We show you some assistive technologies that can help improve the lives of people with disabilities.

Tech improving lives of people with disabilities

Funded by both public and private partners, the centre for integration and help through work aims to overcome social and cultural constraints to help people with disabilities into jobs they would usually find hard to obtain...here's their story from Rabat, Morocco.

Moroccan enterprises employ people with disabilities

<p>Disability for me is diversity. Like other diversities we see around us, disability is also one of those. As human beings, we need to embrace diversity and make this world a better place. This can only happen if there is awareness and visibility of people with disabilities around us. Each one of us needs to take this responsibility and work as a community to include this diversity in the mainstream.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
This will not happen easily, it will require learning, relearning and unlearning. Learning to know more about disability conditions, intervention, accommodation, and adaptation so that they can be included in all phases of life. Relearning is moving from the medical approach of finding fault with the individual to the social aspect wherein we look at the environment that makes the person disabled. Unlearning is to do away from the myths and superstitions that have been going around for the past so many years.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
According to data from the World Health Organization:&nbsp;<br />
1.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;1.3 billion people experience significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population or 1 in 6 of us.<br />
2.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Some with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities.<br />
3.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;They have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health.<br />
4.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;They also face many health inequities.<br />
5.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;They find inaccessible and unaffordable transportation 15 times more difficult than for those without disabilities.<br />
6.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Health inequities they face are stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself.<br />
<br />
The figures above show&nbsp;how it is a global concern and how we should not shy away from facing this reality.&nbsp; All over the world, there are concerns related to this field and there should be discussions and activism to make life easier for people with disabilities. They are part of our world not from another world.<br />
<br />
The starting point is by educating our children they can be our ambassadors of change. All schools should be inclusive which we are slowly heading towards. This will lead to students moving together from school education into higher education, and vocational education together. They will then join in the workplaces also. People with disabilities will have to be given opportunities in all sectors. Once that will start happening one will see positive changes in the society for people with disability.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/woman-with-disability-crawls-out-of-flight-after-crew-denies-wheelchair-without-charge-530323"><strong>ALSO READ| Woman with disability crawls out of flight after crew denies wheelchair without charge</strong></a></p>

<p>I have worked in the Indian sector helping and educating people with disabilities for many years now, and I feel that&nbsp;at the policy level, we have made progress, in keeping in mind the needs of people with disability. The Convention of People with disability by the United Nations has facilitated this all over the world.<br />
<br />
Implementation is a struggle in India due to the population and available resources. There is a large marginalised population who are struggling with the basic needs for themselves and their family. In such a situation the needs of a person with a disability may not be their priority as surviving in the world is itself a challenge. The positive thing is that there are parts of society that are raising awareness and making provisions for people with disabilities. We can see that there is a WILL to include people with disabilities in the mainstream. We have to show them the WAY.</p>

<p>I think people with disability themselves, their parents, and professionals working in the disability sector have a bigger role to play to facilitate this. Indians by nature are very Inclusive so there is a lot we can do here. We are not very far from our friends abroad. Globalisation has the world become one and a lot is being shared and learnt.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Media has also contributed to this movement in a positive manner. There are stories shared of the achievements of people with disabilities. They share information about new developments, technology, and aids, around the world. This motivates people and creates an environment for inclusion.</p>

<p>We should think positively, do our bit and embrace disability by calling it a different ability. I feel that we have a bright future ahead if we can manage to include these thoughts in our lives and work for change, every day.</p>

<p><strong><em>(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) &nbsp;</em><br />
&nbsp;<br />
WATCH WION LIVE HERE<br />
&nbsp;</strong><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>


Disability for me is diversity. Like other diversities we see around us, disability is also one of those. As human beings, we need to embrace diversity and make this world a better place.

Disability for me is diversity. Like other diversities we see around us, disability is also one of those. As human beings, we need to embrace diversity and make this world a better place. This can only happen if there is awareness and visibility of people with disabilities around us. Each one of us needs to take this responsibility and work as a community to include this diversity in the mainstream. This will not happen easily, it will require learning, relearning and unlearning. Learning to know more about disability conditions, intervention, accommodation, and adaptation so that they can be included in all phases of life. Relearning is moving from the medical approach of finding fault with the individual to the social aspect wherein we look at the environment that makes the person disabled. Unlearning is to do away from the myths and superstitions that have been going around for the past so many years. According to data from the World Health Organization: 1. 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population or 1 in 6 of us. 2. Some with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities. 3. They have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health. 4. They also face many health inequities. 5. They find inaccessible and unaffordable transportation 15 times more difficult than for those without disabilities. 6. Health inequities they face are stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself. The figures above show how it is a global concern and how we should not shy away from facing this reality. All over the world, there are concerns related to this field and there should be discussions and activism to make life easier for people with disabilities. They are part of our world not from another world. The starting point is by educating our children they can be our ambassadors of change. All schools should be inclusive which we are slowly heading towards. This will lead to students moving together from school education into higher education, and vocational education together. They will then join in the workplaces also. People with disabilities will have to be given opportunities in all sectors. Once that will start happening one will see positive changes in the society for people with disability. ALSO READ| Woman with disability crawls out of flight after crew denies wheelchair without charge I have worked in the Indian sector helping and educating people with disabilities for many years now, and I feel that at the policy level, we have made progress, in keeping in mind the needs of people with disability. The Convention of People with disability by the United Nations has facilitated this all over the world. Implementation is a struggle in India due to the population and available resources. There is a large marginalised population who are struggling with the basic needs for themselves and their family. In such a situation the needs of a person with a disability may not be their priority as surviving in the world is itself a challenge. The positive thing is that there are parts of society that are raising awareness and making provisions for people with disabilities. We can see that there is a WILL to include people with disabilities in the mainstream. We have to show them the WAY. I think people with disability themselves, their parents, and professionals working in the disability sector have a bigger role to play to facilitate this. Indians by nature are very Inclusive so there is a lot we can do here. We are not very far from our friends abroad. Globalisation has the world become one and a lot is being shared and learnt. Media has also contributed to this movement in a positive manner. There are stories shared of the achievements of people with disabilities. They share information about new developments, technology, and aids, around the world. This motivates people and creates an environment for inclusion. We should think positively, do our bit and embrace disability by calling it a different ability. I feel that we have a bright future ahead if we can manage to include these thoughts in our lives and work for change, every day. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Disability Pride Month July 2023: Embrace it and never be less than equal

<p>Kat Wankins, a development officer at the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities at Disability Wales, suffered from severe back pain because of not being able to sleep in the bed she had booked at a Travelodge hotel in Hounslow, UK. Watkins suffers from brittle bone disease and sleep apnoea.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>“Out of Order”</strong></h2>

<p>Watkins planned her trip in advance from South Wales to London to attend the performance of singer-songwriter and guitarist James Bay at the Royal Albert Hall on April 26. She travelled to the hotel in her convertible van where she had booked a twin room for herself and her personal assistant.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ex-british-gurkha-hopes-everest-climb-will-change-disability-perceptions-594777">Ex-British Gurkha hopes Everest climb will change disability perceptions</a></strong></p>

<p>Watkins, who had been there before and had a good experience, was upon arrival informed that the accessible rooms were ‘out of order’ and the room she had advance-booked was no longer available. When questioned about the reason behind the rooms being unavailable, a staff member told her that the rooms had not been cleaned.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Another mix-up?</strong></h2>

<p>Watkins was then offered two alternatives: a family room where her wheelchair would not fit in the bathroom, or an alternative Travelodge hotel at Twickenham with an accessible room. Watkins reluctantly opted for the first and went ahead with her plan to attend the concert.</p>

<p><strong>WATCH |&nbsp;Disability: Special people, special stories | WION Wideangle</strong></p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/disability-special-people-special-stories-wion-wideangle-480884/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>After returning to the hotel at 12:30 am with her personal assistant, she was informed that the family room was no longer available and that the receptionist would book a taxi for Watkins and her personal assistant to travel to Twickenham Travelodge.</p>

<p>After repeated unsuccessful attempts by the receptionist to find a taxi, Watkins and her personal assistant were left with no choice but to sleep on two uncomfortable sofas in the Hounslow Travelodge dining room. &nbsp;As a result, Watkins suffered from severe back pain the following day.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
In an interview with The Guardian, Watkins said she was “struggling to breathe. I use a ventilator at night and my breathing was becoming more and more shallow.”&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
“The concert I attended was good but I can’t look back on it with fond memories because the experience I had was so traumatic. I’ve been in agony with my back since that night. I’ve told Travelodge I won’t be using their hotels again.”</p>

<h2><strong>Not the first time&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Alex Osborne, a disability equality officer at Disability Wales, said that “Kat’s experience was particularly bad; however, we have many examples from our members, and my colleagues, of very poor service in hotels”. He further added that they hear frequently of disabled people encountering problems with rooms, even though accessible rooms have been pre-booked.</p>

<h2><strong>Travelodge apologises</strong></h2>

<p><br />
A Travelodge spokesperson commented on the matter and said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Kat Watkins and her PA for their recent experience with us.</p>

<p>"On this rare occasion, we failed to meet our normal high standard of service. We hope that we can welcome back Ms Watkins and reinstate her faith in our brand.”</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Kat Wankins, a development officer at the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities at Disability Wales, suffered from severe back pain because of not being able to sleep in the bed she had booked at a Travelodge hotel in Hounslow, UK.

