Abstract:

The importance of providing more than custodial, long-term care to people who are both aging & disabled has prompted an alternative to the traditional medical model of rehabilitation. Described here is the independent living (IL) model of self-help services to disabled people, which contends that their real handicap lies in the inaccessibility & hostility of the environment & not in the handicap itself. While the medical model counsels the individual on how to adapt & fit in, the IL model strives to change the physical (access to buildings, buses, etc) & additudinal environment. It is concluded that the IL movement, a growing elderly population, technological opportunities, & younger generations who expect technological solutions to be readily available are expanding services to older Americans who are outside traditional rehabilitation systems.