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Record no:

1 of 1

Author:

MLADENOV Teodor;

Title:

Personal assistance for disabled people and the understanding of human being.

Reference:

Critical Social Policy, 32(2), May 2012, pp.242-261.

ISSN paper:

0261-0183

ISSN online:

1461-703X

Abstract:

Personal assistance is a practice promoted by European Independent Living advocates as crucial for supporting the independence and social inclusion of disabled people. The aim of this paper is to explore the understanding of human being mediated by the model of personal assistance promoted by the European Independent Living advocates. This model was the outcome of the international European Center for Excellence in Personal Assistance (ECEPA) project. The article explores the description of the model, outlining every detail of ‘ideally’ organised personal assistance. It is argued that the ECEPA model exemplifies a description of social policy practice that is sensitive not only to the material and psycho-physiological exigencies of being disabled in present-day Western society, but also to the ways in which the practice defines people who engage with it in their very being. Hence it is a phenomenologically promising description which is attentive to the existential-ontological implications of the support mechanism it promotes. A case study of recent disability-related activism in Bulgaria is developed in order to further substantiate this claim. In conceptual terms, the paper adds a fresh perspective to the debates on individualist vs. collectivist approaches to disability equality. In policy terms, the paper argues for the necessity of promoting and supporting disabled people’s self-organising, most importantly peer support and advocacy activities.

Journal home:

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Format:

article;

Topics:

advocacy; disabled people; home help; independent living; models; rights; self-directed support; social policy;

Record ID:

www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/profile.asp?guid=513f2cab-4729-448f-bd45-e205ab53084e