Kat Wankins, a development officer at the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities at Disability Wales, suffered from severe back pain because of not being able to sleep in the bed she had booked at a Travelodge hotel in Hounslow, UK. Watkins suffers from brittle bone disease and sleep apnoea. “Out of Order” Watkins planned her trip in advance from South Wales to London to attend the performance of singer-songwriter and guitarist James Bay at the Royal Albert Hall on April 26. She travelled to the hotel in her convertible van where she had booked a twin room for herself and her personal assistant. ALSO READ | Ex-British Gurkha hopes Everest climb will change disability perceptions Watkins, who had been there before and had a good experience, was upon arrival informed that the accessible rooms were ‘out of order’ and the room she had advance-booked was no longer available. When questioned about the reason behind the rooms being unavailable, a staff member told her that the rooms had not been cleaned. Another mix-up? Watkins was then offered two alternatives: a family room where her wheelchair would not fit in the bathroom, or an alternative Travelodge hotel at Twickenham with an accessible room. Watkins reluctantly opted for the first and went ahead with her plan to attend the concert. WATCH | Disability: Special people, special stories | WION Wideangle × After returning to the hotel at 12:30 am with her personal assistant, she was informed that the family room was no longer available and that the receptionist would book a taxi for Watkins and her personal assistant to travel to Twickenham Travelodge. After repeated unsuccessful attempts by the receptionist to find a taxi, Watkins and her personal assistant were left with no choice but to sleep on two uncomfortable sofas in the Hounslow Travelodge dining room. As a result, Watkins suffered from severe back pain the following day. In an interview with The Guardian, Watkins said she was “struggling to breathe. I use a ventilator at night and my breathing was becoming more and more shallow.” “The concert I attended was good but I can’t look back on it with fond memories because the experience I had was so traumatic. I’ve been in agony with my back since that night. I’ve told Travelodge I won’t be using their hotels again.” Not the first time Alex Osborne, a disability equality officer at Disability Wales, said that “Kat’s experience was particularly bad; however, we have many examples from our members, and my colleagues, of very poor service in hotels”. He further added that they hear frequently of disabled people encountering problems with rooms, even though accessible rooms have been pre-booked. Travelodge apologises A Travelodge spokesperson commented on the matter and said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Kat Watkins and her PA for their recent experience with us. "On this rare occasion, we failed to meet our normal high standard of service. We hope that we can welcome back Ms Watkins and reinstate her faith in our brand.” WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Wheelchair-bound disability activist told to sleep in hotel dining area. Here's what happened

<p>A senior IT professional who has been on sick leave since 2008 sued his company for discrimination because he did not receive a raise, as per a Telegraph report.&nbsp;According to the report, Ian Clifford works at IBM but has been unwell for the past 15 years. According to his LinkedIn page, he has been 'medically retired' since 2013.</p>

<p>He claimed, however, that he was a victim of 'disability discrimination' since his income had not been increased in the 15 years he had been unable to work. Under an IBM health plan, the IT professional earns more than 54,000 pounds (US$67,300) each year and is assured to do so until the age of 65.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, the employee said that the health plan was ''not generous enough.''</p>

<p>Additionally,&nbsp;Clifford went on sick leave for the first time in September 2008 and remained so until 2013, when he filed a grievance. In response to his complaint, IBM offered him a 'compromise arrangement' in which he was placed on the company's disability plan rather than being fired. A person who is unable to work is not fired, but rather remains an employee with ''no obligation to work'' under the plan.</p>

<p>An employee on the plan has a 'right' to receive 75 per cent&nbsp;of agreed wages until recuperation, retirement, or death, whichever comes first. In his case, the agreed-upon compensation was 72,037 pounds, which meant that beginning in 2013, he would be paid 54,028 pounds each year after deducting 25 per cent.</p>

<p>For more than 30 years, the strategy had been in place.</p>

<p>He brought IBM to an employment tribunal in February 2022, claiming disability discrimination.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-scammers-are-virtually-kidnapping-chinese-students-in-australia-592380">How scammers are ‘virtually kidnapping’ Chinese students in Australia</a></p>

<p>He said, "The point of the plan was to give security to employees not able to work - that was not achieved if payments were forever frozen."</p>

<p>However, his plans were dashed when an employment tribunal rejected his claims, with a judge telling him he had received a "very substantial benefit" and "favourable treatment."</p>

<p>“That active employee may get pay rises, but inactive employees do not, is a difference, but is not, in my judgment, a detriment caused by something arising from disability. The complaint is in fact that the benefit of being an inactive employee on the plan is not generous enough because the payments have been at a fixed level since April 6, 2013, now 10 years, and may remain so."&nbsp;Judge Housego said.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/inspired-by-musk-excited-to-transform-twitter-new-ceo-linda-yaccarino-592235">Inspired by Musk, excited to transform Twitter: New CEO Linda Yaccarino</a></p>

<p>''The claim is that the absence of an increase in salary is disability discrimination because it is less favourable treatment than afforded those not disabled. This contention is not sustainable because only the disabled can benefit from the plan. It is not disability discrimination that the plan is not even more generous. Even if the value of the £50,000 (US$62,300)&nbsp;a year halved over 30 years, it is still a very substantial benefit,'' he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE:</strong></p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></p>


A senior IT professional who has been on sick leave since 2008 sued his company for discrimination because he did not receive a raise, as per a Telegraph report.

A senior IT professional who has been on sick leave since 2008 sued his company for discrimination because he did not receive a raise, as per a Telegraph report. According to the report, Ian Clifford works at IBM but has been unwell for the past 15 years. According to his LinkedIn page, he has been 'medically retired' since 2013. He claimed, however, that he was a victim of 'disability discrimination' since his income had not been increased in the 15 years he had been unable to work. Under an IBM health plan, the IT professional earns more than 54,000 pounds (US$67,300) each year and is assured to do so until the age of 65. However, the employee said that the health plan was ''not generous enough.'' Additionally, Clifford went on sick leave for the first time in September 2008 and remained so until 2013, when he filed a grievance. In response to his complaint, IBM offered him a 'compromise arrangement' in which he was placed on the company's disability plan rather than being fired. A person who is unable to work is not fired, but rather remains an employee with ''no obligation to work'' under the plan. An employee on the plan has a 'right' to receive 75 per cent of agreed wages until recuperation, retirement, or death, whichever comes first. In his case, the agreed-upon compensation was 72,037 pounds, which meant that beginning in 2013, he would be paid 54,028 pounds each year after deducting 25 per cent. For more than 30 years, the strategy had been in place. He brought IBM to an employment tribunal in February 2022, claiming disability discrimination. ALSO READ | How scammers are ‘virtually kidnapping’ Chinese students in Australia He said, "The point of the plan was to give security to employees not able to work - that was not achieved if payments were forever frozen." However, his plans were dashed when an employment tribunal rejected his claims, with a judge telling him he had received a "very substantial benefit" and "favourable treatment." “That active employee may get pay rises, but inactive employees do not, is a difference, but is not, in my judgment, a detriment caused by something arising from disability. The complaint is in fact that the benefit of being an inactive employee on the plan is not generous enough because the payments have been at a fixed level since April 6, 2013, now 10 years, and may remain so." Judge Housego said. ALSO READ | Inspired by Musk, excited to transform Twitter: New CEO Linda Yaccarino ''The claim is that the absence of an increase in salary is disability discrimination because it is less favourable treatment than afforded those not disabled. This contention is not sustainable because only the disabled can benefit from the plan. It is not disability discrimination that the plan is not even more generous. Even if the value of the £50,000 (US$62,300) a year halved over 30 years, it is still a very substantial benefit,'' he added. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Where's the raise? Man on sick leave for 15 years sues IBM for no salary hike

