Definition of Personal Assistance

[Adolf Ratzka]

To assistance users in developing countries: please add your comment to this discussion forum (requires registration) or send your comment to adolf.ratzka@independentliving.org. Don’t forget to tell us where you live, whether your family belongs to the lower, middle or upper class in your local area, what your assistance needs are, and how you solve them, so our readers know what your situation is.

Personal Assistance: Definition and Goal

The international Independent Living Movement demands that disabled people need to enjoy the same degree of interdependence within the family that is common for non-disabled siblings, friends and neighbors. This applies particularly to persons with extensive disabilities who depend for their survival on the practical assistance of other persons for the activities of daily living, such as: getting dressed, going to the toilet, eating and communicating (in the case of non-verbal persons), and structuring the day (for persons with psychiatric disabilities).

The Independent Living Movement reserves the term “Personal Assistance” for this practical help, if and only if the individual assistance user has the power to decide who is to assist, with which activities, where, when and how.

According to the IL Movement, this degree of control is only possible, if individual users have the financial means to buy the services from service provider(s) of their choice and/or to employ persons of their choice (including family members) as assistants. It is recognized that people under age or persons with learning or psychiatric disabilities have the right to support in exercising the control. Since people with extensive disabilities or their families typically do not have the necessary economic resources, government payments are required.

[Rahel]

I came from a middle class family in Ethiopia. Another plus in my case is that I was born and brought up in a major city where the infrastructure is by far better than what is in remote rural areas. Because of my very limited mobility, I have been getting assistance from family and friends in enhancing access to goods and services. Assistance to people who have physical disability in such an environment is hardly personal. Yes, it is geared towards improving the welfare of the individual. Nevertheless, what is provided and what is not is entirely decided by the service provider or based on social norms. What the service user needs and what the provider is prepared to provide may not totally overlap. It is much more supply-driven than consumption driven. I am also skeptical about the feasibility of financial resources on its own in promoting independent living values. Ethiopian society, for instance, observes strong paternalistic norms wherein the notion of peolple with disability deciding on their own preferences is alien. True that finance has some say in broadening the choice of individuals but it is equally relevant to take into account the social contexts which vastly differ from that in western societies.
Michael Seifu