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What does independence mean?

Independence is something that tends to be highly valued in many current societies: it is something that is sought and prized. However, one consequence of this is that perceived dependency is often stigmatized and those who require support can be marginalized and devalued. Furthermore, such perceptions are sometimes fuelled and maintained by media reports that portray the need for support as a ‘drain’ on the economic resources of society. The concept of independence (and by implication also that of dependence), however, requires critical analysis. I read the work of Jenny Morris (1993) regarding independent living many years ago, but one key point from this work has stayed with me: independence can be viewed in different ways. In her book, she highlighted how (from a professional perspective) independence is often viewed in terms of whether an individual is able to do something on his or her own. In other words, we tend to assess the extent to which someone is able to perform tasks without assistance (independence) and use this as a basis for arranging packages of care and support when someone is unable to undertake these tasks on their own. However, she also provides an alternative perspective, namely, that independence is concerned with autonomy and being able to exercise control. In this context, an individual may not be able to do something ‘on his/her own’, but they can exercise control over when they do it and who supports them. They may still require support to perform certain actions, but they are able to maintain independence through exerting control over how such support is provided. I was reminded of this recently when discussing independence with a group of people with intellectual disabilities who had decided that they wanted to explore this as a topic for research. When discussing what independence meant, one group member said, ‘Doing what I want, when I want, with the right support’ – one of the best definitions of independence I have come across. Clearly, for this individual, there was recognition that they needed support in order to achieve the things that they want to achieve in their life but having the ‘right’ support and control are also essential. The global economic crisis has had a significant impact on the funding that is available to support service delivery, and this is compounded by rising levels of need both in terms of demand and in terms of complexity. As a consequence, there can be pressures to ‘target’ services on those ‘most’ in need, which inevitably means that some may not receive support or not receive it at a Journal of Intellectual Disabilities 2015, Vol. 19(3) 203–204 a The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1744629515593659 jid.sagepub.com