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{2757d1ef-25e6-47a0-93ce-831325bc81b7}{191}" paraid="1285243713" >Australia's Jetstar Airways faced a lot of criticism after a woman with disability decided to crawl off the plane after the in-flight crew rejected her request for a wheelchair. Natalie Curtis, who was travelling from Townsville in Queensland to Bangkok, told Channel 7 that she was asked to pay for the wheelchair service while departing the flight and she ended up crawling out of the plane.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b7a7f610-d07c-4348-abb6-59a5b1b70fcb}{54}" paraid="146772747" >“When we arrived (staff) were asking us to actually pay and I didn’t really comprehend it, and I’m like ‘no I’m not paying to be able to get off this plane’,” she told the news outlet. “They all just sat around for a while and the option that was left was for me to get on the floor and crawl.”&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b7a7f610-d07c-4348-abb6-59a5b1b70fcb}{54}" paraid="146772747" >Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cases-declining-but-monkeypox-remains-a-global-health-emergency-who-530295" hreflang="en">Cases declining but Monkeypox remains a 'global health emergency': WHO</a></p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b7a7f610-d07c-4348-abb6-59a5b1b70fcb}{172}" paraid="1482205301" >Natasha Elford, who was travelling with Curtis, took videos of the entire incident and it showed the woman slowly crawling out of the plane after a heated conversation with the in-fight crew.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ac698ce1-9f9f-427d-a6fd-21ecd2d44604}{116}" paraid="577224749" >“I just felt really sorry for Natalie ... I just felt really hopeless and I’m like, ‘I just can’t believe this is really happening’,” Elford&nbsp;said. “(Staff) did obviously try to offer to lift her up and carry her, but if they dropped her (Curtis) that would (have been) 10 times worse.”&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ac698ce1-9f9f-427d-a6fd-21ecd2d44604}{116}" paraid="577224749" >Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pay-a-screaming-surcharge-if-your-kid-is-noisy-says-a-singapore-restaurant-530250" hreflang="en">Pay a screaming surcharge if your kid is noisy, says a Singapore restaurant</a></p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ac698ce1-9f9f-427d-a6fd-21ecd2d44604}{201}" paraid="1638962107" >Jetstar denied the allegations and said that the wheelchair was not available at this point of time and Curtis was not ready to wait for some time as the airline tried to organise for one. While Curtis was carrying her own wheelchair, it was kept along with other luggage on the other side of the plane.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b5071c59-c839-4431-a20d-52923488afc8}{212}" paraid="235135809" >“Regrettably, this was not the case for Ms Curtis following a miscommunication that resulted in the delay of an aisle chair being made available at the gate on arrival and we are looking into what happened as a matter of urgency,” the company spokesperson said according to Channel 7.&nbsp;</p>


Australia's Jetstar Airways faced a lot of criticism after a woman with disability decided to crawl off the plane after the in-flight crew rejected her request for a wheelchair.

Australia's Jetstar Airways faced a lot of criticism after a woman with disability decided to crawl off the plane after the in-flight crew rejected her request for a wheelchair. Natalie Curtis, who was travelling from Townsville in Queensland to Bangkok, told Channel 7 that she was asked to pay for the wheelchair service while departing the flight and she ended up crawling out of the plane. “When we arrived (staff) were asking us to actually pay and I didn’t really comprehend it, and I’m like ‘no I’m not paying to be able to get off this plane’,” she told the news outlet. “They all just sat around for a while and the option that was left was for me to get on the floor and crawl.” Also read | Cases declining but Monkeypox remains a 'global health emergency': WHO Natasha Elford, who was travelling with Curtis, took videos of the entire incident and it showed the woman slowly crawling out of the plane after a heated conversation with the in-fight crew. “I just felt really sorry for Natalie ... I just felt really hopeless and I’m like, ‘I just can’t believe this is really happening’,” Elford said. “(Staff) did obviously try to offer to lift her up and carry her, but if they dropped her (Curtis) that would (have been) 10 times worse.” Also read | Pay a screaming surcharge if your kid is noisy, says a Singapore restaurant Jetstar denied the allegations and said that the wheelchair was not available at this point of time and Curtis was not ready to wait for some time as the airline tried to organise for one. While Curtis was carrying her own wheelchair, it was kept along with other luggage on the other side of the plane. “Regrettably, this was not the case for Ms Curtis following a miscommunication that resulted in the delay of an aisle chair being made available at the gate on arrival and we are looking into what happened as a matter of urgency,” the company spokesperson said according to Channel 7.

Woman with disability crawls out of flight after crew denies wheelchair without charge

IndiGo called out for refusing to let child with disability to board flight WHO: 1 in 100 children has Autism How can we create a more inclusive society? Watch 'Disability: Special People, Special Stories'

Disability: Special people, special stories | WION Wideangle

Recently, in India, a staff member of IndiGo airlines barred a specially abled adolescent and his parents from boarding the flight. This incident has triggered outpour of anger & dismay. For a detailed discussion, we're joined by Tania Melnyczuk, Shefali Gulati, Mugdha Kalra.

IndiGo incident: How much do we understand disability?

Sara Becarevic was born without a lower left arm in Bosnia, a poor Balkan country known for its widespread social and economic isolation of disabled persons. Despite this, she never believed that it would prevent her from pursuing her dream of being an internationally famous rhythmic gymnast.

Bosnian teen gymnast defies disability to pursue her Olympics dream

<p>Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.”</p>

<p>But, Bell, 21, would just sit there, disengaged.</p>

<p>His mother, Chrystal Bell, said her son got “nothing” from his classes and also stopped receiving many of his legally mandated special education services, or received them in a format that did not work.</p>

<p>“I know my child was being left behind,” Bell, 57, a Harlem resident, said.</p>

<p>Education experts have said that it may take months or years to fully grasp the learning loss that children have suffered from remote schooling during the pandemic. But many of the parents and guardians of the roughly 200,000 students with disabilities in New York City say they have already seen drastic damages from their children’s loss of their usual therapies, services or learning accommodations.</p>

<p>Each school year presents myriad challenges for the thousands of parents who file for special education services. But the shift to remote learning has “exacerbated preexisting achievement gaps” for children with disabilities, according to a recent report by the state’s comptroller’s office.</p>

<p>As the New York City school year starts this week, with no remote option for most students, these parents are bracing to see just how far their children have fallen behind.</p>

<p>To address such gaps, the New York City Department of Education said it would spend $251 million for special education this fiscal year as part of its Academic Recovery Plan, funded by the Biden administration’s pandemic rescue stimulus package. Part of the money will be used to launch after-school and Saturday programs that will provide specialized instruction and services for all special education students, the city said.</p>

<p>The plan “makes unprecedented investments to support their unique needs during the year ahead,” the city’s Department of Education said in a statement.</p>

<p>But some families believe this will not be enough. Many are seeking compensatory education, the formal term for makeup services, for the programs they say their children missed out on during the pandemic.</p>

<p>Caleb Bell is one of eight students listed on a class-action lawsuit against the state and city education departments that seeks a new process for students to get compensatory education. Right now, parents who want more services than the school or the New York City Department of Education agree to provide have to file a complaint and go through a hearing process. Rebecca Shore, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said this process is often combative and arduous.</p>

<p>The city’s Department of Education has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but declined to comment on it.</p>

<p>Such complaints and lawsuits have been filed across the country, largely on an individual basis rather than as part of class actions, with varying degrees of success. In Washington and Maryland, separate lawsuits resulted in compensatory education for at least some students. In New York City, some individuals who filed suit against the city received compensatory education, while others had their lawsuits dismissed.</p>

<p>But many families do not have the resources or do not know how to seek legal help.</p>

<p>Nasheema Miley’s autistic, largely nonverbal son, Marcellus, was saying a few words before the pandemic, thanks to the work of speech therapists at his school in Harlem.</p>

<p>When classes went remote, Marcellus, 5, stopped having in-person speech therapy sessions three times a week and occupational therapy twice a week. Instead, Miley, 27, said she got a phone call once a week from both therapists.</p>

<p>During this time, he stopped speaking completely, she said.</p>

<p>Marcellus went back to school full time last fall and has started making progress again, but his mother thinks he is still behind.</p>

<p>The family thought about filing a complaint or lawsuit, but Miley said she is unable to afford a lawyer.</p>

<p>“There’s so much that he’s entitled to that we can’t access without a long, tedious process,” Marcellus’ grandmother, Tanesha Grant, 45, said, explaining that the family would continue to try to work with the school instead.</p>

<p>This fall, Miley said the school is waiting to see how her son performs. For now, she said she feels that her only option is to try saving more money for a personal tutor.</p>

<p>Schools are generally against the idea of compensatory education as a solution, according to Phyllis Wolfram, executive director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education and a retired public school educator.</p>

<p>While she acknowledged that many children struggled to learn remotely, she said the pandemic is to blame, not schools, and that students are not owed what they missed. With over 7 million students in the country receiving special education services, giving every child the hours of education they missed would be a heavy, if not impossible, lift for schools that are already dealing with a shortage of special education teachers, she said. In the 2020-21 school year, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported special education teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2021-22, 48 states and the District of Columbia reported such shortages, according to the department’s teacher shortage areas database. To fill staffing shortages, Wolfram said schools have been bringing back retired staff and using teachers that are not fully certified to teach special education.</p>

<p>“It’s hard to compensate in a public school setting for everything that COVID has done,” Wolfram said. “I’m not sure how its humanly possible.”</p>

<p>The federal Department of Education released guidance last year that said each school must determine what compensatory services are needed if a student does not receive services after an extended period of time. In theory, the money from President Joe Biden’s rescue plan would fund some of those services.</p>

<p>Wolfram said families should work with schools to determine whether their child has fallen behind and how best to support them. In back-to-school guidance for the fall, the city Department of Education explained that its recovery plan to provide more special education services was different from compensatory services, and said that schools should “allow time for students to re-acclimate” this fall before making any changes to their special education services.</p>

