NATIONAL TRUST

for the welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The Secret of Success

There was once a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn.

Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honor and prizes.

Once a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting

about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed

corn with his neighbours. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when

they are entering their corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter

asked. "Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from

the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow

inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily

degrade the quality of my corn.

If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn too." The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectivity of life. His corn cannot

improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So is the case with other

dimensions in life! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues

to be at peace as well. Those who choose to live well must help others to live

well. The value of life is measured by the lives it touches.

Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and

collective process.

So share the good practices, ideas and new learnings with your family, team

members and neighbours.

National Trust9th Floor, Jeevan Prakash Building25 Kasturba Gandhi MargNew Delhi 110 001Tel.: 23766901/43520861-4Fax.: 23731648email: nationaltrust@nic.in

Note our current address:

We Have

Moved!

2EnablingNewsletter of

The National Trustfor the welfare of persons with Autism,Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and

Multiple DisabilitiesGovernment of India

Ministry of Social Justice &Empowerment

9th Floor, Jeevan Prakash Building25 Kasturba Gandhi Marg

New Delhi 110 001email: nationaltrust@nic.in

website: www.nationaltrust.org.in

Volume-9 Mar 2008

Editorial BoardEditor-in-Chief: Ms Sharmila DivatiaSmt Poonam NatarajanShri Anil JoshiSmt Chitra Vasudevan

Contributors in this issue in the orderof occurrence of articles:

Ms Arathi Abraham, 99and1 Design,ChennaiDr. Hemlatha, Media Lab Asia, Ministryof Communication and IT, GOIDr. Sudha Kaul, Vice-Chair and ExecutiveDirector, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy(IICP)Dr. Amita Dhanda, Professor of Law,NALSAR University of Law, HyderabadMs Anindita Mukherjee, Special Educator,Volunteer, National TrustMs Dwaraka Pandurangi, Volunteer,National TrustMs Alysha DSouza, Business &Community FederationDr. Shanti Auluck, Director, Muskaan,DelhiMs Priya Desikan, Freelance SpecialEducator, ChennaiMs Mrinalini Dayal, Teacher andVolunteer, Delhi

On the Cover:

Visual from National Trusts deskcalendar 2008.Design: Ms Arathi Abraham, 99and1Design, Chennai.

Contents

Page number

Chairpersons Message 3

The National Trust Scholarship Schemes 4

JS/CEOs message 5

RBI Directive 7

The NT Calendar 2007 8

More at the SNAC/SNAP centres 12

Niramaya - Medical Insurance Scheme 13

Remote Area Funding Scheme 14

The National Trust Awardees 2007 16

Friendly Software for Special Education 21

AGM in Pictures 22

Information and Communication Technology

for Empowerment of PWDs 24

Augmentative & Alternative Communication 25

The Universalisation of Legal Capacity 27

Aspiration - Early Intervention & SchoolReadiness Programme 28

Workshop on Organisation Development 30

Training of Trainers 32

Showcasing Abilities 34

A Samarth Story 35

DERA - A Dream Project 37

Book Review 39

Gifted With Humour (Poem) 40

On the Trusts Trail 41

3A warm welcome to this Bumper Issue of Enabling. This brings a special report of

our two day event, held in Sept07 - The Annual General Meeting and the Technology

Workshop. It was a pleasure to meet all our stake-holders on these two days.

We at the National Trust are thinking of different strategies to facilitate sharing of

information and creating awareness to change attitudes. We brought out a Role Model

Wall Calendar and a unique Table Calendar to bring more attention to the issues of the

National Trust. I hope all of you, have received these calendars through your SNAC & SNAPs.

The New SNAC & SNAP Scheme was also launched in Sept07, New Wine in an Old Bottle. This is

because, the new scheme has some important differences, the important ones being - Documentation and

Networking.

In our country, specially, in the field of disability, very little statistics is available, even a good SITUATION

ANALYSIS per State does not exist. It is vital that we have at least, a good sense of the strengths and

weaknesses of the services available in each District and State.

It is only through word of mouth, that one hears of a good practice or exceptional services. A Questionnaire

was made and sent to the SNACs to collect information from each Registered Organization in their State. I

do hope all received that questionnaire.

