10 minutes
Where independent living came from Understand the independent living philosophy as a set of commitments made by disabled people, and what those commitments ask of a public agency.
What you’ll be able to do State the core commitments of the independent living philosophy and identify one process in your work that is not consistent with at least one of them. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: What is the most useful thing to do? Document a next step for Where independent living came from: Find out which center for independent living serves your area and what it offers that the Division does not. Built by the people it serves The independent living movement grew out of disabled people organizing to leave institutions and run their own lives, in an era when the professional consensus was that they could not. Its commitments were not proposed by agencies; they were demanded of them. That history matters because it explains the philosophy's central move: the person with the disability is the expert on their own life, and the role of everyone else is to support the decisions they make, not to make them.
Independence in this tradition has a specific meaning. It is not doing things without help. It is deciding. A person who directs a team of personal care assistants, chooses where to live, and manages their own schedule is living independently. A person who does everything for themselves in a setting someone else chose is not.
Independence means deciding, not doing everything alone.
Four commitments and what they ask of an agency Consumer control The person directs their own services and their own life. For an agency, this means the plan is the person's plan, the meeting is the person's meeting, and the goals are stated in the person's words.
Peer support People with disabilities are the best source of guidance for other people with disabilities. For an agency, this means knowing where peer support exists, and making it easy to reach, rather than substituting professional advice for it.
Self-determination The right to make choices, including ones others would not make, and to learn from them. For an agency, this means that a person's decision is not a problem to be managed.
Community living The right to live in the community, with whatever supports that takes. For an agency, this means that the question is never whether a person can live in the community, but what would need to be in place for them to.
Make the person the first speaker What you can change You control who opens a planning conversation and in whose words the goals are recorded. Both are small and both decide whose meeting it is.
What to watch for Do not let professionals set the agenda and then ask the person to agree with it. Agreement obtained that way is compliance, and it does not hold.
Your next step At your next planning meeting, ask the person to describe what a good year would look like before anyone else speaks.
Carry this forward Independent living was built by disabled people, not for them: the commitments are consumer control, peer support, self-determination, and the right to live in the community with the supports needed to do so.
Independence in this tradition means deciding, not doing everything alone; a person who directs twelve hours of daily support is living independently.
Centers for independent living are run by and for disabled people, and they are a resource a state agency can work alongside rather than a service it administers.
A statement, an accordion on the four commitments, a scenario decision and a knowledge check.
Find out which center for independent living serves your area and what it offers that the Division does not.
Browse and download only. Course notes are not typed or saved on this page.
Reset this lesson
Previous lesson Next lesson Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.