<p>But many families across the country — especially lower-income ones — may give up or may not fight schools for more services, even if students need them, according to Leslie Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland who has worked on compensatory education cases.</p>

<p>“I think it’s inevitable that there are children who will be left behind and will not get the services to which they are entitled,” Margolis said.</p>

<p>She still recalls working with Baltimore City Schools three decades ago when about 7,000 students needed compensatory education after not receiving special education services. The backlog was too large for the school to address on a case-by-case basis, she said, so it offered a summer program to all the affected students. But only a third of eligible students participated, Margolis said.</p>

<p>In New York City, even before the pandemic, there was a huge backlog of special education complaints with the Department of Education, with families having to wait an average of 259 days — some over a year — to get a hearing, according to Shore.</p>

<p>She believes this backlog will only grow now that parents are dealing with education fallout from the pandemic.</p>

<p>Elizabeth Hernandez’s two daughters, Denise, 12, and Daniella, 10, both have learning disabilities. Both were doing reasonably well in their schools in Queens — until the pandemic hit.</p>

<p>Hernandez said her daughters started calling their mother while she was at work as a surgical assistant and surgical scheduler. She said she would run back to her office after seeing a patient and get on FaceTime with her daughters to try to help them with math problems.</p>

<p>“I felt like I was failing them at that point,” Hernandez said. “I couldn’t be home to help them because I had to go to work, and I had to do what I needed to do to still keep a roof over everybody’s head.”</p>

<p>Her daughters’ grades plummeted — and she said they continued to struggle even after transitioning back to hybrid and full-time learning last year. One day, her youngest daughter came home crying because she had received 30% on a math test, she said.</p>

<p>“And she’s like, ‘I’m trying my best. I’m trying my best,’” Hernandez recalled.</p>

<p>She is concerned about how her children will fare this fall. When she asked them about whether they were looking forward to returning to school, she said, her youngest daughter said, “I’m probably going to fail anyway.”</p>


Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.

Caleb Bell is deaf, blind and nonverbal. When classes at his Manhattan school moved online last year, Bell needed his mother’s help to answer direct questions. She would often reach over and lift a block with a raised green circle, signifying “yes,” or a raised red X signifying “no.” But, Bell, 21, would just sit there, disengaged. His mother, Chrystal Bell, said her son got “nothing” from his classes and also stopped receiving many of his legally mandated special education services, or received them in a format that did not work. “I know my child was being left behind,” Bell, 57, a Harlem resident, said. Education experts have said that it may take months or years to fully grasp the learning loss that children have suffered from remote schooling during the pandemic. But many of the parents and guardians of the roughly 200,000 students with disabilities in New York City say they have already seen drastic damages from their children’s loss of their usual therapies, services or learning accommodations. Each school year presents myriad challenges for the thousands of parents who file for special education services. But the shift to remote learning has “exacerbated preexisting achievement gaps” for children with disabilities, according to a recent report by the state’s comptroller’s office. As the New York City school year starts this week, with no remote option for most students, these parents are bracing to see just how far their children have fallen behind. To address such gaps, the New York City Department of Education said it would spend $251 million for special education this fiscal year as part of its Academic Recovery Plan, funded by the Biden administration’s pandemic rescue stimulus package. Part of the money will be used to launch after-school and Saturday programs that will provide specialized instruction and services for all special education students, the city said. The plan “makes unprecedented investments to support their unique needs during the year ahead,” the city’s Department of Education said in a statement. But some families believe this will not be enough. Many are seeking compensatory education, the formal term for makeup services, for the programs they say their children missed out on during the pandemic. Caleb Bell is one of eight students listed on a class-action lawsuit against the state and city education departments that seeks a new process for students to get compensatory education. Right now, parents who want more services than the school or the New York City Department of Education agree to provide have to file a complaint and go through a hearing process. Rebecca Shore, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said this process is often combative and arduous. The city’s Department of Education has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but declined to comment on it. Such complaints and lawsuits have been filed across the country, largely on an individual basis rather than as part of class actions, with varying degrees of success. In Washington and Maryland, separate lawsuits resulted in compensatory education for at least some students. In New York City, some individuals who filed suit against the city received compensatory education, while others had their lawsuits dismissed. But many families do not have the resources or do not know how to seek legal help. Nasheema Miley’s autistic, largely nonverbal son, Marcellus, was saying a few words before the pandemic, thanks to the work of speech therapists at his school in Harlem. When classes went remote, Marcellus, 5, stopped having in-person speech therapy sessions three times a week and occupational therapy twice a week. Instead, Miley, 27, said she got a phone call once a week from both therapists. During this time, he stopped speaking completely, she said. Marcellus went back to school full time last fall and has started making progress again, but his mother thinks he is still behind. The family thought about filing a complaint or lawsuit, but Miley said she is unable to afford a lawyer. “There’s so much that he’s entitled to that we can’t access without a long, tedious process,” Marcellus’ grandmother, Tanesha Grant, 45, said, explaining that the family would continue to try to work with the school instead. This fall, Miley said the school is waiting to see how her son performs. For now, she said she feels that her only option is to try saving more money for a personal tutor. Schools are generally against the idea of compensatory education as a solution, according to Phyllis Wolfram, executive director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education and a retired public school educator. While she acknowledged that many children struggled to learn remotely, she said the pandemic is to blame, not schools, and that students are not owed what they missed. With over 7 million students in the country receiving special education services, giving every child the hours of education they missed would be a heavy, if not impossible, lift for schools that are already dealing with a shortage of special education teachers, she said. In the 2020-21 school year, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported special education teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2021-22, 48 states and the District of Columbia reported such shortages, according to the department’s teacher shortage areas database. To fill staffing shortages, Wolfram said schools have been bringing back retired staff and using teachers that are not fully certified to teach special education. “It’s hard to compensate in a public school setting for everything that COVID has done,” Wolfram said. “I’m not sure how its humanly possible.” The federal Department of Education released guidance last year that said each school must determine what compensatory services are needed if a student does not receive services after an extended period of time. In theory, the money from President Joe Biden’s rescue plan would fund some of those services. Wolfram said families should work with schools to determine whether their child has fallen behind and how best to support them. In back-to-school guidance for the fall, the city Department of Education explained that its recovery plan to provide more special education services was different from compensatory services, and said that schools should “allow time for students to re-acclimate” this fall before making any changes to their special education services. But many families across the country — especially lower-income ones — may give up or may not fight schools for more services, even if students need them, according to Leslie Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland who has worked on compensatory education cases. “I think it’s inevitable that there are children who will be left behind and will not get the services to which they are entitled,” Margolis said. She still recalls working with Baltimore City Schools three decades ago when about 7,000 students needed compensatory education after not receiving special education services. The backlog was too large for the school to address on a case-by-case basis, she said, so it offered a summer program to all the affected students. But only a third of eligible students participated, Margolis said. In New York City, even before the pandemic, there was a huge backlog of special education complaints with the Department of Education, with families having to wait an average of 259 days — some over a year — to get a hearing, according to Shore. She believes this backlog will only grow now that parents are dealing with education fallout from the pandemic. Elizabeth Hernandez’s two daughters, Denise, 12, and Daniella, 10, both have learning disabilities. Both were doing reasonably well in their schools in Queens — until the pandemic hit. Hernandez said her daughters started calling their mother while she was at work as a surgical assistant and surgical scheduler. She said she would run back to her office after seeing a patient and get on FaceTime with her daughters to try to help them with math problems. “I felt like I was failing them at that point,” Hernandez said. “I couldn’t be home to help them because I had to go to work, and I had to do what I needed to do to still keep a roof over everybody’s head.” Her daughters’ grades plummeted — and she said they continued to struggle even after transitioning back to hybrid and full-time learning last year. One day, her youngest daughter came home crying because she had received 30% on a math test, she said. “And she’s like, ‘I’m trying my best. I’m trying my best,’” Hernandez recalled. She is concerned about how her children will fare this fall. When she asked them about whether they were looking forward to returning to school, she said, her youngest daughter said, “I’m probably going to fail anyway.”

Parents of students with disabilities try to make up for lost year

<p>After Taliban's power grab in Afghanistan there was apprehensions about social rights of women and other sections of the society. Though Taliban have apparently taken softer than before stance about women's rights, a media report says that disability rights activists are being increasingly targetted in the country</p>

<p>The Nation published a report describing the ordeal of disability rights activist identified as 'A', who is on the run because of Taliban.</p>

<p>Reports say that Taliban fighters have been to A's house asking about their whereabouts. Such visits have been made three times till now. A is moving from house to house to evade capture.</p>

<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/china-is-our-most-important-partner-says-taliban-spokesperson-zabihullah-mujahid-410510">China is our most important partner, says Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid</a></strong></p>

<p>During the time when US troops maintained their presence the disability rights activists worked to empower such members of Afghan society. With United States' help, the activists even got involved in campaigns that sought to make buildings more accessible to the disabled.</p>

<p>In past, the Taliban have recruited disabled Afghans to be suicide bombers. With little or no facilities or means to live a basic life, many of them have chosen to lose their lives just to make a little money for their families.</p>


After Taliban's power grab in Afghanistan there was apprehensions about social rights of women and other sections of the society. Though Taliban have apparently taken softer than before stance about women's rights, a media report says that disability rights activists are being increasingly targetted in the country The Nation published a report describing the ordeal of disability rights activist identified as 'A', who is on the run because of Taliban.

