Issu e 9

N ewsletter
Jan u ar y 2017
Ed i t or ?s N ot e Th e N ew Bi l l - An Act i v i st 's Per sp ect i v e
Abh a K h et r ap al
H i fr ien ds,

H appy New Year !! Th e Righ ts of Per son s with Disabil ities Bil l 2016, passed
Star tin g th e New Year on a in Decem ber h as r epl aced th e Per son s with Disabil ities
ch eer fu l n ote an d l ook in g (Equ al Oppor tu n ities, Pr otection of Righ ts an d Fu l l
for war d to accessibl e pu bl ic Par ticipation ) Act, 1995 an d th is ch an ge was l on g du e.
pl aces as 2017 is th e After m an y year s of waitin g an d al l th e str u ggl es to
In ter n ation al Year of Su stain abl e l evel th e pl ayin g fiel d, th e bil l com es as an assor tm en t of
Tou r ism for Devel opm en t .I al so agr eeabl e an d n on agr eeabl e ch an ges. Th e r igh t to fr ee
l ook for war d for an in cr eased l egal aid is qu ite a wel com e m ove as per son s with
r eader s par ticipation in Con n ect disabil ities ar e m ostl y u n abl e to affor d l egal h el p.
Special .
An oth er r em ar k abl e par t is in cl u sion of au tism ,
Th is edition featu r es a dysl exia, deaf-bl in dn ess an d oth er im pair m en ts tak in g th e
discu ssion th r ead on th e n ew bil l , n u m ber of disabil ities to 21 n ow. Th e pr ocess of
som e n ew assistive tech n ol ogy,an pr ocu r em en t of disabil ity cer tificate h as been extr em el y
in n ovative in cl u sion idea an d difficu l t an d tim e-con su m in g in ou r cou n tr y sin ce ages.
poin ter s for accessibl e tou r ism . M or eover cer tificate fr om on e state was n ot con sider ed by
H appy Readin g! an oth er state. Th e n ew l aw n ow br in gs in m u ch -n eeded
ch an ge. Th e RPW D Bil l pr ovides th at h en cefor th su ch
Regar ds cer tificates ?wil l be val id acr oss th e cou n tr y?. Bu t th e bil l
Bh avn a Botta does n ot specify th e tim e fr am e for a cer tificate of disabil ity
to be issu ed.
Th er e ar e som e poin ts on th e n on agr eeabl e side of
th is Bil l . th e cl au se ?appr opr iate Gover n m en ts sh al l , with in
th e l im it of th eir econ om ic capacity an d devel opm en t,
for m u l ate n ecessar y sch em es an d pr ogr am m es to
safegu ar d an d pr om ote th e r igh ts of per son s with
disabil ities for adequ ate stan dar d of l ivin g, to en abl e th em
to l ive in depen den tl y or in th e com m u n ity?. Bu t th e ter m
?econ om ic capacity? is u n cl ear an d is l iabl e to be u sed
su bjectivel y an d r em ain s u n der th e r isk of m u l tipl e
in ter pr etation s as per con ven ien ce of differ en t par ties.

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It is u n for tu n ate th at r eser vation h as decr eased to 4 fr om 5% an d with th r ee fol d

in cr ease of oth er im pair m en ts, h ow is th e gover n m en t goin g to cope u p with th is per cen tage,
r em ain s an ar ea of debate.
Th e Bil l con tin u es with th e pr ovision of h avin g a ch ief com m ission er an d state
com m ission er s. Bu t n owh er e is it m en tion ed th at th e com m ission er s or an y of th e m em ber s of
th eir advisor y com m ittees ar e r equ ir ed to be Per son s with Disabil ities. It is again st th e idea of
?n oth in g abou t u s with ou t u s?.

An oth er con tr over sial poin t in th e Bil l is th e Section 3(3) of th e Bil l wh ich h as a cl au se
of discr im in ation as ?an y distin ction , excl u sion , r estr iction on th e basis of disabil ity? wh ich
im pair s or n u l l ifies th e exer cise on an equ al basis of r igh ts in th e ?pol itical , social , cu l tu r al , civil
or an y oth er fiel d?.

