Name of Practice: Independent living pedagogy - PéVA ®  

Organisation: L’ADAPT

Description of the Organisation: Founded in 1929, L’ADAPT is an association of public utilities, manages over a hundred establishments and services in all regions of France, and supports nearly 20,000 persons with disabilities annually. Aside from the management of socio-medical centres, their fields of actions are employment, training, schooling, social & professional integration and also cooperation with governmental bodies for disability-related initiatives.

Country: Pantin, France

Year of initiation: 1996

Funding: Funded by the departmental council and the regional health agency

Link to UNCRPD: Article 19 – Living independently and being included in the community, Article 23 – Respect for home and the family, Article 24 – Education

Description of the practice: PéVA® is a 3-step educational training course intended for people with a severe motor disability who wish to acquire an independent life ‘at home’. The course offers an innovative approach centred on the individual. The project’s key objective is to offer persons with a severe disability, following 4 years of training, an autonomous and independent life in an ordinary home adapted to their functional abilities. The training is traditionally structured around 3 stages consisting of 21 training modules followed by a rotational living arrangement. These stages are:

(1) Move into an apartment within the Institut du Mai.

(2) Moving into a second accommodation in the city of Chinon.

(3) Living in an apartment in the city of their choice.

Throughout the 3 stages, each client relies on a team of trainers made up of counsellors, occupational therapists, nurses, nursing assistants and a coordinator. Following the final stage, the team continues to support the client for as long as it takes to pass the baton to the social network in the city of installation.

Problem targeted: Structured and organised support actions that allow people with disabilities to achieve complete autonomy were lacking. Protected environments created a certain dependence and obstructed an effective and full entry into mainstream life. As a result, PéVA® is based on continuous experimentation and practical experience to ‘manage’ its global social environment.

Solution offered: PéVA® has adopted a methodology centred on the choice of the person whose goal is full integration and participation in society through the acquisition of complete autonomy. The person chooses their residence in an ordinary environment and is accompanied throughout the process. PéVA® facilitates training in the techniques of all aspects of mobility for persons with disabilities to acquire autonomy in society. The independence and autonomy acquired by PéVA® facilitates the clients to be on an equal basis with persons without disabilities in providing them with the right to a private home. This opens the way for a family life in complete autonomy, which would have been difficult in an institution.

Impact generated by the practice: This training has enabled more than 160 people to live at home. The practice has given participants the “power to act”, empowering them to live independently in their accommodation. Participants better develop the activities and social relations within their community, which has greatly benefited the conditions of their social participation. Moreover, these persons are better able to invest and contribute to society, allowing for greater social inclusion.

Sustainability of the practice:

The results of the PéVA® has attracted funders, therefore guaranteeing its sustainability over time. In an effort to make the device sustainable, LADAPT has adopted a sociological and scientific approach by submitting the PéVA® to a study and evaluation in 2020. This study looked to evaluate and test whether this practice is definitively transferrable to other European and international contexts which respect the CIDPH and the principles of a democracy. Interest in this practice on a larger scale may be created particularly given the issue of deinstitutionalization is at the heart of European debates.Soon, the regional health agency (public funding) aims to support an off-shoot of the PéVA® on a larger scale across France.

Contact Information:

Hickmah Tagaully, European Projects Manager: tagaully.hickmah@ladapt.net

Additional links:

Article:Ladapt répand sa pédagogie à la vie autonome sur toute la France et en Centre-Val de Loire

Webinar: Webinaire PéVA® “un outil pédagogique au service de l’inclusion et de la citoyenneté“

Article: Les intérêts et les perspectives de la PéVA®

Article:L’étude sociologique de la PéVA®

Article: PéVA® (Pédagogie de la Vie Autonome®)

Webinaire: PéVA® - Pédagogie de la Vie Autonome