Professor Steven Eidelman outlines why ‘interdependence’ is a more worthwhile pursuit than ‘independence’…for all people.
July 4th is upon us. Independence Day. We celebrate America’s signing of the Declaration of Independence. The official beginning of the United States of America.
We celebrate with friends, family, fireworks and food.
We hear a lot of talk about independence for people with disabilities. I think this is a mistake. Independence came from tests to measure activities of daily living (ADL’s) and the ability to complete tasks such as feeding yourself, dressing yourself, etc. without assistance. It came from people with disabilities not wanting to be in nursing homes or other institutions. And who can blame them! I regularly hear from family members of people with disabilities saying my son or daughter cannot be independent. We clearly have a communications problem if that is the message being received.