After Taliban's power grab in Afghanistan there was apprehensions about social rights of women and other sections of the society. Though Taliban have apparently taken softer than before stance about women's rights, a media report says that disability rights activists are being increasingly targetted in the country The Nation published a report describing the ordeal of disability rights activist identified as 'A', who is on the run because of Taliban. Reports say that Taliban fighters have been to A's house asking about their whereabouts. Such visits have been made three times till now. A is moving from house to house to evade capture. Also Read | China is our most important partner, says Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid During the time when US troops maintained their presence the disability rights activists worked to empower such members of Afghan society. With United States' help, the activists even got involved in campaigns that sought to make buildings more accessible to the disabled. In past, the Taliban have recruited disabled Afghans to be suicide bombers. With little or no facilities or means to live a basic life, many of them have chosen to lose their lives just to make a little money for their families.

Disability-rights activists being targetted in Afghanistan, says report

<p>Yasuhiko Funago is Japan's first lawmaker with a severe neurological disease that impairs his ability to speak.</p>

<p>Being a lawmaker in a country with a staggering number of people with disabilities, some even worse off than him, Yasuhiko does not wish to stop there alone.</p>

<p>He wants to use the platform to end the invisibility of disabled people in Japan's traditional society and herald more inclusion.<br />
The electoral success of two politicians - Yasuhiko Fungo and Eiko Kimura, both largely paralysed, has sparked significant debate in Japan - a nation where activists say people with disabilities often remain in the shadows.</p>

<p>The Upper House of Japan's Parliament pays for Kimura’s and Funago’s assistants, but the new lawmakers want the rules changed to help the 11,500 other seriously disabled people who rely on public care.</p>

<p>In Japan, the state pays for carers only if the disabled person is not employed - which means that disabled people simply cannot afford to work as the cost of private help exceeds their salaries.</p>

<p>The government says there are 9.63 million people with physical, mental or intellectual disabilities in the country, accounting for more than 7 per cent of the total population of Japan. Roughly one in 20 people in Japan has some disability or another.</p>

<p>Progress has been made, with accessibility improving in Tokyo and legislation setting quotas for hiring people with disabilities in government, but rights activists say more must be done.</p>

<p>From the 1940s to 1996, Japan's government sterilised people with a mental illness or disability because it deemed them 'inferior'.</p>

<p>The victims of this eugenic protection law kept silent for decades but are now speaking out and demanding an apology and compensation.</p>

<p>The Japanese government has been making efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities by raising employment quotas.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But last year, the government was even forced to apologise for padding its disability hiring data after regularly failing to meet its own quotas.</p>

<p>Yasuhiko Fungo and Eiko Kimura want to see inclusion rather than just acceptance of people with disabilities, because they believe a society that does not help disabled people ends up effectively hiding them.</p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


Yasuhiko Funago is Japan's first lawmaker with a severe neurological disease that impairs his ability to speak. Being a lawmaker in a country with a staggering number of people with disabilities, some even worse off than him, Yasuhiko does not wish to stop there alone.

Yasuhiko Funago is Japan's first lawmaker with a severe neurological disease that impairs his ability to speak. Being a lawmaker in a country with a staggering number of people with disabilities, some even worse off than him, Yasuhiko does not wish to stop there alone. He wants to use the platform to end the invisibility of disabled people in Japan's traditional society and herald more inclusion. The electoral success of two politicians - Yasuhiko Fungo and Eiko Kimura, both largely paralysed, has sparked significant debate in Japan - a nation where activists say people with disabilities often remain in the shadows. The Upper House of Japan's Parliament pays for Kimura’s and Funago’s assistants, but the new lawmakers want the rules changed to help the 11,500 other seriously disabled people who rely on public care. In Japan, the state pays for carers only if the disabled person is not employed - which means that disabled people simply cannot afford to work as the cost of private help exceeds their salaries. The government says there are 9.63 million people with physical, mental or intellectual disabilities in the country, accounting for more than 7 per cent of the total population of Japan. Roughly one in 20 people in Japan has some disability or another. Progress has been made, with accessibility improving in Tokyo and legislation setting quotas for hiring people with disabilities in government, but rights activists say more must be done. From the 1940s to 1996, Japan's government sterilised people with a mental illness or disability because it deemed them 'inferior'. The victims of this eugenic protection law kept silent for decades but are now speaking out and demanding an apology and compensation. The Japanese government has been making efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities by raising employment quotas. But last year, the government was even forced to apologise for padding its disability hiring data after regularly failing to meet its own quotas. Yasuhiko Fungo and Eiko Kimura want to see inclusion rather than just acceptance of people with disabilities, because they believe a society that does not help disabled people ends up effectively hiding them.

Japan's disabled lawmakers fight to end the invisibility of people with disabilities

<p>The war that has ravaged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/200-yemen-rebels-to-be-freed-amid-peace-push-saudi-led-coalition-264761">Yemen</a>&nbsp;has especially impacted the country's estimated 4.5 million people living with disabilities, Amnesty International warned in a report Tuesday.</p>

<p>The London-based human rights group called on donors, aid groups and UN agencies to take steps to better assist people with disabilities in displaced people's centres.</p>

<p>"Yemen's war has been characterised by unlawful bombings, displacement and a dearth of basic services, leaving many struggling to survive," said Rawya Rageh, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty.</p>

<p>"The humanitarian response is overstretched, but people with disabilities,&nbsp;who are already among those most at risk in armed conflict,&nbsp;should not face even greater challenges in accessing essential aid."</p>

<p>The conflict between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Huthi rebels has raged since 2015, sparking what the United Nations terms the world's worst humanitarian crisis.</p>

<p>Amnesty reported that many people with disabilities who have been forced to flee the violence had to leave behind their crutches or wheelchairs in the chaos of war.</p>

<p>In the worst cases, it was the disabled people themselves who were left behind by their families after being separated while fleeing their homes, said the report.</p>

<p>Published on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the report documented the experience of 53 women, men and children with a wide spectrum of disabilities.</p>

<p>Amnesty pointed to "design flaws" in camps for the displaced, including in latrines and at aid distribution points, that were impacting people with disabilities.</p>

<p>These "strip people with disabilities of their independence and dignity by forcing them to rely on their families or others," it said.</p>

<p>A 75-year-old man with limited mobility said he needed to have his sons take him to the latrine, telling the group's researchers: "They drag me. They can't carry me."</p>

<p>Rageh called on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/yemen-tough-times-ahead-for-honey-trade-as-war-cripples-country-263486">organisations providing humanitarian aid</a> to "do more to overcome the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from meeting even their most basic needs".&nbsp;</p>

<p>The brutal war and economic collapse had&nbsp;hit hard public health care and social welfare services, "resulting in a systematic failure to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities".&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Many rely on handouts or fend for themselves,&nbsp;with some forced into poverty to pay for basic supplies like medicines or adult diapers," Amnesty said.</p>

<p>"One man with a disability was forced to beg along the highway."</p>


The war that has ravaged Yemen has especially impacted the country's estimated 4.5 million people living with disabilities, Amnesty International warned in a report Tuesday.

The war that has ravaged Yemen has especially impacted the country's estimated 4.5 million people living with disabilities, Amnesty International warned in a report Tuesday. The London-based human rights group called on donors, aid groups and UN agencies to take steps to better assist people with disabilities in displaced people's centres. "Yemen's war has been characterised by unlawful bombings, displacement and a dearth of basic services, leaving many struggling to survive," said Rawya Rageh, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty. "The humanitarian response is overstretched, but people with disabilities, who are already among those most at risk in armed conflict, should not face even greater challenges in accessing essential aid." The conflict between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Huthi rebels has raged since 2015, sparking what the United Nations terms the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Amnesty reported that many people with disabilities who have been forced to flee the violence had to leave behind their crutches or wheelchairs in the chaos of war. In the worst cases, it was the disabled people themselves who were left behind by their families after being separated while fleeing their homes, said the report. Published on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the report documented the experience of 53 women, men and children with a wide spectrum of disabilities. Amnesty pointed to "design flaws" in camps for the displaced, including in latrines and at aid distribution points, that were impacting people with disabilities. These "strip people with disabilities of their independence and dignity by forcing them to rely on their families or others," it said. A 75-year-old man with limited mobility said he needed to have his sons take him to the latrine, telling the group's researchers: "They drag me. They can't carry me." Rageh called on organisations providing humanitarian aid to "do more to overcome the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from meeting even their most basic needs". The brutal war and economic collapse had hit hard public health care and social welfare services, "resulting in a systematic failure to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities". "Many rely on handouts or fend for themselves, with some forced into poverty to pay for basic supplies like medicines or adult diapers," Amnesty said. "One man with a disability was forced to beg along the highway."

