What is the purpose of a FAE?

A FAE can be used to define impairment levels and overall disability; determine if a client can return to their job after injury; measure an individual’s ability to safely complete work-related tasks or participate in gainful employment; and/or assist as a guideline for development of active rehabilitation or monitor the healing of an injury over time. The FAE can also determine which job modifications or restrictions are required to protect the individual’s current abilities and prevent future injury.

What is involved in a FAE?

Using objective, valid, and reliable testing procedures, the FAE evaluates an individual’s ability to complete various functional tasks. The FAE may include activities such as lifting, carrying, bending, reaching, squatting, kneeling, pushing, pulling, and finite tasks. Job specific tasks such as climbing, overhead weighted work, or administrative work can also be included in testing.

What is in the FAE report?

The FAE report includes a detailed and unbiased summary highlighting medical history and present conditions, objective clinical assessment of neuromuscular abilities, an individual’s overall level of effort and cooperation, and the individual’s potential for rehabilitation. The report can provide reliable and valid data to support or refute an individual’s ability to complete their job demands.

What is the length of a FAE?

A typical physical FAE can be completed over one or two days. The FAE takes (on average) 3 to 4 hours per day. A two-day FAE is often selected to assess endurance over a multiple day period.

Who will complete the FAE?

The FAE is conducted by a qualified health care professional with specialized certification and experience administering functional abilities evaluations. These therapists have the knowledge, skills, and expertise required to assess physical and biomechanical function to effectively evaluate an individual’s abilities with regards to workplace requirements.

Who performs CFAEs?

CFAEs are typically conducted by healthcare professionals such as registered physiotherapists, occupational therapists, kinesiologists, psychotherapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists. These professionals must have the required knowledge, skills, and experience to assess function and compare it to workplace requirements.

What does a CFAE include?

The evaluation includes a review of medical information, interviews with the worker, and physical tests for function. It also involves subjective questionnaires, real and/or simulated work activities, consistency-of-effort measures, and standardized ability tests.

Benefits of CFAEs:

• Identifies the worker’s strengths, abilities, needs, and preferences.

• Helps determine any job modifications required to maintain current abilities and prevent re-injury.

• Provides information to employers about what the injured worker can do, aiding in the planning of appropriate accommodations.

Cognitive Aspects Assessed in a CFAE:

• Memory: Evaluates short-term and long-term memory capabilities, including the ability to recall instructions and task-related information.

• Attention and Concentration: Assesses the individual’s ability to focus on tasks, sustain attention over time, and manage distractions.

• Executive Functioning: Analyzes skills such as planning, organizing, problem-solving, and decision-making.

• Processing Speed: Measures how quickly the individual can understand and respond to information.

• Language and Communication: Assesses verbal and written communication skills, comprehension, and expression.

• Visual-Spatial Abilities: Measures the ability to perceive, analyze, and understand visual information. These skills are important for tasks such as reading maps, recognizing patterns, and navigating environments.

Utilization of CFAEs:

Employers use CFAEs to examine unsafe functional work conditions by identifying discrepancies between an employee’s abilities and their job task requirements. This helps in allowing injured or absent employees to return to work safely and provides suggested activity modifications where necessary.

Who would benefit?

The Customized Reactivation Program is intended for individuals experiencing a high level of disability (pain, fatigue, depression) associated with a chronic health or mental health condition and for whom psychosocial issues such as fear of re-injury are considered to be a primary contributor impacting their overall ability to participate in both daily meaningful activities and return to work plans. The Customized Reactivation Program is ideal for those individuals whose symptoms are stabilized and who are motivated to consider rehabilitation a primary goal. This program has produced positive results for individuals suffering from chronic musculoskeletal conditions, whiplash, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

What is the purpose?

The Customized Reactivation Program is a 10-week program targeting behaviour changes in relation to the psychosocial barriers that sustain disability, prevent return to work, and/or foster the development of chronicity. The goals of the program involve maximizing participation, re-integration into previous life roles, and reducing or eliminating psychosocial barriers to the rehabilitation process. The Customized Reactivation Program focuses on disability reduction as opposed to pain reduction.

What is involved?

The Customized Reactivation Program involves identification of psychosocial risk factors to target an effective treatment plan. Realistic goal development and creation of a structured activity schedule will assist in resuming activities that have been adversely impacted by symptom illness or injury. Through graded activity and problem solving techniques, interventions are aimed at resumption of family, social, and occupational roles with the ultimate goal of re-integration into the workplace.