Independent Living is a philosophy, as well as a disability theory in the field of Disability Studies.  Independent Living and Disability Studies promote awareness of available supports that enable people to live independently. In reality, independent living is interdependence.

Disability Studies is a field that branches off into other areas including independent living centers. Without Disability Studies, we would not have independent living; without the Black Panthers giving the idea to Ed Roberts we would not have independent living centers. In a nutshell, without a community, we would not be living independently. Finally, without a family, we would not be independent people.

We can strive for independence, and we can live our lives being our selves; however, we cannot be selfish — only selfless and balanced.

This week’s Disability Awareness Weekly is about the myth of independence and how people with intellectual and communication disabilities teach us all this very fact.

It is why guardianship, which is an ancient formality, does not speak for anyone, and supported decision-making is a right for all humans regardless.  Everyone uses supported decision-making every day throughout their whole lives without even thinking about it.  Even though the idea might sound strange, supported decision-making is for everyone. We have to fight for everyone’s rights, not just what we think that means when people have a communication and intellectual disability. Communication disability is one thing; however, when it includes intellectual disability, most people ignore the right to supported decision-making for this population.

Peru abolished guardianship last year as a consideration to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities earlier in the 2000’s when they ratified this treaty.

Peru abolishes guardianship in 2018:

http://tciasiapacific.blogspot.com/2018/10/peruvian-law-recognises-full-legal.html

Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006:

https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf\

Independent Living is really individualized to whatever the person chooses for themselves. This means the person chooses their own direction to determine their own livelihood. That’s autonomy; that’s self-determination. That is the reason why the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is so important to everyone!

As Eli Claire (2017) states in Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure, “I’m less interested in the rightness or wrongness of these choices by themselves than in the distinct pattern they create when placed side by side.” (27)  It’s the support we get when we make our decisions — whatever decisions each of us makes in our lives. Observe, listen, and learn from a person with communication and intellectual disability.