Good ideas and best practice must be studied and replicated. I find, many organizations do not have very

clear objectives, goals or curriculums for their students. We have to move away from running crches towards

running good schools and training institutions.

Do our Special Schools prepare their students for adult life, for working, for participation in the community

for inclusion? Each of us as Rehab professionals, have to answer this question.

NETWORKING or SHARING INFORMATION, is an important area of concern. Each organization seems

to be working in an isolated way and there is much competition too. The call is for development inCollaboration over Competition. If we do not share and do not work together, we are slowing down

progress. We therefore, want SNAC & SNAPs to encourage coming together and working together. Do you

know the SNAC & SNAPs of your State? Do they know you? Please get in touch.

In our earlier newsletters, we had asked for success stories for the Role Model calendar, we got none. I

hope this year, we get flooded with stories. This is a WAKE UP CALL.

People with Development Disabilities can be Included, can Participate, can be Employed. Are you a facilitator

or a barrier? All of us, have made commitments to be agents of change, by working in this field. Let us

honestly evaluate ourselves.

Hope you enjoy the issue. I want your feedback.

With Best wishes,

Knowledge is power, sharing knowledge is progress.

The Chairperson writes:

3

44

The National TrustScholarship Schemes

Gyan Prabha is a scholarship being awarded to encourage people with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, MentalRetardation and Multiple Disabilities to pursue post-schooling education/vocational training / professional courses for

enhancement of their skills.

Eligibility

1. Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities are eligible for the scholarship

2. For pursuing post schooling any professional course or vocational training and other creative activities from

recognized institutions for self employment / employment.

3. Scholarship will be awarded for pursuing only one course.

4. Continuation / renewal of the scholarship for next year will depend on successful performance in course in the

preceding year with minimum 50% marks

5. Monthly family income of the beneficiary should not be more than Rs.15,000/- from all sources. Family income

includes income of the parent/guardian.

Scholarship amount shall be up to Rs. 700/- pm per person for 1000 persons every year.

Applications in prescribed format may be sourced from National Trust office or SNAC/SNAP centres and shall be

approved on first-come-first-served basis.

UddyamPrabha is for promoting income generating economic activities for self-employment ofpersons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities through incentives.

Eligibility

(1) Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple

Disabilities

(2) Age 18 years or above

(3) Loan for income generating activities from recognized financial institutions,

banks etc.

(4) No default in repaying the loan.

Incentive

Incentive upto 5% for BPL and 3% for other categories will be given per annum upto 5 year on a loan amount upto

Rs.1 lakh. For example, an eligible person below poverty line will get upto 5% of 1 lakh loan amount i.e. Rs. 5000/- pa

for 5 years.

In all, 1000 beneficiaries are planned for in a calendar year.

5JS & CEO writes:Warm Greetings for the New Year 2008 and Welcome to the Volume 9 of Enabling!

Since the last volume, various initiatives have been taken by the National Trust for welfare

and empowerment of more and more persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation

& Multiple Disabilities.

770 NGOs have now been registered with the National Trust. While it is our endeavour to streamline

registration process, it is also expected that desirous NGOs should apply giving full details including copies

of certificate of registration under Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 and Societies Registration Act.

We have now provided for one SNAC in every State/UT by amending the earlier criteria. So far 28 SNACs

and 38 SNAPs have been appointed through out the country. Besides, to ensure an institutional arrangement

for regular interaction and cooperation with the State Government and district level functionaries, State

Level Advisory Committees under the Chairpersonship of Secretary, SW of the concerned States have been

constituted in all the States. We hope this will provide a vibrant forum for furthering our activities.

To scale up our activities manifold with more and more innovative and self-sustainable schemes and to

reach out to each and every person with these four disabilities, even in the remotest corner of the country a

number of schemes have been made operational and some new schemes are ready which will be implemented

soon.

Two schemes, namely, (i) Aspiration a Day Care Centre Scheme for School Readiness and (ii) Remote Area

Funding have been launched and funds have been released to the NGOs. In addition, the National Trust has

liberalized the funding norms for the Samarth scheme with more focus on adult and orphan beneficiaries. It

has also been decided to have 50 more Samarth Centres for which applications have been invited from the

NGOs.

