ABSTRACT
Assessment of functional outcomes requires, first, a good working definition and,
second, sufficiently reliable and valid measures from which to choose. With the advent
of new or refined conceptualizations of patient outcomes, the functional domain has
expanded to address not only routine activities of daily life but also the richly
diverse aspects believed to constitute quality of life. This article defines and places
the concept of functional outcomes within a context of various published and proposed
classification schemes, and supports an expanded definition on the basis of these
schemes, emerging models of health care that combine biomedical with social science
approaches, and the visionary contributions of respected colleagues in the field.
KEY WORDS
functional assessment - functional outcomes - communication disorders
