Various disability groups
Independent Living for various disability groups
The history of Independent Living as a specific process
whereby disabled persons are enabled to be more self-directing and participating
to an integrated manner in the community, shows very clearly that it is
a process tried, tested, and proved for persons with severe mobility and
visual impairments as evidenced by the literature in both the U.S.A. and
Canada. The personal assistance service so closely associated with Independent
Living in the United States is a service particularly required by persons
with mobility disabilities. As indicated in the Zukas history of CIL in
California, a deliberate decision in 1972 brought persons with visual disabilities
into the Independent Living process where they have remained ever since,
using Independent Living services particularly suited to their needs such
as reader referral services.
Since the deaf and hearing impaired community is also desirous of living
in as much as possible a self-directing, integrated manner in society and
has a membership which is quite capable of achieving this, it would seem
they too should benefit from involvement in the specific processes we have
called Independent Living. That they have not done so to this time may be
explained in part by communication difficulties between this group and others,
the fact of their own American sign language culture, and a history which
did not include recent institutionalization to the same degree as is the
case for blind and mobility disabled persons. Another factor which would
bear consideration is that for most profoundly deaf persons in the American
Sign Language (ASL) culture, integration does not mean integration of the
individual in society at large but rather, integration of their community
into the community of communities which makes up our society. It seems reasonable
to think that sign language interpreter referral services, Independent Living
skill training, and various other adaptations of Independent Living services
would be of great benefit to hearing impaired and deaf individuals.
In the area of psychiatric and intellectual disabilities, some more profound
difficulties may occur in an attempt to modify Independent Living concepts
and services for use by these groups. For example, the central concept of
self direction/self-determination, may present some difficulty for some
intellectually disadvantaged persons and for some psychiatrically disabled
persons. Still, there may be great benefit to be gained by researching the
application of Independent Living concepts and processes to these disability
categories.
A person with an intellectual disadvantage, for example, might benefit from
some staff assistance, just as a mobility disabled person does by way of
a personal care attendant, or the deaf individual does by way of a sign
language interpreter. Intellectually disadvantaged persons might benefit
from services of someone whom he/she trusted to simplify complex matters
and analyze these for reasonable options for the intellectually disadvantaged
person to choose from. The Community Services Model in British Columbia
also offers an interesting parallel to the personal assistance program in
California, (often associated with Independent Living}, inasmuch as it makes
governmental moneys available to the disabled individual's family or guardian
in much the same way as California makes moneys available to the disabled
individual for the purchase of personal assistance services. In the Community
Service Model of British Columbia, the family or guardian of the intellectually
disadvantaged person is then able to purchase services including the services
of a broker who assists the intellectually disadvantaged person with day-to-day
living decisions.
Valuable research could also be done with psychiatrically disabled persons
in order to determine whether Independent Living concepts and processes
could be applied to this group. These disabled persons have a long and tragic
history of institutionalization as do persons with intellectual disadvantages.
Drug discoveries of the past two decades have led to massive de-institutionalization
for psychiatrically disabled persons. Unfortunately, the side effects of
these drugs and other treatments are debilitating themselves. The result
has been some very unsatisfactory re-institutionalization in boarding houses
where they are neither integrated and participating in the community nor
truly self-directing in that, for the most part, very few options are available
to them. It seems reasonable to think that some form of assistance to compensate
for some of the side effects of the drugs these individuals must use could
improve the variety and quality of options available to them, and perhaps
allow them to live in a more integrated manner in the community. Peer counseling
and support would almost surely be of some help to psychiatrically disabled
persons. At this point, however, the idea of Independent Living applications
to psychiatrically disabled persons is, in the main, somewhat speculative
and would require some very fundamental research to determine the feasibility
of such applications.
It is important to understand that Independent Living as a specific process
of benefit to disabled persons has largely been limited to persons with
mobility and visual disabilities. This is not a fatal flaw by any means,
rather it is a mark of its versatility as a technique for ameliorating the
conditions of disabled persons, and advancing their status in the important
ways it does, that it is applicable to persons with various physical disabilities.
Many other concepts are applicable only to more limited sub-categories of
disabled persons. Complete and absolute versatility should not be required
or expected of Independent Living. At the same time, it is important that
some research be initiated into the application of Independent Living processes
for persons with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.
Source:
Independent Living Resource Center,
207-294 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Man. R3C 0B9, Canada.
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