Personal assistance as a means of psychosocial development of people with health disabilities

This work deals with the theme of personal assistance and its influence on psychosocial development of people with health disabilities. The character of this work is theoretically empirical. The theoretical part provides the chapter on personal assistance, where a definition of personal assistance, its characterization and principles it is based on as well as its typology and its benefits for people with health disabilities can be found. Next chapter is engaged in the origin of personal assistance and the Independent Living movement. This work gives also a description of the evolution of situation in the Czech Republic regarding personal assistance and the influence of a newly accepted social services law on providing these services. Following chapters deal with a determination of terms concerning health disabilities and with a description of specific features of personal assistance provided to people with particular types of health disabilities. Finally, attention is paid to the psychosocial development of people with health disabilities and to the role of personal assistance in it. The empirical part of this work is focused on the influence of self-determinating personal assistance on psychosocial development of people with physical disabilities, also the accessibility of this service as well as primary..