Independent Living Skills

Independent Living Programs

ACL's independent living programs work to support community living and independence for people with disabilities across the nation based on the belief that all people can live with dignity, make their own choices, and participate fully in society.

These programs provide tools, resources, and supports for integrating people with disabilities fully into their communities to promote equal opportunities, self-determination, and respect.

Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council

Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council (AZSILC) is one of 56 Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), which are federally mandated under the Rehabilitation Act. There is one SILC in each state and US territory. AZSILC members are appointed by the Governor, and the Council is comprised of Arizonans who have diverse disabilities, as well as advocates for people who have disabilities from across the state.

The Council participates in developing, monitoring, and reviewing the triennial State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL), which is implemented by the AZSILC administrative team, in collaboration with the five Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in Arizona.

Eight Ways to Create and Build Social Connections

Having social connections can make a lasting impact on the quality of your life.

Social isolation can happen for a variety of reasons. Your grown children and grandchildren may live far away. A job change or retirement may mean no longer having daily contact with co-workers. Injury or poor health may be keeping you on the sidelines. Isolation is more than being alone — it’s being detached physically or psychologically or feeling disconnected from friends and family.

Research consistently shows having social connections can help you experience fewer mental and physical health issues as you grow older. Not only does talking with others keep your brain sharp, but relationships can also give you a sense of belonging that makes a lasting impact on the quality of your life.

Knowing where to start can be the hardest part of any lifestyle change, especially if you feel disconnected from the world around you.

To help strengthen your social skills, we’ve rounded up eight ways you can get the know-how and confidence to keep reaching out and building connections. You can do it — here’s how!

An AARP article from the AARP Foundation.

Ability360

Ability360 continues a 40-year tradition of offering and promoting programs to empower people with all disabilities to take personal responsibility so that they may achieve or continue independent lifestyles within the community.

Ability360 is a Center for Independent Living.

A Center for Independent Living, otherwise known as a CIL, is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization run by people with disabilities, for people with disabilities to address needs and barriers within the community. Ability360 is located in Phoenix, Arizona and provides services throughout the state of Arizona.

How To Become Tech Savvy Seniors In 10 Days

"Seniors in a digital world can be easily overwhelmed by all the new technology around us. We are surrounded by an array of digital devices, whether its smartphones, social media, tablets, banking machines, or laptops. There’s no avoiding it, so we should learn how to use all these technological advances to make life easier. It’s easy to become tech savvy seniors when you begin to learn more about the technology around you.

Technology is used in every facet of life because it can provide the speed, connectivity, and efficiency to make tasks easier. We all want things to be easier and faster and as an older adult, it’s important not to underestimate how technology can help you in your golden years.

This is the information age where questions can be answered in an instant, and when we take advantage of being informed and connected then we can gain the knowledge and know-how necessary to helping ourselves and improving our lives. Getting digital literacy training can give older adults the skills and confidence to access information and services online.

Indeed, getting some simple training in using computers, tablets, and smartphones can help seniors to stay connected with their families, friends, and communities. This is especially important for seniors who wish to live independently and age at home.

If you want to learn the basics or just brush up on your digital know-how, we can give you pointers on how to become a tech-savvy senior in no time."

This article from AgingInPlace will help you to learn how to become more technology savvy.

What is Independent Living?

What is Independent Living?

Most Americans take for granted opportunities they have — regarding living arrangements, employment situations, means of transportation, social and recreational activities, and other aspects of everyday life.

For many Americans with disabilities, however, barriers in their communities take away or severely limit their choices. These barriers may be obvious, such as lack ramped entrances for people who use wheelchairs, lack of interpreters or captioning for people with hearing impairments, lack of Braille or taped copies of printed material for people who have visual impairments. Other barriers — frequently less obvious — can be even more limiting to efforts on the part of people with disabilities to live independently, and they result from people misunderstandings and prejudices about disability. These barriers result in low expectations about things people with disabilities can achieve.

So, people with disabilities not only have to deal with the effects of their disabling conditions, but they also have to deal with both kinds of barriers. Otherwise, they are likely to be limited to a life of dependency and low personal satisfaction.

This need not occur. Millions of people all over America who experience disabilities have established lives of independence. They fulfill all kinds of roles in their communities, from employers and employees to marriage partners to parents to students to athletes to politicians to taxpayers — an unlimited list. In most cases, the barriers facing haven't been removed, but these individuals have been successful in overcoming, or at least dealing, with them.