Barriers to Independent Living for Individuals with Disabilities and Seniors

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities and seniors often lack the freedom to choose with whom they live and where they reside. Service options may involve moving consumers to large nursing facilities or other less-preferred settings rather than optimizing environmental supports in their own home or in less restrictive settings. Not only do adults usually enjoy greater choice when they live in their own homes relative to individuals living in congregate care or group home settings but independent and semi-independent settings are also associated with better outcomes and lower costs. Identifying variables that serve as barriers to independent living is especially important given estimates predicting that the numbers of seniors and individuals with disabilities will double in the next 20 years. This doubling will tax an already burdened and costly system of care. The present study queried consumers and other key stakeholders about potential barriers to independent living and their importance. Findings not only revealed a high degree of overlap between identified barriers and their importance ratings within groups but also showed clear differences in potential barriers across the groups assessed (individuals with disabilities and senior citizens).

A Survey Assessing Privacy Concerns of Smart-Home Services Provided to Individuals with Disabilities

“…We contacted leaders (e.g., managers, directors, executive staff) of 30 agencies that provided services and resources to individuals with disabilities across the United States via e-mail and requested that they distribute a link to an anonymous online survey to their members (e.g., staff, volunteers, advocates, clients). We distributed the survey link to the same 13 agencies that were included in DiGennaro Reed et al (2014) and included an additional 17 agencies that provided services to individuals with disabilities and had national representation; this list was not exhaustive. The selected agencies served a diverse range of populations, including individuals with autism spectrum disorder, brain and spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and speech and language deficits (see Table 1).…”

“…For example, more research is needed to understand the specific types of privacy concerns that exist when smart-home services are provided for individuals with disabilities (e.g., physical, sensory, developmental, intellectual) across various ages. Such research is important because it cannot be assumed that privacy concerns regarding smart homes are similar across different types of service recipients (e.g., DiGennaro Reed et al, 2014).…”

Adult Independence Living Measurement Scale: Psychometric validation of a scale to estimate personal skills for independent living in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

“…Independence and dependence areas generally coexist in individuals, and dependence is often a necessary factor in achieving independence (Vorhaus 2007). Therefore, the concept of 'independence' should not be considered as 'complete autonomy' because the promotion of the 'independent living' requires the awareness of the barriers and the possibility of persons with disability to receive the appropriate support to live in the way they want (Trent et al 2002;DiGennaro Reed et al 2014).…”