Disabled people hardest hit by war in Yemen: Amnesty

<p>A study quoted by the World Health Organization states that over 65 million people across the globe require a wheelchair for mobility, but higher estimates suggest that only 9.75 million people (most of whom are in higher-income countries) have access to wheelchairs, while an even fewer number have access to appropriate kinds of wheelchairs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Those that require a wheelchair also face challenges such as lack of awareness, high costs and even low availability of quality products. But the hardships don’t end there, as being seated on a wheelchair for long hours also causes secondary health issues such as poor blood circulation, spasms and pressure sores.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A collaborative effort between IIT Madras and their industry partners aims to help the differently-abled in overcoming most of these challenges. The IIT Madras, in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems has launched what they call India’s first indigenously-designed ‘Standing Wheelchair.’ It enables a differently-abled person requiring a wheelchair to shift from sitting to standing position, and vice versa, independently and in a controlled manner.</p>

<p>The standing wheelchair called ‘Arise’ was designed and developed by the TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT-M, headed by Prof Sujatha Srinivasan in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The project initially began as a student project and later its commercialisation was made possible through support from Wellcome, UK, through an ‘Affordable Healthcare in India Award', which brought together the research and manufacturing partners. A 16-member team had been working on developing various prototypes over the last four years.</p>

<p>The three-wheeled chair that costs Rs 15,000 comes is four different sizes depending on the body type and can be customised based on posture, while also being mass manufactured. Arise was designed in such a way that the user can actuate it from the sitting position to the standing position and vice versa using the power of the user’s arms. Besides knee pads, front and back support, adjustable footrests, Arise has an interlocking mechanism, which ensures that the wheelchair remains in a locked state if the knee block is not in position.</p>

<p>Speaking at the launch event, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said, “I have seen a lot of scientific developments in India and abroad over the last 5-6 years, but I haven’t seen such a good standing wheelchair in any country. When such wheelchairs are made in India, why is there a need to import?”</p>

<p>Speaking to WION Dr Sujatha Srinivasan, head of the R2D2 lab said, “The wheelchair has been designed and built in such a way that that effort required for the user to stand using it is equal to or less than that of moving the wheelchair, as we have used a linkage with spring balancing system. We have extensively tested it with over 50 users form various institutions such as Christian Medical College Vellore, Mobility India and St Johns Hospitals”.</p>

<p>Statistics quoted by the WHO say that only one in ten physically challenged people have access to assistive technology, but when they are provided the necessary aid, it could improve their access to education, employment and social participation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“Currently we have the capability of manufacturing 300-400 wheelchairs per month and our vision is to scale this up to 10,000 per month. We plan to distribute it via dealers who specialise in assistive technology and prosthesis. Our model costs Rs 15,000 while imported standing wheelchairs are priced at over a lakh and beyond. Since most of the parts used by us are bicycle parts, it would be easy to get them replaced when the need arises”, Sashi Kumar, MD of Phoenix medical Systems told WION.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the event, a few wheelchairs were donated to differently-abled persons who had spinal injuries. The users were delighted on being able to rise up independently for the first time, while the National Anthem was being played.&nbsp;</p>


A study quoted by the World Health Organization states that over 65 million people across the globe require a wheelchair for mobility, but higher estimates suggest that only 9.

A study quoted by the World Health Organization states that over 65 million people across the globe require a wheelchair for mobility, but higher estimates suggest that only 9.75 million people (most of whom are in higher-income countries) have access to wheelchairs, while an even fewer number have access to appropriate kinds of wheelchairs. Those that require a wheelchair also face challenges such as lack of awareness, high costs and even low availability of quality products. But the hardships don’t end there, as being seated on a wheelchair for long hours also causes secondary health issues such as poor blood circulation, spasms and pressure sores. A collaborative effort between IIT Madras and their industry partners aims to help the differently-abled in overcoming most of these challenges. The IIT Madras, in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems has launched what they call India’s first indigenously-designed ‘Standing Wheelchair.’ It enables a differently-abled person requiring a wheelchair to shift from sitting to standing position, and vice versa, independently and in a controlled manner. The standing wheelchair called ‘Arise’ was designed and developed by the TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT-M, headed by Prof Sujatha Srinivasan in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The project initially began as a student project and later its commercialisation was made possible through support from Wellcome, UK, through an ‘Affordable Healthcare in India Award', which brought together the research and manufacturing partners. A 16-member team had been working on developing various prototypes over the last four years. The three-wheeled chair that costs Rs 15,000 comes is four different sizes depending on the body type and can be customised based on posture, while also being mass manufactured. Arise was designed in such a way that the user can actuate it from the sitting position to the standing position and vice versa using the power of the user’s arms. Besides knee pads, front and back support, adjustable footrests, Arise has an interlocking mechanism, which ensures that the wheelchair remains in a locked state if the knee block is not in position. Speaking at the launch event, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said, “I have seen a lot of scientific developments in India and abroad over the last 5-6 years, but I haven’t seen such a good standing wheelchair in any country. When such wheelchairs are made in India, why is there a need to import?” Speaking to WION Dr Sujatha Srinivasan, head of the R2D2 lab said, “The wheelchair has been designed and built in such a way that that effort required for the user to stand using it is equal to or less than that of moving the wheelchair, as we have used a linkage with spring balancing system. We have extensively tested it with over 50 users form various institutions such as Christian Medical College Vellore, Mobility India and St Johns Hospitals”. Statistics quoted by the WHO say that only one in ten physically challenged people have access to assistive technology, but when they are provided the necessary aid, it could improve their access to education, employment and social participation. “Currently we have the capability of manufacturing 300-400 wheelchairs per month and our vision is to scale this up to 10,000 per month. We plan to distribute it via dealers who specialise in assistive technology and prosthesis. Our model costs Rs 15,000 while imported standing wheelchairs are priced at over a lakh and beyond. Since most of the parts used by us are bicycle parts, it would be easy to get them replaced when the need arises”, Sashi Kumar, MD of Phoenix medical Systems told WION. At the event, a few wheelchairs were donated to differently-abled persons who had spinal injuries. The users were delighted on being able to rise up independently for the first time, while the National Anthem was being played.

‘Arise’: IIT Madras’ affordable standing wheelchair to be commercially available

October is observed as learning disability awareness month. Learning disability, learning disorder or learning difficulty is still a social stigma. The most common forms of learning disability are dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Watch to know more about learning disability. #LearningDisability #Taboo #LearningDisabilityAwarenessMonth

Learning Disability Awareness Month: Shattering the stereotypes!

<p>It’s been two years since the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, was passed by Parliament. The Act is truly a landmark event in the lives of persons with disabilities all across India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It has provisions regarding accessibility, reservations, protection and seeks to empower persons with disabilities. But the law can’t change the life of the disabled, unless it is implemented.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Two years after the Act was enacted, it is yet to be notified by most states. About ten have notified the state rules under the RPWD Act, 2016. This not only reflects indifference towards persons with disabilities, but also reveals apathy towards basic human rights guaranteed by this Act.</p>

<p>If you are a person with disability, living in India can become an act of everyday struggle. If like me, you suffer from a locomotor disability, the fear of not finding a ramp or a lift can be debilitating. Buildings with only stairs, disabled-unfriendly bathrooms, roads with chaotic traffic and people constantly staring at you become part of daily experiences.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is true that persons with different disabilities have varied experiences. A person on a wheelchair has a different bodily experience from a person with visual impairment. Nonetheless, there is a common shared experience that binds them together: the experience of being excluded and even marginalised.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The root of the problem often lies in the idea of ‘normality’. Everything around us is built on the normative ideas of an able-bodied world and thus for the disabled, everyday things are often inaccessible. For the society, persons with disabilities simply don’t fit into the predefined ideas of what is ‘normal’ and are thus either pitied or completely ignored.</p>

<p>There are many challenges that the disabled face. Even the process of getting a disability certificate is full of obstacles. Apathetic doctors, a callous bureaucratic government machinery and lack of awareness make life very difficult. Getting to school is even harder. In ‘special schools’, the quality of education and attitude towards the disabled students remain dismal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If one somehow gets over all these hurdles, finding a job for a person with disability can be a traumatic experience. There are only a handful of organisations across sectors willing to accommodate the needs of the disabled or treat them as equals.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The situation gets worse depending on the caste, class and gender of the person. But, even if you are privileged, you are still excluded and marginalised in one form or the other. The forms and ways of marginalisation may vary, but each adds to the everyday physical and psychological trauma.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Though laws in themselves won’t change the society’s perception towards the disabled, they will definitely make life more dignified. &nbsp;</p>

<p>By ensuring accessibility, promoting educational and job opportunities and preventing discrimination, the law can enable them to live a more fulfilling life. That, in turn could lead to a more visible and vocal disabled community, which may lead to a change in how they are treated and perceived in society.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The implementation of an Act like RPWD would at least work towards a better future for the disabled. It would ensure that roads and buildings are accessible and if not, people can raise their voice against it on a legal forum.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One of the more progressive aspects of the present law is that it makes harassment of a person with disability a crime. It also makes promises about livelihood and education. No matter how all this transcends on ground, this law will certainly enable persons with disability to assert themselves.</p>

<p>This law is a small step in that direction, but it cannot be effective unless it is notified and implemented by all states. It is essential that states come on board and urgently notify rules according to the Act. By not doing so, they are not only being indifferent towards persons with disabilities, but are also robbing them of their basic human rights.</p>

<p><em>(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-implementation-of-rpwd-act-is-a-step-in-empowerment-2696834">original article</a>)</em></p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)</em></p>


It’s been two years since the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, was passed by Parliament. The Act is truly a landmark event in the lives of persons with disabilities all across India.

