Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Transition of Children with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities to Adult Life after Graduation

Children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (CSMID) face challenges in the transition from childhood to adult life after graduation, including changing health conditions caused by the acceleration of secondary disabilities, transition from paediatric to adult health care, and transition to places where they spend time after graduation from high school. However, no conceptual framework is currently available to explore this issue from a multifaceted perspective. This literature review aimed to fill this gap using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children & Youth version (ICF-CY) coding system. Through a descriptive analysis, ICF-CY codes were compared with the factors identified as relevant to CSMID by previous studies. The related ICF-CY codes were then extracted. Several codes within the ICF-CY domains of Body Functions and Body Structures, Activities, Participation, and Environmental Factors were thought to be important to understand CSMID. Some relevant Personal Factors were identified as well. Using the newly created conceptual framework, the support for CSMID can be more effective, allowing them to live a more fulfiling life.