Consumer Control in Independent Living Centres
The principle of "consumer control" and direction means that the consumer must have a direct say over the type, quality, and nature of the systems and services by which resources are provided. Traditional rehabilitation approaches have often expected the consumer to be a passive recipient of scheduled services. In contrast, an independent living advocate would argue that all people have the right to exercise maximum control, responsibility and risk over their own lives. The Independent Living philosophy argues that it is ultimately more beneficial for purposes of human development if each consumer has direct control over who provides what type of service where, when, and how. All of these elements reduce dependence and maximize independent living and community participation.
When we carefully analyze the meaning and application of consumer control, it soon becomes evident that this independent living principle can be applied to any number of sharable community resources, or human delivery systems, which are intended to support a person living with a disability to fully participate in our society. The acid test of consumer control is probably best measured by the degree of influence consumers have over the way programs are developed and the methods of delivery.