Develops a heuristic model of independence and discusses it in reference to a hierarchy of fundamental human needs. Four major components of the model (perceived control of one's life, physical functioning, psychological self-reliance, and environmental resources) are identified and the relationships among them are explored. The model is then…

Surveyed 163 independent living programs in 1986 and 189 programs in 1988, examining characteristics of staff and their training, board of directors, funding, service delivery, and consumers. Resulting profile of typical independent living program preserved characteristics of original model: consumer control, wide range of services, service…

Examined effects on funding of standardizing the independent living center model. Findings from 55 Independent Living Programs that had complete funding diversity indexes and 58 that had designated their total budgets revealed that more programs tended to become compliant over time, but funding also became more diverse over time regardless of…

Developed Personal Independence Profile (PIP) as an instrument to measure aspects of independence beyond physical and cognitive functioning in people with diverse disabilities. PIP was tested for reliability and validity with 185 subjects from 10 independent living centers. Findings suggest that the Personal Independence Profile measures the…

Disabled persons may receive needed personal assistance from spouse, parents, other family, or a hired assistant (possibly shared) who is compensated by cash or barter. Disabled persons in rural areas rely heavily on family members and face overwhelming locational, financial, and attitudinal barriers to independent living. (SV)

Examined relationship between personal assistance and level of productivity, using sample of 30 Japanese adults with severe physical disabilities. Found that married individuals who used nonfamily, paid assistants were among most satisfied; and married, older, and less educated individuals were among most productive. (Author/NB)