purpose:

This study was conducted to examine the ICF Core Sets prepared for autism from the perspective of occupational therapists within the scope of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.

Materials and Methods:

Data were collected from 70 occupational therapists working with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Opinions of the participants were collected using the three-stage Delphi technique.

Results:

In the first Delphi round in which 70 occupational therapists from our country participated, a total of 2952 concepts related to autism spectrum disorder were named. The collected responses were associated with 142 ICF categories, excluding personal factors, and then the number of categories was reduced to 132 because 10 of them were mentioned by less than 5% of the respondents. While consensus was achieved in 82% of the 111 categories in the comprehensive ICF Core Sets for autism spectrum disorder .

Discussion and Conclusion:

According to the results of this study, ICF-CSs prepared for autism spectrum disorder overlap with the perspective of occupational therapists to define the physiological, occupational, environmental, and personal factors affecting individuals with autism spectrum disorder . The high level of consensus among occupational therapists underscores the practical applicability and acceptance of ICF Core Sets in the field.