This domain includes recognizing limits and seeking, accepting and coordinating assistance, services and supports. It is central to the Initiative’s rejection of independence as the endpoint of development.

Interdependence is not a failure state. Human functioning routinely depends on other people, technologies and institutions. What changes developmentally is the person’s potential contribution to recognizing what is needed, judging the quality of provision, coordinating support, communicating preferences and participating in decisions.

This domain is particularly compatible with ICF and assistive-technology science, which treat support, relationships, products and technologies as environmental factors that can facilitate functioning. The novel question is whether recognizing limits and recruiting support should itself be treated as a distinct functional-capacity domain.