This, from Brisenden 1986 - it's not a new debate/discussion!
Theo
We believe fundamentally that all individuals have the right to live independently in the community regardless of their disability [impairment]. But, it is important to note the sense in which we use the word ‘independence’ because it is crucial to everything we are saying. We do not use the term ‘independent’ to mean someone who can do everything for themselves, but to indicate someone who has taken control of their life and is choosing how that life is led. It cannot be applied to someone living in an institutional setting, therefore, because the routing of their life will be pre-determined, to a greater or lesser extent, by the needs of the professionals in charge of the institution. However, it can be applied to the most severely disabled [impaired] person who lives in the community and organises all the help and ‘care’ they need as part of a freely chosen lifestyle. The important factor is not the amount of physical tasks a person can perform, but the amount of control they have over their everyday routine. The degree of disability [impairment] does not determine the amount of independence achieved.
We believe that the choice of independent living is not a privilege conferred on us by a generous society, but is the right of all individuals, regardless of disability [impairment], to live in the community. We see it as a right that has to be restored to us rather than a freely given gift. Those people with disabilities [impairments] who have achieved it in our society today, usually have done so through a process of struggle that continues day in and day out. Yet the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages of the struggle, and the struggle becomes less difficult as more and more people with disabilities [impairments] assert their right to live independently.
(Brisenden 1986:178)
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