INDEPENDENT LIVING
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INDEPENDENT LIVING DEFINED |
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Independent Living Means Being a Part of the Community and having appropriate:
- Personal assistance housing Transportation Employment;
- Recreation Peer Support Self Help;
- Medical Services Legal Services Education;
- Political Opportunities Community Celebrations; AND
- Self Determination Control over our own lives Access to All of society!
Independent living is living just like everyone else. It is having the freedom to make decisions that affect our own life; pursuing activities of our own choosing, limited only in the same ways that any citizen’s, with or without a disability is limited.
Independent living is not just living on your own, working in a job that fits with your capabilities and interests, or having an active social life. Independent living also has to do with self-determination. It is having the right and the opportunity to choose your own course of action, being able to succeed or fail on your own merits, and having the freedom to learn from your experiences.
Independent Living Centers are an outgrowth of the international civil rights movement that works against discrimination and for more personal and political power for people with disabilities. The IL movement began in the 1960's and consists of people of all ages with diverse disabilities.
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THE "MEDICAL MODEL" OF SERVICE DELIVERY |
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The medical model of disability assigns us the helpless and passive patient role in which we are often considered dependent upon the care of others, unable to work, exempt from normal duties, leading unfulfilling lives with “medical conditions” that cannot be “cured” – the goal of medical model services. This is apparent by the still common term “invalid” (Latin for “worthless”). We are not patients whose personal care must be supervised by a registered nurse or case manager.
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THE INDEPENDENT LIVING MOVEMENT DEMANDS SELF-DETERMINATION |
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Disability is not a medical problem but a problem of unequal power and preconceived attitudes and stereotypes. We are an underprivileged political minority whose second-class citizenship standing can be improved. Pride, political power and far-reaching systemic changes can alter the scale’s balance.
With the justification that we are sick and unable to care for ourselves, many of us are confined in institutions, deprived of the most basic decisions and opportunities, which other people take for granted. We suffer loss of social skills, self-confidence and stunted human growth. The Independent Living Movement has amply demonstrated that nobody, regardless of type and extent of disability, needs to be in an institution, if provided with the appropriate services in the community.
Today many services such as housing, transportation and Personal assistance services are designed for the needs of the service provider and not the needs of people with disabilities who use the services.
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INDEPENDENT LIVING MEANS HAVING CHOICE OVER THE SERVICES YOU USE |
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Centers for Independent Living offer consumer-based services, run ‘by’ and ‘for’ people with disabilities. The Independent Living Movement demands the same range of options and the same degree of control over our lives that our non-disabled peers enjoy. People with disabilities need to take as much initiative as possible in designing services that maximize choice and control. Nobody can make choices more appropriate for us than US; we are the experts on our lives!!!
Traditional disability service providers are organized along diagnostic lines. For each medical condition, there is a separate organization.
This emphasizes the "sick role" and focuses on what divides us instead of concentrating on our common issues. Seeing disability as a medical problem, rather than a political or social problem, is perpetuated and reinforced by service providers that have non-disabled “experts” both in management and staff positions.
The Independent Living Movement believes that service organizations can work more effectively towards the goal of full participation and equality when disabled people themselves are in control, since we are the best experts on our needs. We need to demonstrate to the public and to ourselves that we are fully capable of taking responsibility for our own services, and exercising control over our own lives.
Since people with disabilities have become part of their respective communities, many of us have internalized societal prejudices against disability. The Independent Living Movement recognizes that our success in managing our lives must go hand in hand with freeing ourselves from internalized oppression, self-contempt, and low self-confidence. With communication with peers with disabilities, we can support each other through shared experiences.
No Longer Victims
No longer are we helpless victims dependent
upon other people’s charitable attitude.
Better than an expert a friend!
Peer support means to share one’s experience. In peer counseling individuals with disabilities learn from each other the practical and social skills needed for self-directed life in the community. Peer support provides appropriate role models, to increase self-reliance and encourages individuals to take charge of his/her life. Regardless of type and extent of disability, we all can learn to take more responsibility for ourselves. The Independent Living Movement seeks to empower the individual with the tools to bring about these changes in one’s life.
We feel peer support is very helpful as people deal with situations, which present themselves in daily living.
Connecting with Independent Living Centers, which have peer support groups, or starting them can be very beneficial in combating the isolation, which has contributed to the mass of ignorance.
Self-esteem means belief in oneself. Esteem means to value highly, to respect. Many of us have dealt with the issue of trying to be ‘normal’ when in reality it takes us more time to perform tasks. Being realistic about our abilities involves self-respect and high regard. We cease comparing ourselves endlessly to arbitrary standards adopted by our society and promoted endlessly through the media.
We need to view ourselves as employers and managers to make our lives function in a productive and an emotionally healthy manner.
All cultures have a different definition of what they value and hold in high regard, as do sub-cultures. People with disabilities are beginning to talk about and recognize our sub-culture. We need to validate ourselves, our abilities and our accomplishments. We do have abilities and we are capable of accomplishment. Being ‘realistic’ does not mean lacking goals, dreams, and hopes in life. The presence of disability does not mean the absence of these vital life elements. It is not that you shouldn’t challenge yourself, rather you should cut yourself some slack in terms of how much time it actually takes to get things done and how much assistance you might need.
Goals are defined as an end that one strives to attain. We all need something to live for, to guide us, to keep us healthy, give our life meaning and a sense of being connected in society. Because our disabilities all vary, our ways of expressing ourselves also differ. Goals are individually set. Society values the ‘work ethic’. As people with disabilities, we have been forced into thinking more creatively in many respects. Although we or people we know may not fit within the traditional “work ethic” model that says we are validated by the work we do, we are nevertheless capable of making valuable contributions to life and society.
You may decide you want to go to work, pursue a vocational goal, attend school or do volunteer work. Have a plan for your day. It could be a combination of these or other activities. Sort out what you need financially and then make a plan and a commitment to yourself to work toward reaching your goals.
When you feel a sense of direction it will make a difference in who you choose as your assistant and the quality of the assistant who will want to work for you. Having an awareness of where you want to be, what you want to do, and what’s important to you, is a powerful tool to keep you on track with getting the most out of your personal assistance employment experience.
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LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES |
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Have more control over our lives
- Use fewer tax dollars than being in an institution
- Have a quality of life that enhances our abilities to contribute
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