The use of the international classification of functioning, disability and health in an interactive perspective: the assessment and intervention of students' additional support needs in Portugal.

Evaluating the influence of person-environment interactions on students' performance is a fundamental requirement for planning individualized educational interventions. Such understanding grounded the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a reference framework to support special needs assessment in the Portuguese educational system. This study sought to investigate the extent to which special education teams reported relationships between Body Functions, Activities and Participation, and Environmental Factors in Individualized Education Programmes for students with additional support needs and what types of relations were mostly described.

Portugal's special education law: implementing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in policy and practice.

Purpose: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was introduced in Portuguese education law as the compulsory system to guide eligibility policy and practice in special education. This paper describes the implementation of the ICF and its utility in the assessment process and eligibility determination of students for special education.

Methods: A study to evaluate the utility of the ICF was commissioned by the Portuguese Ministry of Education and carried out by an external evaluation team.