Dialogue with Kavita

Mumbai Terror Attack: The Disbility Dimension

2008-12-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

This year, the month of December started with a disaster: Mumbai faced the worst terror attack ever. With increasing anxiety I watched the death toll rising and number of people being injured. I was waiting for the Disability Day which falls on Dec 3rd to initiate, participate in some kind of Disability movement but the need of the hour was to get involved in citizen movement to protect our National Integrity and safety.

While remembering our brave commandos and policemen during the candlelight vigils, I could not help but wonder as to how many people must have been rendered disabled by this terror attack.

As it is in India we have 50-60 million disabled people. These bomb-blasts year upon year, add so many more to the existing number. Though the compensation has been announced for the 26/11 victims, it can never compensate for the loss of ability, independence, confidence and so many things. I only hope these injured people get their compensation without much Red Tape. I also hope they receive the timely counseling, trauma-healing therapy etc along with proper medical treatment.

Disabled? Really?

2008-08-11T03:28:00.000-07:00

Recently while surfing I came across a post and I was really overwhelmed with emotion. It was also very inspiring. I thought I will share it with you all. .

When will this happen in INDIA?

2008-08-11T03:12:00.000-07:00

I was away for about 2 months visiting my daughter in the USA. Though I was on a vacation I could not help but notice a few things related to my vocation. I was amazed to see the facilities and the accessibility for people with disabilities there. It was amazing to see how easily and freely a Person with Disability (PWD) moved in the society without any assistance . We visited quite a few tourist places. I observed that there were separate lines for rides in the Disneyland, Sea World etc. Every restroom had separate cubicle for the wheelchair user to go in with sidebars for support.

Every map clearly indicated what facilities they offered for PWDs. Every bus/train had reserved seats (in our country we do have reserved seating for PWD but usually they are occupied by people other than PWDs. Especially in the local trains the compartment for PWDs is full of other people under the guise of escorts).

Parking a car is a big problem in USA so PWDs have a separate and accessible parking. These spaces are also nearest to the lift. Most important thing is though parking is a huge problem in US, no one invades parking spaces meant for PWDs.

Due to all thes facilities, physical barriers are broken. And due to this accessibility, I could see many disabled people enjoying quiet evenings in the park or sharing a joke at the club.

I could not help but wonder- When will this happen in INDIA?

It isn’t easy being Physically Challenged in India .

2008-05-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Few days back, I came across a news item in Hindustan Times. It said - Salil Chaturvedi, a person with Paraplegia who represents India in Wheelchair Tennis was flying by SpiceJet from Chennai to Delhi . And he was not provided his wheelchair to disembark from the aircraft. He was cramped in his seat for over an hour after everyone disembarked.

Actually, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) rulebook stipulates that a passenger’s wheelchair should be returned to him at the time of disembarking. But clearly the rules were not adhered to.
The incident in Salil’s words tells the shameful story of the state of people with disabilities in India . He says, “I was carried along the aisle by untrained porters like a sack of potatoes while I tried to keep my trousers from slipping and closed my eyes to save myself from the embarrassment as all passengers turned their heads to look at me.”

The Spice Jet authorities apologized to Salil Chaturvedi and said the crew lacked awareness.

No doubt, people lack awareness. But to what extent? I remember, a friend of mine who is visually impaired, once said that sometimes she has to stand on the bus stop for hours together to board the bus just because when the bus comes, people are so busy rushing and pushing to get in to the bus that her feeble voice inquiring the bus number is drowned. As a result, she has to wait until a sensitive passenger or conductor comes along to help her out.

And still, we call ourselves as a civilised society!!! I feel until we recognize human rights and equal opportunities to people with disabilities, we should not claim to be civilized.

Going Beyond Autism Awareness

2008-04-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

As I was writing the Editor’s note, and was writing about April being Autism Awareness Month, I could not help but wonder what must be happening to the families when they hear for the first time about their child being autistic? Because autism is still shrouded in mystery. And when a parent has been told that his /her child is having autism, he is surely going to be baffled, isolated, cheated and much , much more.

It is said that India is a home to 70 million disabled people, a figure equivalent to the entire population of U.K. but do we have any services commensurate to them? A big no. When any diagnosis is made, you will find the parent is left to himself to nurse his wounds.

Why ? Why can’t we have any trained personnel to effectively explain what the condition is? I have heard parents of children with IQ of 50 saying one day their child will come up to 85-90 point as if they are marks to be scored in the next unit test. The clinics don’t even offer simple explanations to the parents as what an I. Q. test is. If this is the case with basics like I.Q. then one can imagine there must be hardly any time to explain in layman’s language what is Autism, it’s causes, treatments, various therapies, special education, support groups etc. etc. So while the parent grapples with the situation, the intervention time will be fast running out.

So many times I receive phone calls from distressed parents of children with autism to find appropriate schools. Many times the diagnosing professionals are not aware of educational facilities for them. Professionals feel their duty stops at diagnosing the condition and that is that. They do not know the logistics of the next step.

I have observed that Information which is the key to empowerment is very difficult to find commodity for the parents. Therefore, I urge all the readers to share any bit of information with us for future use of parents. Kindly let us know of a new school that has come up or any residential school that has been built, any new support group which you have started.

New facility for L.D. certification, but is it enough?

2008-03-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I came to know that another centre for L.D. certification has been opened at Nair Hospital, which is right next to Bombay Central station! Now I wonder how many parents who want their child tested for L.D., know about this new facility at a convenient location. Till a few months back, L.D. testing was available only at Sion Hospital(Lokmanya Tilak Hospital) for entire Maharashtra. Parents had to wait for days on end for an appointment to get their child tested for LD. and get the all-important certificate. I hope that with this new centre, now things will be a bit easier for parents.

To minimize the trauma of the parents, I feel that both these centres need to disseminate relevant information; about the steps and procedure of testing to parents and inform the schools about the concessions to be given to students ... What happens at present is that the child is tested by professionals like psychologists, special educators etc. and other child guidance clinics. But as these test results are not recognized by Sion hospital the child has to undergo testing once again for certification. After certification , the parent is still not sure about what is in store for his child from the school’s side.

A major flaw of the system is that the child is made to undergo tests time and again; secondly, the unclear procedures and guidelines about the concessions make life hell for the parent.

I have expressed my views about LD in my Editor's note also and attached a news clipping. It will be interesting to know the parent's point of view and to hear the school authorities speak.

Moreover this is just the Diagnostic part. What about the therapeutic part, i.e. Remedial Education? Both the certification centre and the schools hardly do anything about it. What should the parent do? What is the use of diagnosis if there is no therapy? Giving concessions is one of the ways to help the child with LD but not the only way.

I am quite concerned about this state of affairs. So I plan to hold a lecture series and a dialogue between the professionals, school authorities and the parents. What do you feel ? Let me know.