Assistentti Nationwide Personal Assistance Network

1. Assistentti.infoNationwide Personal Assistance Network Terhi Toikkanen

2. What is Assistentti.info? • A nationwide development initiative, which is aimed at coordinating: • arrangements for personal assistance for persons with severe disabilities • improvements in dissemination of information and know-how [skills] • There are now 45 participants in the network • The initiative is run by The Threshold Association and is financially supported by the Finnish Association for Slot Machines

3. What is Personal Assistance? • Assisting the persons with severe disabilities by realising personal life choices • e.g. personal hygiene, dressing, food and diet, social relationships, outdoor activities, work-life and leisure activities • Note the difference between assistance and care • the severely disabled themselves must be able to define the areas of personal assistance required

4. The Goals of Assistentti.info • Increase and strengthen skills in relation to personal assistance • Effectively functioning personal assistance system • importance of structuring and maintaining an appropriate system • Activities founded on cooperation and sharing of information and skills as well as collaborative learning via the network

5. Know-how through collaboration!

6. Types of Activity • [Helpline] Advisory • Consultation • Training • Information Dissemination • printed materials, web newsletter, website: www.assistentti.info • Network Committees: • Advisory Committee, Working Committee • sections: Training; Research and Development; Works Division; Legal • Assessments

7. Advisory Services [Helpline] • Via email: • neuvonta@assistentti.info • Via telephone: • Wednesdays 1 pm – 4 pm and • Thursdays 9 am -12 pm • Tel: (09) 6850 1150      

8. Who is Eligible to Receive Advice? • Persons with severe disabilities • employers and persons considering to be employers • Personal assistants • Family & next of kin • Social Workers • Decision makers • Everyone who seeks advice

9. Legal Updates • A significant piece of new legislation regulating assistance for the persons with disabilities will come into force on September 1, 2009 • Personal assistance will become a so-called subjective right for the persons with severe disabilities: • all who require help must receive adequate personal assistance notwithstanding budget deficits • the new law is expected to improve the position of those severely disabled persons living in care homes as well as those who have been refused help to date on the basis of lack of funding

10. How is Severe Disability Defined? • Persons requiring repeated assistance in order to complete daily activites owing to a long term disability or illness or other progressively deteriorating condition. • A requirement for assistance, which is continous in nature and/or repetitive and irrespective of the level of assistance required, whether significant or of a lesser degree.

11. Severe Disability Continued… • All severely disabled persons are affected irrespective of age and specific condition: • abilities and assistance needs change • instances of aging of the severely disabled as well as of elderly persons who become disabled are to be handled differently from the aging of the well-bodied. • Severely disabled persons must have sufficient reserve strength to specify the kind of assistance required and the manner in which it is to be provided • Comprehensive assessment of the nature of activities

12. Challenges for Assistentti.info • Stregthening of the weight given to personal choice of the severely disabled, including through the legislative process • Personal assistance must enable the severely disabled to live a balanced life, and not to complicate or to add burden

13. Thank You,

14. Terhi Toikkanen terhi@assistentti.info