H owever ,it accepts su ch discr im in ation if ?it is sh own th at th e im pu gn ed act or

om ission is a pr opor tion ate m ean s of ach ievin g l egitim ate aim ?. Th e ter m ?l egitim ate?is
com pl etel y su bjective an d can be m isu sed by bu r eau cr acy .

Abh a Kh etar pal , Pr esiden t, Cr oss th e H u r dl es, is a cou n sel or for

per son s with disabil ities an d a disabil ity r igh ts activist. Sh e h as
been pr ovidin g fr ee on l in e cou n sel in g to per son s with disabil ities
sin ce 2011. Sh e is a disabil ity r igh ts activist. Sh e is an awar dee of
# 100 W om en Ach iever s Awar d by M in istr y of W om en an d Ch il d
Devel opm en t.

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Fr om t h e H ear t ?
I n cl u si v e Ed u cat i on : Ev er y ch i l d ?s
Ri gh t
-Br o K K Th om as ,Pr i n ci p al &
Cor r esp on d en t
Q. Tel l u s abou t t h e sch ool
M on tfor t Sch ool , St. Th om as M ou n t
str ives to im par t In cl u sive Edu cation sin ce
th e l ast 12 year s fr om Ju n e 2004 to addr ess
th e l ear n in g n eeds of ch il dr en with special
n eeds, with a par ticu l ar focu s on th ose wh o
ar e su bject to bein g isol ated an d excl u ded.
Th e ph il osoph y beh in d in cl u sive
edu cation is to pr om ote oppor tu n ities for al l
ch il dr en to par ticipate, l ear n an d h ave equ al
tr eatm en t, ir r espective of th eir m en tal or
ph ysical abil ities. It al so br in gs in
h ar m on iou s in ter action between th e n or m al
stu den ts an d stu den ts with special n eeds
wh ich h el ps in in cr easin g th e con fiden ce of
th e ch il dr en with special n eeds to aspir e for a
val u abl e edu cation l ik e th eir n or m al peer s
an d al so edu cates th e oth er s to be
em path etic towar ds ever yon e in th e society.
Q .H ow d o y ou i m p l em en t t h i s
In cl u sion at M on tfor t is don e with
th e h el p of in stitu tion s special ized in special
edu cation an d in cl u sion su ppor t. In itial l y we
wor k ed with Vidya Sagar at Kotu r pu r am ,
Ch en n ai. Cu r r en tl y 3 in stitu tion s in cl u din g,
Vidya Sagar ,Kar e & Abyas ar e m u tu al l y
wor k in g with th e Sh adow teach er s an d th e
staff an d m an agem en t to pr ovide cu stom ised
cu r r icu l u m accor din g to th e ch il d?s n eed an d
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abil ity.
Q. Can y ou p l ease sh ar e som e
ex p er i en ces?
Ever y day is a l ear n in g exper ien ce
wh er e n ew str ategies an d m eth odol ogies ar e
appl ied to m ak e th e l ear n in g pr ocess easy
an d in ter estin g; th is can n ot be possibl e
with ou t co-or din ation of th e cl ass/ su bject
teach er ,sh adow teach er ,special
Edu cation / in cl u sion su ppor t staff & th e
par en ts.
It is in deed a ch al l en gin g m ission
wh er e we n eed to str ik e a bal an ce with th e
ch il dr en wh o fol l ow th e r egu l ar cu r r icu l u m
an d th e ch il dr en with special n eeds as it is
n ot m er el y an academ ic ch an ge, bu t it
in vol ves social an d com m u n al ch an ge
am on g th e stu den ts, extr a-or din ar y
dedication an d sen sitivity in th e teach er an d
acceptan ce in th e par en ts of both th e n or m al
ch il dr en as wel l as ch il dr en with special
n eeds
In th e l ast cou pl e of year s we h ave
been gettin g m or e an d m or e r equ ests for
adm ission s for stu den ts wh o n eed in cl u sion
& we ar e tr yin g ou r l evel best to
accom m odate stu den ts with var ied special
n eeds al on g with ch il dr en fol l owin g th e
r egu l ar cu r r icu l u m .
Q You con du ct an in t er est in g Un if ied Spor t s
m eet , w h at is it ?
As part of our pioneering efforts we
have been conducting the UNIFIED SPORTS
MEET inviting students from institutions such
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Jan u ar y 2017
as M CDS, Swabh odh in i, etc .Th e in cl u sive spor ts m eet h as team gam es (ever y team h as a few
stu den ts with special n eeds) an d in cu l cates in cl u sion an d h ar m on iou s in ter action .
.
As th e sayin g goes ?Sm al l dr ops of water ,m ak e a m igh ty ocean ?, we at M on tfor t M at H r Sec
Sch ool , St Th om as M ou n t bel ieve th at th is sm al l seed sown n ow wil l defin itel y bear abu n dan t
fr u its in th e year s to com e an d m ak e l ife m or e m ean in gfu l for ever y m em ber of th e
M on tfor tian Fam il y.
.

