Although my surname might make you think that I am Irish, I was born in Valencia (Spain) forty-nine years ago. I spent most life in a small town on the Mediterranean coast until I moved to the city where I am living now and that is the same city where I was born. I share…
YHD has started a co-operation with a company which is introducing the SERVUS system in Slovenia. The company has approached us, because a few years ago we already had a successful cooperation with one of its managers, getting brand new computers and software to 20 users of the Independent Living Programme. This new co-operation is…
On the 18th of June the Pride Parade took over the streets of Oslo for the fourth consecutive year with over 1000 participating. The parade is the largest demonstration of disabled people ever in Norway. Together we marched from Universitetsplassen to Oslo Spektrum to show the world that we are PROUD, STRONG and VISIBLE! After…
My name is Katja and I live in a village near Valencia for almost ten years. Before I used to live in Benidorm (Alicante), my profession was in the healthcare area and I was working in a private clinic as an assistant in the surgical area. I have a son, Unai, he lived with me…
My name is Aglaia Katsigianni. I’m a 42 years old woman with physical disability living in Drama, a city in the northern Greece. I’m single, living with my – super! – mom, because independent living doesn’t exist in Greece.. My dad has passed away, several years ago. My disability is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and it…
Meet Buddy Bougere from New Orleans, USA. He is writing a biography on disability pioneer Ed Roberts and is working on a worldwide list of Independent Living Centers. Read all about it and help Buddy Bougere with completing his list. 961 Independent Living Centers In 37 Countries by Buddy Bougere mail@EdRoberts.info http://edroberts.info/ © Copyright by…
I’m a youngster from about 30 years and I was raised in an open-minded way. My younger, non-disabled brother and I were raised in an equal way. I spend my school time at a school for disabled people but I didn’t see this as an obstacle because there they taught me how to be independent….
J’ai fait des études de tourisme et c’est dans ce domaine que je travaillais mais ma vie a basculé deux fois. Tout d’abord quand j’avais 24 ans et que je me suis retrouvée en chaise roulante suite à mon premier accouchement et puis il y a sept ans quand mon mari m’a quittée. Souffrant d’un…
I’ve studied tourism and this is the area I worked in, but my life changed twice. First when I was 24 years and I found myself in a wheelchair after my first delivery and then seven years ago when my husband left me. Suffering from a severe disability, unable to live alone, I fought to…
The Expertise Centre Independent Living (Belgium) published a study in May 2011 on quality of life of people who use a Personal Assistance Budget (PAB) in Flanders to organize their support. Following this research we spoke with the renowned professor Robert Schalock. He tells us more about the concept of Quality of Life.
-A lot of our readers have heard about you and your work in the field of Quality of Life-research. For the people that don’t know who you are, could you introduce yourself?
The concept of quality of life appeared in my writings in the mid 1980s based on the evaluation of community based programs in Nebraska. At that time, we were establishing community-based residential and vocational programs for persons with intellectual disability and were placing individuals into more independent and productive community environments. We were proud of our accomplishments were as we continued the research activities it became apparent that something was missing in our work. I remember well, for example, making the following comment in a 1986 AJMR article: “Although we had succeeded in placing people into more independent and productive environments, we had overlooked an important item: their quality of life.’Even though I knew very little about the concept from a literature perspective, intuitively it made good sense to focus on a life of quality, which lead to the work on quality of life that I have been involved in ever since.
My name is Bor Melansek. I’m 31 years old. I am a tetraplegic and I live on my own in Ljubljana. To be able to live on my own I use personal assistance and help from my friends. What is your personal experience of disability? On the 4th of January 2004 while fooling around on…
I’m celebrating Easter in the south of Spain, as I normally do. The sun is shining as usual. And I am enjoying a walk on the beach with the help of my assistant. It’s a holiday and families are out strolling together. People from all generations are walking and stopping to chat with friends along…
Stefan Nilsson, age 39, lives in his own apartment in Stockholm. He has a large family with whom he likes to spend time. Stefan is a member of JAG and participates in the daily work offered for members at JAG’s headquarters. What kind of support do you need? I have had a personal assistant…
On the 10th May in Berlin a demonstration against the existing discrimination, segregation and exclusion is taking place to celebrate the European day of protest for the equality of disabled people. The motto of the demonstration is “Rescue parachutes for all”. The demonstration is organized by the federal initiative “At home instead of in a…
fvid-Spain Under the theme: Segregation is not Education, FVID launched a campaign to protect and ensure the right of disabled children to have access to an inclusive educational system. A letter was issued to the Secretary of State for Education after the declarations given where he promotes a model of inclusive education, where schools…