It’s been two years since the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, was passed by Parliament. The Act is truly a landmark event in the lives of persons with disabilities all across India. It has provisions regarding accessibility, reservations, protection and seeks to empower persons with disabilities. But the law can’t change the life of the disabled, unless it is implemented. Two years after the Act was enacted, it is yet to be notified by most states. About ten have notified the state rules under the RPWD Act, 2016. This not only reflects indifference towards persons with disabilities, but also reveals apathy towards basic human rights guaranteed by this Act. If you are a person with disability, living in India can become an act of everyday struggle. If like me, you suffer from a locomotor disability, the fear of not finding a ramp or a lift can be debilitating. Buildings with only stairs, disabled-unfriendly bathrooms, roads with chaotic traffic and people constantly staring at you become part of daily experiences. It is true that persons with different disabilities have varied experiences. A person on a wheelchair has a different bodily experience from a person with visual impairment. Nonetheless, there is a common shared experience that binds them together: the experience of being excluded and even marginalised. The root of the problem often lies in the idea of ‘normality’. Everything around us is built on the normative ideas of an able-bodied world and thus for the disabled, everyday things are often inaccessible. For the society, persons with disabilities simply don’t fit into the predefined ideas of what is ‘normal’ and are thus either pitied or completely ignored. There are many challenges that the disabled face. Even the process of getting a disability certificate is full of obstacles. Apathetic doctors, a callous bureaucratic government machinery and lack of awareness make life very difficult. Getting to school is even harder. In ‘special schools’, the quality of education and attitude towards the disabled students remain dismal. If one somehow gets over all these hurdles, finding a job for a person with disability can be a traumatic experience. There are only a handful of organisations across sectors willing to accommodate the needs of the disabled or treat them as equals. The situation gets worse depending on the caste, class and gender of the person. But, even if you are privileged, you are still excluded and marginalised in one form or the other. The forms and ways of marginalisation may vary, but each adds to the everyday physical and psychological trauma. Though laws in themselves won’t change the society’s perception towards the disabled, they will definitely make life more dignified. By ensuring accessibility, promoting educational and job opportunities and preventing discrimination, the law can enable them to live a more fulfilling life. That, in turn could lead to a more visible and vocal disabled community, which may lead to a change in how they are treated and perceived in society. The implementation of an Act like RPWD would at least work towards a better future for the disabled. It would ensure that roads and buildings are accessible and if not, people can raise their voice against it on a legal forum. One of the more progressive aspects of the present law is that it makes harassment of a person with disability a crime. It also makes promises about livelihood and education. No matter how all this transcends on ground, this law will certainly enable persons with disability to assert themselves. This law is a small step in that direction, but it cannot be effective unless it is notified and implemented by all states. It is essential that states come on board and urgently notify rules according to the Act. By not doing so, they are not only being indifferent towards persons with disabilities, but are also robbing them of their basic human rights. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Implementation of RPWD Act is a step in empowerment

<p>A woman in Mathura carried her differently-abled husband on her back to get him a certificate of disability.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The woman took her husband to the office of the chief medical officer to obtain the certificate and shared that they had no access to a wheel-chair or a tricycle.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The couple told that they had previously gone to various offices but were not given the certificate.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mathura: A woman was seen carrying her differently-abled husband on her back to office of chief medical officer to obtain a disability certificate, says' we have no access to a wheel-chair or a tricycle. We went to many different offices but still have not got the certificate.' <a href="https://t.co/nqtHetCOtZ">pic.twitter.com/nqtHetCOtZ</a></p>
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/981370715093065729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>"We went to many different offices but still have not got the certificate," the woman noted.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile,&nbsp;UP Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary condemned the incident sharing that he was saddened by it.</p>

<p>"It is a sad incident to happen in a civilised world. We will inspect the case and help accordingly," the minister noted.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It is a sad incident to happen in a civilised world. We will inspect the case and help accordingly: UP Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mathura?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mathura</a> <a href="https://t.co/xDybvh9Mft">pic.twitter.com/xDybvh9Mft</a></p>
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/981370718481977344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Mathura later issued the certificate of disability to the&nbsp;man.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Mathura issues disability certificate to man who was carried by his wife to the CMO office. <a href="https://t.co/TVEJ7lAC2G">pic.twitter.com/TVEJ7lAC2G</a></p>
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/981405449412136960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The couple told that they had previously gone to various offices but were not given the certificate

A woman in Mathura carried her differently-abled husband on her back to get him a certificate of disability. The woman took her husband to the office of the chief medical officer to obtain the certificate and shared that they had no access to a wheel-chair or a tricycle. The couple told that they had previously gone to various offices but were not given the certificate. Mathura: A woman was seen carrying her differently-abled husband on her back to office of chief medical officer to obtain a disability certificate, says' we have no access to a wheel-chair or a tricycle. We went to many different offices but still have not got the certificate.' pic.twitter.com/nqtHetCOtZ — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 4, 2018 × "We went to many different offices but still have not got the certificate," the woman noted. Meanwhile, UP Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary condemned the incident sharing that he was saddened by it. "It is a sad incident to happen in a civilised world. We will inspect the case and help accordingly," the minister noted. It is a sad incident to happen in a civilised world. We will inspect the case and help accordingly: UP Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary #Mathura pic.twitter.com/xDybvh9Mft — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 4, 2018 × Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Mathura later issued the certificate of disability to the man. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Mathura issues disability certificate to man who was carried by his wife to the CMO office. pic.twitter.com/TVEJ7lAC2G — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 4, 2018 ×

Mathura woman carries husband on her back to get him certificate of disability

<p>India is home to the largest deaf community of the world. If data points by several welfare organisations working for the benefit of the deaf community are to be believed, there are an estimated 18 million deaf people in India (Lack of exact figures is because the Census of India documents an aggregate number of people with disabilities which includes all kinds of disabilities. The estimates also vary on how &ldquo;deaf&rdquo; is defined.)</p>

<p>Ayush was born deaf. He can pass off as a regular guy who works at a popular coffee chain, serving coffee and snacks to waiting for customers with a smile. He hides many stories behind that smile and wishes to tell it all,&nbsp;one day.</p>

<p>He ponders, &ldquo;I don&#39;t regret being born a deaf, yes there are complexities and challenges I must face on a daily basis but what I actually regret, is not having the infrastructure to tell what I want to say or to prove myself. I just wish someone had the patience to sit with me and talk, instead of looking at me with pity.&rdquo;</p>

<p><strong>Need for a language</strong></p>

<p>The biggest problem that the deaf community today faces is that of a common language. Who would know that only 0.25% deaf have access to bilingual education where knowledge of sign language is primary and that of a local language (to converse with the hearing community) is secondary or that for an 18 million deaf in India, there are only 250 registered interpreters?&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Indian deaf is scattered and is not informed. Most of them either don&#39;t reach the classrooms owing to a close link between disability and poverty in India or don&rsquo;t understand much because most schools use the oral approach to teaching.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Those who can hear are always at an advantage. In terms of salary, career prospect; everything becomes stagnant after a while. Hearing and deaf community work separate. They don&rsquo;t collaborate with us.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Those who can hear are always at an advantage. In terms of salary, career prospect; everything becomes stagnant after a while. Hearing and deaf community work separate. They don?t collaborate with us." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>Those few who are fortunate of receiving the best quality education claim that an absence of any link between the hearing and deaf community stalls their growth. Amit Vardhan is an artist who works with Atulyakala, India&rsquo;s first lifestyle brand run by deaf artists and designers.</p>