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N ew I n n ov at i on s at R2D2 be cu stom ized to var iou s u ser s with a tar get
pr ice of a good qu al ity m an u al wh eel ch air.
-Dr Su jat h a Sr i n i v asan
Com m er cial ization is in pr ogr ess in
W e h av e h ear d an d seen m an y i n n ov at i v e par tn er sh ip with an in du str y an d an NGO
d ev el op m en t s f r om R2D2 l ab; p l ease t el l par tn er for u ser -testin g with fu n din g fr om
u s abou t t h e gen esi s of t h i s th e W el l com e Tr u st (W T), UK. Th e goal is a
Reh abil itation Resear ch an d Device cer tified SW C at an affor dabl e pr ice so th at
Devel opm en t (R2D2) l ab (n ow th e TTK ever y wh eel ch air u ser can affor d th is device.
Cen ter for R2D2) was establ ish ed by m e in Bod y -m ov em en t -w h eel ch ai r (BM W ):
th e Depar tm en t of M ech an ical En gin eer in g
at IIT M adr as with a focu s on assistive device Ch il dr en with cer ebr al pal sy
devel opm en t. (CP) h ave n o m ean s of in depen den t m obil ity.
Th ey can n ot sel f-oper ate a m an u al
Th e m otivation beh in d is th e m il l ion s wh eel ch air an d l ack fin e m otor con tr ol to
of peopl e in In dia with l oco m otor disabil ity oper ate a joystick -con tr ol l ed m otor ized
wh o l ack access to good qu al ity,fu n ction al wh eel ch air.
assistive devices th at ar e al so affor dabl e. Th e
m ission of R2D2 is th e design an d BM W al l ows th e u ser to u se
devel opm en t of assistive devices to en abl e wh atever gr oss body m ovem en t th ey ar e
u ser s to l ive fu l l er ,m or e in depen den t l ives. capabl e of ? tr u n k , h an ds, h ead, etc. ? to
R2D2 col l abor ates with NGOs, h ospital s an d oper ate th e device. Th e device can be
r eh abil itation cen ter s wor k in g in th e fiel d of cal ibr ated with in a m in u te to adapt to a n ew
disabil ity.
Var iou s sou r ces fu n d th e pr ojects of
R2D2 - SBM T (a DRDO society), DBT,
W el l com e Tr u st, TTK gr ou p an d al u m n i
sch em es of IIT M adr as.
Cou l d y ou p l ease sh ar e som e k ey
i n n ov at i on s?
St an d i n g w h eel ch ai r (SW C):
For wh eel ch air u ser s, stan din g is a
n ecessar y activity to pr even t secon dar y
pr obl em s l ik e pr essu r e sor es. H owever ,it is
ver y difficu l t to accom pl ish with ou t
assistan ce. R2D2?s SW C design en abl es th e
u ser to sel f-stan d in th e wh eel ch air with l ow
u pper -l im b m u scu l ar effor t. Th e design can 5
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u ser. A l igh t-weigh t ver sion of th is device is bicycl e par ts an d is th er efor e easil y
u n der devel opm en t. r epair abl e an d affor dabl e. Th e m ech an ism to
Saat h i w al k er : attach an d detach th e l ever is ver y easy to
u se so th at th e u ser can easil y switch ch air to
Th e objective of th is pr oject is to pu sh r im m ode. Th e el on gated base
devel op a sel f-pr opel l ed m obil ity device for fr am e en su r es stabil ity on r ou gh ter r ain .
ch il dr en with l oco m otor disabil ity. Existin g W ith br ak es l ocated on th e pu sh in g l ever s,
wal k er s ar e eith er too difficu l t for som e th e u ser can stop th e ch air qu ick l y. Th e
ch il dr en with CP to u se in depen den tl y or too wh eel ch air h as a sm al l tu r n in g r adiu s
expen sive. m ak in g it easil y m an eu ver abl e in tigh t
Th e pr oject aim s at devel opin g an spaces. Th e wh eel ch air is al so fol dabl e,
affor dabl e, er gon om ic in depen den t m obil ity m ak in g it easy to tr an spor t.
device for su ch ch il dr en wh o m ay oth er wise
be abl e to wal k on l y with su ppor t fr om a
car egiver. Th e wal k er we ar e devel opin g
wou l d aid ch il dr en with CP to ?wal k ?
in depen den tl y with m in im al assistan ce an d
r edu ce th e bu r den on th e car egiver as wel l .
Th e secon d pr ototype we ar e wor k in g
on in cl u des a seat an d a sit-to-stan d
m ech an ism so th at th e ch il d can stay in th e
device for l on ger per iods of tim e.
Sw i m m i n g Pool L i f t : H ydr oth er apy is
ben eficial for peopl e with m u scu l o sk el etal
im pair m en ts. H owever ,gettin g in to an d ou t
of th e pool is awk war d an d ar du ou s: th ey
h ave to be pu sh ed in an d be pu l l ed ou t of th e Dr. Su jath a gr adu ated with h er
water ,wh ich is ch al l en gin g an d r isk y. Th e B.Tech in M ech an ical
pool l ift l ower s th e u ser s in to th e water an d
br in gs th em u p safel y. W e ar e wor k in g on a En gin eer in g fr om IIT-M adr as
ver sion of th is l ift th at can be oper ated in 1992, h er M SM E fr om th e Un iver sity of
m an u al l y. Tol edo, USA in 1994, an d after a l on g stin t in
th e pr osth etics in du str y,h er Ph D fr om th e
Al l -t er r ai n w h eel ch ai r (Op t i m u s): Oh io State Un iver sity in 2007. Sh e join ed th e
It is a m an u al l ever -oper ated facu l ty at IIT-M adr as in 2008. & wor k is in th e
wh eel ch air for u se ou tdoor s in r ou gh ter r ain . ar eas of Pr osth etics an d Or th otics,
Th e design m ak es u se of l ocal l y avail abl e Biom ech an ics an d M ech an ism s

