The same is true for people with disabilities who use attendants to assist with personal care and similar tasks. From the disabled person's perspective an attendant is like their arms and legs, or memory. The services provided simply make up for the functional limitations the disability imposes. This is very different from the traditional provider view that health care professionals do things to patients, caring for people who cannot care for themselves. Because rules and regulations are too medically oriented and too inflexible, there is not enough room for developing and implementing creative delivery systems.
Control is one of the most important factors in service provision.
People with disabilities want to direct their care and, for the most part, are able to do so. This direction, or control, applies to when, where and what assistance is given as well as how it is given. Familiar with their bodies and routines, people with disabilities know the best way tasks should be done. Many people even prefer to train their own attendants because they feel this helps ensure the services they receive meet their needs, and not those outlined in a training manual. Some agencies allow people to find their own attendants and then the agency hires that attendant to serve that person.