Assistance Today

Personal assistance may often seem obvious in relation to certain illnesses, disabilities, and support needs. However, there are two basic requirements to be eligible for personal assistance:

The first is that the individual must belong to a specific group according to Section 1 of the LSS Act (Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments).
The second is that the individual must have a need for help with the basic needs according to Section 9a of the LSS Act, points 1–7.

Categories of Group Membership

1. Persons with intellectual disabilities, autism, or autism-like conditions.

2. Persons with significant and permanent intellectual impairments resulting from brain injuries acquired in adulthood due to external force or physical illness.

3. Persons with other lasting physical or psychological impairments that are clearly not due to normal aging, if these impairments are substantial and cause considerable difficulties in daily life, thereby creating a significant need for support or services.

Basic Needs

Once group membership is established, the next step is to identify the individual’s daily support needs, referred to as basic needs.
The assistance must be performed by another person, and only the active time spent providing help is considered.
If the individual can participate in the task, the time during which they are active themselves is deducted from the total help provided.

For a support need to be classified as a basic need, the assistance provided must be of an intimate and sensitive nature, meaning hands-on help with basic daily activities (with certain exceptions for individuals with psychological disabilities).

The Basic Needs Include:

1. Breathing
If a person needs help with breathing or there is a health risk associated with breathing, it qualifies as a basic need. Assistance must be granted regardless of its nature.

2. Personal Hygiene
Help with showering, toileting, brushing teeth, or other aspects of personal hygiene is considered a basic need.
This applies whether full or partial assistance is required.

3. Meals
Help with eating and drinking is regarded as a basic need. This includes tube feeding.
If a person can feed themselves with utensils, it may sometimes be sufficient to not qualify as a basic need.

4. Dressing and Undressing
Assistance with changing clothes (not including outerwear) is considered a basic need.

5. Communication with Others
If a person needs help to communicate with others, it can be considered a basic need.
However, the boundary for what qualifies as a basic need can be unclear.
For example, if a person can make themselves understood through means other than speech, it might not be considered a basic need.

Supervision

There is also support related to supervision considered as a basic need.
This does not necessarily involve physical help but providing preventive support to avoid the person harming themselves, others, or property.
This can be granted regardless of its nature and is regulated in points 6 and 7:

6. Support needed due to a psychological disability to prevent physical harm to themselves, others, or property.

7. Support needed continuously throughout most of the day due to a medical condition where there is a danger to the individual's life or an imminent and serious risk to their physical health.

Qualified Activation and Motivation Efforts

If the individual, due to a psychological disability, requires qualified activation and motivation efforts to manage a basic need (specifically needs 2–5), these efforts are considered part of the help with that basic need.

Other Needs

The assessment also includes other needs.
If you belong to the specific group and have basic needs, you may also be entitled to assistance for other, less intimate tasks such as shopping, cleaning, and walking.

We are happy to tell you more about the requirements for each need.
If we see a possibility, we will assist you in applying for personal assistance.