Consumer Directed Care

The term personal assistance services is often used by younger adults with disabilities to describe what is known in the field of aging services as home care. These refer to "tasks. . .that individuals would normally do for themselves if they did not have a disability" (Litvak, Zukas, and Heumanm).

Specifically, these tasks relate to personal care/activities of daily living (i.e., bathing, dressing, toileting, mobility, and transfer), instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., housekeeping, chore services, laundry, meal preparation, menu planning, transportation, and money management), communication (i.e., reader services for those with visual impairments and interpreter services for those with hearing impairments), and paramedical services (i.e., administration of medication, injections, catheterization, and ventilator care). Also included may be home modifications, assistive devices and technologies, and care management. Depending on the program, some or all of these services may be directed by consumers.