By Daniela Brafman, Director, Center for Independent Living Jerusalem, January 2008
"Having PAs enabled me to find out who I am and now enables me to be who I am." If you are a disabled person and about to start receiving a Direct Payment to employ your own personal assistants (PAs), this book aims to give you a flavour of what it is like; the joys and the challenges. This book covers recruitment, managing, using PAs in social situations and at work, and dealing with problems. Put together by Sian Vasey with cartoons by David Shenton.
s Personal Assistance Relevant for Developing Countries?
by:Adolf Ratzka, December 2006
See Curriculum Vitae.
- Model National Personal Assistance Policy (page in english)
- Richtlinien für eine beispielhafte nationale Gesetzgebung für persönliche Assistenz (page Deutsch)
- Een model voor een nationale politiek inzake persoonlijke assistentie." (page Nederlands)
La política sugerida aquí es diferente, porque está escrita por individuos quienes en sí dependen de la asistencia diaria de otros. El Centro Europeo para la Excelencia en Asistencia Personal (ECEPA) (www.ecepa.org) está formado por ocho organizaciones asociadas 1, en ocho países europeos, que son operadas y controladas por personas con discapacidad y se especializa en brindar y defender los servicios de asistencia personal para personas con discapacidad. Usando nuestra experiencia combinada con las políticas de asistencia personal, se recopiló una lista de características para una política que promueve la autodeterminación y la ciudadanía completa para las personas con discapacidades extensivas.
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John Evans was one of the founders of Project 81 that marked the beginning of the Independent Living Movement in the UK. Since 1996 he has been the chair of the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL). In this document he gives an overview of the origin of the Independent Living Movement in the UK, it's development and evolution, as well as the current situation (2003).
With little or no previous experience the disabled person seeking to live independently suddenly finds her/himself thrust into the role of employer. Not surprisingly the effective management skills essential to coping with the day-to-day matter of relating to her/his personal assistant are sometimes absent or under-developed.
GAD's Center for Independent Living can help. (1993)
We have already assisted nearly a dozen people in the employment of their own personal assistants. This really does put you, the disabled person in control. You can decide who to employ, which hours they should work and what they should do. But control brings with it responsibilities and this is where GAD can help.
In April 1989, the first European Independent Living Conference was held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The meeting's theme was Personal Assistant. The conference resulted in the founding of the European Network for Independent Living, ENIL. Here, the resolution adopted at the conference.
Presentation given at the HELIOS Study Visit on Independent Living and Personal Assistance in Stockholm, June 7-9, 1996.
In most countries the importance of the family as a form of social insurance is declining. As the extended family gradually disappears with industrialization and the labor market's demands on geographical mobility, as divorce rates go up and single parents become increasingly common, the ability of the family to provide mutual aid in everyday life is diminishing. One of the results is that families have fewer resources left for members with special needs such as disabled children or old parents. If there is no place for these groups in the family, where can they turn to?