<p>A Bachelor and Masters in Fine Arts from a top college in Delhi in India, &nbsp;he says, &ldquo;Those who can hear are always at an advantage. In terms of salary, career prospect; everything becomes stagnant after a while. Hearing and deaf community work separate. They don&rsquo;t collaborate with us. There&rsquo;s a major gap between deaf and hearing in terms of the money they earn too. We don&#39;t even get campus recruitments.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Smriti Nagpal, the owner of Atulyakala, was brought up in a family where two of her elder siblings are deaf. While witnessing their world as someone who could hear, &ldquo;sign language became an integral part&rdquo; of her life &ldquo;since childhood&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She founded Atulyakala, thus, to break stereotypes. She wanted to show that they could be as efficient as those from the hearing community. Hiring a mix of both from the hearing and the deaf community, she says, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very silent, happy atmosphere that we share. Only those who are passionate to learn the sign language and use it in their daily lives, come and work with us. We only use signs to communicate--be it to share a joke or to get the work done.&rdquo;</p>

<p><strong>Why making Indian Sign Language official important?</strong></p>

<p>Till 2012, the deaf community in India used American Sign Language as it did not have its own. The American Sign Language is worldwide accepted as a universal sign language but the Indian community still felt something amiss.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Almost every country has it own sign language and we realised that we didn&rsquo;t have our own even though we have the highest deaf population of the world. We lacked a language that is culturally fitting in our environment, signs that we would be able to relate with.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Almost every country has it own sign language and we realised that we didn?t have our own even though we have the highest deaf population of the world. We lacked a language that is culturally fitting in our environment, signs that we would be able to relate with." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>Smriti says, &ldquo;Almost every country has it own sign language and we realised that we didn&rsquo;t have our own even though we have the highest deaf population of the world. We lacked a language that is culturally fitting in our environment, signs that we would be able to relate with. Like how they would sign mother and father in American Sign Language makes no sense in the Indian context. We have a very different sign for mother and father in Indian Sign Language, something relatable for an Indian user.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;I feel language also evolves, and then comes together in a standard form. Language has a lot to do with our culture, where we grow up, they are a reflection of our rituals. There is a huge cultural difference in how we use our hands, gestures in the South India or East India. But the Indian Sign Language thus formed is standard in India--just how we have different accents in every region--similarly there are tweaks in the signs according to regions.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Indian Sign Language is today used by a large part of the deaf community due to several campaigns by activists and scholars, however, the language does not have an official status in the country. Smriti says, &ldquo;We have been struggling to make it an official language. We are still waiting for the Indian government to recognise it and make it a part of the languages.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Just like there are different dialects in oral language, sign language has a lot of variations. Unless the Indian Sign Language is made official, one form or structure cannot be mainstreamed. This impacts its further teachings. As a multilingual nation, the government needs to realise the need to officialise Indian Sign Language, for an inclusive growth of the community.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Way forward</strong></p>

<p>As some scholars and activists believe that deaf community must be considered as a linguistic community, the Indian Sign language has to come out of its monotonous shell.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>It is portrayed as a language for the deaf people, and not a language alone. As an entrepreneur, I realise it&#39;s all about pitching an idea--so portraying a language for all was the idea here. For example, focusing on the utility of the language rather than staying within the shackles of its limits.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It is portrayed as a language for the deaf people, and not a language alone. As an entrepreneur, I realise it's all about pitching an idea--so portraying a language for all was the idea here. For example, focusing on the utility of the language rather than staying within the shackles of its limits." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>Smriti says, &ldquo;It is portrayed as a language for the deaf people, and not a language alone. As an entrepreneur, I realise it&#39;s all about pitching an idea--so portraying a language for all was the idea here. For example, focusing on the utility of the language rather than staying within the shackles of its limits. Like when you are in a bar where very loud music is being played, and you can&#39;t communicate with words, you can use signs to ask the waiter for a drink or anything else. You don&#39;t have to shout on the top of your voice.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Smriti, like a few others, is encouraging people to learn the Indian Sign Language as just another language. It will go a long way in making those who can&#39;t hear and talk converse at ease.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Many feel that an official recognition of their language will go a long way in strengthening the deaf community and equip them to contribute to the society in a better fashion.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The biggest problem that the deaf community today faces in India is that of a common language.

India is home to the largest deaf community of the world. If data points by several welfare organisations working for the benefit of the deaf community are to be believed, there are an estimated 18 million deaf people in India (Lack of exact figures is because the Census of India documents an aggregate number of people with disabilities which includes all kinds of disabilities. The estimates also vary on how “deaf” is defined.) Ayush was born deaf. He can pass off as a regular guy who works at a popular coffee chain, serving coffee and snacks to waiting for customers with a smile. He hides many stories behind that smile and wishes to tell it all, one day. He ponders, “I don't regret being born a deaf, yes there are complexities and challenges I must face on a daily basis but what I actually regret, is not having the infrastructure to tell what I want to say or to prove myself. I just wish someone had the patience to sit with me and talk, instead of looking at me with pity.” Need for a language The biggest problem that the deaf community today faces is that of a common language. Who would know that only 0.25% deaf have access to bilingual education where knowledge of sign language is primary and that of a local language (to converse with the hearing community) is secondary or that for an 18 million deaf in India, there are only 250 registered interpreters? The Indian deaf is scattered and is not informed. Most of them either don't reach the classrooms owing to a close link between disability and poverty in India or don’t understand much because most schools use the oral approach to teaching. Those who can hear are always at an advantage. In terms of salary, career prospect; everything becomes stagnant after a while. Hearing and deaf community work separate. They don’t collaborate with us. × Those few who are fortunate of receiving the best quality education claim that an absence of any link between the hearing and deaf community stalls their growth. Amit Vardhan is an artist who works with Atulyakala, India’s first lifestyle brand run by deaf artists and designers. A Bachelor and Masters in Fine Arts from a top college in Delhi in India, he says, “Those who can hear are always at an advantage. In terms of salary, career prospect; everything becomes stagnant after a while. Hearing and deaf community work separate. They don’t collaborate with us. There’s a major gap between deaf and hearing in terms of the money they earn too. We don't even get campus recruitments.” Smriti Nagpal, the owner of Atulyakala, was brought up in a family where two of her elder siblings are deaf. While witnessing their world as someone who could hear, “sign language became an integral part” of her life “since childhood”. She founded Atulyakala, thus, to break stereotypes. She wanted to show that they could be as efficient as those from the hearing community. Hiring a mix of both from the hearing and the deaf community, she says, “It’s a very silent, happy atmosphere that we share. Only those who are passionate to learn the sign language and use it in their daily lives, come and work with us. We only use signs to communicate--be it to share a joke or to get the work done.” Why making Indian Sign Language official important? Till 2012, the deaf community in India used American Sign Language as it did not have its own. The American Sign Language is worldwide accepted as a universal sign language but the Indian community still felt something amiss. Almost every country has it own sign language and we realised that we didn’t have our own even though we have the highest deaf population of the world. We lacked a language that is culturally fitting in our environment, signs that we would be able to relate with. × Smriti says, “Almost every country has it own sign language and we realised that we didn’t have our own even though we have the highest deaf population of the world. We lacked a language that is culturally fitting in our environment, signs that we would be able to relate with. Like how they would sign mother and father in American Sign Language makes no sense in the Indian context. We have a very different sign for mother and father in Indian Sign Language, something relatable for an Indian user. “I feel language also evolves, and then comes together in a standard form. Language has a lot to do with our culture, where we grow up, they are a reflection of our rituals. There is a huge cultural difference in how we use our hands, gestures in the South India or East India. But the Indian Sign Language thus formed is standard in India--just how we have different accents in every region--similarly there are tweaks in the signs according to regions.” The Indian Sign Language is today used by a large part of the deaf community due to several campaigns by activists and scholars, however, the language does not have an official status in the country. Smriti says, “We have been struggling to make it an official language. We are still waiting for the Indian government to recognise it and make it a part of the languages.” Just like there are different dialects in oral language, sign language has a lot of variations. Unless the Indian Sign Language is made official, one form or structure cannot be mainstreamed. This impacts its further teachings. As a multilingual nation, the government needs to realise the need to officialise Indian Sign Language, for an inclusive growth of the community. Way forward As some scholars and activists believe that deaf community must be considered as a linguistic community, the Indian Sign language has to come out of its monotonous shell. It is portrayed as a language for the deaf people, and not a language alone. As an entrepreneur, I realise it's all about pitching an idea--so portraying a language for all was the idea here. For example, focusing on the utility of the language rather than staying within the shackles of its limits. × Smriti says, “It is portrayed as a language for the deaf people, and not a language alone. As an entrepreneur, I realise it's all about pitching an idea--so portraying a language for all was the idea here. For example, focusing on the utility of the language rather than staying within the shackles of its limits. Like when you are in a bar where very loud music is being played, and you can't communicate with words, you can use signs to ask the waiter for a drink or anything else. You don't have to shout on the top of your voice.” Smriti, like a few others, is encouraging people to learn the Indian Sign Language as just another language. It will go a long way in making those who can't hear and talk converse at ease. Many feel that an official recognition of their language will go a long way in strengthening the deaf community and equip them to contribute to the society in a better fashion. (WION)

How do we speak with the 18 million Indians who are deaf?

disability

Disability, News on Disability, stories on Disability, articles on Disability, Disability stories at Wion, Disability news, Disability latest news