A New Life-Style for Persons with Severe Disabilities: Supported Independence

This article presents the first descriptive data on an innovative approach to persons with disabilities so complex and serious that the traditional services have given up. The model, which supported independence using individualized dollars (dollars allocated to the specific client), emerged when the Calgary Association for Independent Living, a small self-help group of disabled persons, was asked to help a multiply disabled, aggressive, young man to stay in the community. Because the Board has made a commitment to serve all disabled persons and had stated their priority as preventing unwanted institutionalizations, they agreed. This is the first of five published accounts about the first severely disabled persons, who, with their family, friends, and CAIL, are true Canadian pioneers of supported independence.