ABSTRACT
Historically, the international disabled people's movement has been critical of both professionally and interprofessionally led services for their failure to enable disabled people to live ‘independently’ within the community. In response, groups of disabled people developed their own. Generally referred to as Centres for Independent Living (CILs), these organisations appeared, first, in the USA, Canada and ‘developing’ countries like Nicaragua and Costa Rica and, later, in European states such as the UK and Sweden. There are now at least 80 user-controlled service providers operating in various parts of the UK (Barnes et al 2000). However, there is a symbiotic but often uneasy relationship between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’. This chapter charts that relationship and highlights some of the key issues that will inevitably confront all those involved in services for disabled people.