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Jan u ar y 2017
Cen t r al Access Ver t i cal
Read er (CAR) is 1. In cl in e
a fr ee, open sou r ce 2. Act of stoppin g
text-to-speech an d disen gagin g a
pr ogr am design ed veh icl e
for stu den ts with
pr in t disabil ities 3. ver tical
(e.g. ADH D, tr an spor tation
dysgr aph ia, H or i zon t al c. Tr an sl ates speech
dysl exia, an d or al l y or in to sign
visu al a. Accom m odation to sit
l an gu age.
im pair m en t) th at b. Tactil e wr itin g system
deciph er s
m ath em atical n otation s,
equ ation s, an d sym bol s th at m ost
scr een r eader s do n ot su ppor t.
CAR was cr eated at Cen tr al
W ash in gton Un iver sity by
Spen cer Gr affe, a sen ior com pu ter
scien ce m ajor wh o con ceived it as
a capston e pr oject. Cen tr al Access,
wh ich fu r n ish es accessibl e
edu cation al m ater ial s to CW U
stu den ts with disabil ities

Tips to m ak e a pl ace accessibl e

for al l -
- Bu il din g r am ps
- En l ar gin g door ways to
accom m odate wh eel ch air s
- Redesign in g seatin g an d
par k in g spaces
- Br ail l e sign s, cl ear sign age
- visu al fir e al ar m s&Assistive For com m en t s an d su bscr i p t i on s
l isten in g system bot t a.bh av n a@gm ai l .com
- In stal l in g gr ab bar s in wash
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3 n ect sp eci al .com 7