A person with difficulty in functioning may have activity limitations, which means difficulties an individual may have in executing activities. In general, functional difficulties experienced by people may have been due to their health conditions. Health conditions refer to diseases or illnesses, other health problems that may be short or long lasting injuries, mental or emotional problems, and problems with alcohol or drugs. A health condition may also include other circumstances such as pregnancy, ageing, stress, congenital anomaly, or genetic predisposition. Difficulty is usually manifested when a person is doing an activity with increased effort, discomfort or pain, slowness, or changes in the way he/she does the activity.
For the purpose of this census, functional difficulty is classified into six core categories. The concepts and definitions are based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization (WHO). These difficulties are the following:
a. Difficulty in seeing, even if wearing eyeglasses
Seeing refers to an individual using his/her eyes and vision capacity in order to perceive or observe what is happening around him/her.
b. Difficulty in hearing, even if using a hearing aid
Hearing refers to an individual using his/her ears and auditory (or hearing) capacity in order to know what is being said to him/her or the sounds of activity, including danger that is happening around him/her.
c. Difficulty in walking or climbing steps
Walking refers to an individual using his/her legs in such a way as to propel himself/herself over the ground to get from one point or place to another. The capacity to walk should be without assistance of any device or human. If such assistance is needed, the person has difficulty in walking.
Difficulty in walking also refers to any difficulty with walking (whether it is on flat land or up or down steps) that a person considers a problem.
d. Difficulty in remembering or concentrating
Remembering refers to an individual using his/her memory capacity in order to recall what has happened around him/her. It means the individual can bring to mind or think again about something that has taken place in the past (either the recent past or further back). In connection with younger people, remembering is often associated with storing facts learned in school and being able to retrieve them when needed.
Concentrating refers to an individual using his/her mental ability to accomplish some tasks such as reading, calculating numbers, and learning something. It is associated with focusing on the task at hand in order to complete it. It is the act of directing one's full attention to a subject or to focus without distraction on one thing.
Difficulty in remembering or concentrating refers to a person who experiences a functional difficulty because of a health condition or health problem and may resort to taking notes, use of electronic reminder systems or with verbal cueing from personal assistants as a memory aid, and not because the person is busy or aging.
e. Difficulty in self-caring (bathing or dressing)
Bathing refers to the process of cleaning one's entire body (usually with a soap and water). The washing activity includes cleaning hair down to the feet, as well as gathering any necessary items for bathing such as soap, shampoo, washcloth, or water.
Dressing refers to all aspects of putting clothing or garments on the upper and lower body, including the feet. Gathering clothing from storage areas (such as closet or dressers), securing buttons, tying knots, zipping, and others, should be considered part of the dressing activity.
This question refers not only to the washing of one's entire body but also includes all aspects of dressing the upper or lower body.
Difficulty in self-caring also refers to a person who is using assistive device or getting help from someone in bathing or dressing due to a health condition.
f. Difficulty in communicating
Communicating refers to an individual's exchanging information or ideas with other people through the use of language. They may use their voices for their exchange or make signs or write the information they want to exchange. It may involve mechanical problems such as hearing or speech impairment, or it may be related to the ability of the mind to interpret the sounds that the auditory system is gathering and to recognize the words that are being used.
Difficulty may be experienced due to factors relevant to communication such as hearing loss, language problems as after a stroke, stuttering, anxiety, or any other factor related to a health condition.
Difficulty in communication takes into consideration the person's usual mode of communication (such as, spoken language, sign language, gestural, or with an assistive device such as hearing aid) and situations such as when others speak quickly, with background noise or with distractions. Difficulty in communication should be health-related.