AbstractOccupational therapists frequently work with clients who are challenged by chronic disabilities that may often lead to handicaps. Consequently, chronicity and possible resulting handicaps are matters of concern for occupational therapists in all domains, including: practice, research and education. In 1980 the World Health Organization put forth a classification scheme to capture the long‐term consequences of disease: the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH). Its use within occupational therapy was advocated. They showed that the constructs of this classification system mirrored those of occupational therapy's occupational performance model. More recently, a proposal for the revision of the ICIDH (ICIDH‐PR) has been advanced. This proposal is consistent with the enablement and occupational competence models. Within this proposed model, occupational therapy is concerned with enabling clients to interact optimally within their chosen environments. This paper presents a brief review of a selected portion of the international literature on the ICIDH and introduces the proposed revision of the ICIDH for occupational therapy. The structure of this proposed classification is compared with the occupational therapy models. The implications that the use of the ICIDH‐PR will have for occupational therapy are also addr