Various new schemes as given below have also been launched recently:

(i) Uddyam Prabha This is an incentive scheme for promoting self-employment and economic activities

for persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple disabilities. Interest incentive

upto 5% for BPL and 3% for other categories will be given p.a. upto 5 years on a loan amount upto Rs.

1.0 lakh for economic activities.

(ii) Gyan Prabha This is a Scholarship scheme for pursuing post schooling any vocational training/

professional courses. Under this scheme, every year scholarship upto Rs. 700 per month for 1000

persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities will be provided.

(iii) Niramaya is a health insurance scheme with insurance cover upto Rs. 1.0 lakh for a variety of health

services ranging from OPD to cashless hospitalization. The scheme is free for BPL beneficiaries and

others may join the scheme on payment basis.

I hope our stakeholders will find this issue informative and useful and will continue to give us their valuable

feedback.

Atul Prasad, IAS

5

6RBI Directive on

Legal Guardianship Certificates

validity

for opening bank accountsRBI/2007-2008/ 189DBOD.No.Leg.BC. 51 /09.07.005/2007-08November 19, 2007

All Scheduled Commercial Banks(Excluding RRBs)

Dear Sir,

Legal Guardianship Certificate issued under the National Trust Act, 1999 empowering the disa-bled persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities

1. We have been advised by the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy,Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities (the Trust) that a question has been raised as to whether thebanks and the banking sector can accept the guardianship certificates in regard to persons with disabilitiesissued by the Local Level Committees set up under the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons withAutism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.

2. The Trust has mentioned that the above Act was specifically passed by the Parliament in order to providefor appointment of legal guardians for persons with disability that is covered under the said Act. The aboveAct provides for appointment of legal guardians for persons with disability by the Local Level Committeesset up under the Act. The Trust has opined that a legal guardian so appointed can open and operate thebank account as long as he remains the legal guardian.

3. The matter has been examined in consultation with the Indian Banks' Association. They have concurredwith the above views expressed by the Trust. It may also be noted that the provisions of Mental Health Act,1987 also allows appointment of Guardian by District Courts.

4. Banks are therefore advised to rely upon the Guardianship Certificate issued either by the District Courtunder Mental Health Act or by the Local Level Committees under the above Act for the purposes ofopening / operating bank accounts. A list of Local Level Committees forwarded to us by the above Trust isenclosed.

5. Banks may also ensure that their branches give proper guidance so that the parents / relatives of thedisabled persons do not face any difficulties in this regard.

Yours faithfully(Prashant Saran)Chief General Manager-in-Charge

7Warm greetings to everyone! Well, this is the second Newsletter from our Editorial Board. Wedecided to bring out the newsletter based on the AGM so that everyone can have a birds eyeview of the day. We also cover the Employment fair in this issue, and this editorial is definitelybased on the subject.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tsu is quoted very rightly here. At a time when we think that fate has felled us with one stroke and our world has come toa crashing end, we start a process to rebuild, to change. What may be perceived as the end of something is the start ofsomething new in our lives. To quote T S Eliot from Little Gidding, What you call a beginning is often the end. Andto make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where you start from.

Life is a series of changes. As I see it change is some Loss, a big Opportunity and a lot of Resilience from our side. Whena major change occurs, everyone has similar types of feelings fear, anxiety, and loss of control are often experienced.

However, what differs is how people react to that change. One can act in a reactive or proactive manner. Some of us wantto hold onto the past and keep things the way they were. Most of us see change as loss or a threat in this situation. However,when we resist change, we close the doors of potential opportunity. And one such potential opportunity is employing adisabled person. Most organizations lack the sensitivity to deal with disability, let alone a disabled candidate.

When dealing with a disabled candidate what should always be borne in mind is not the disability but the person involved.Disabled people represent an under-utilized section of the population with regard to employment. Unemployment amongstdisabled people wanting to work is much greater than for the general population and testing is often seen as a possibleobstacle to employment both by employers and job applicants. The intention of this editorial is to give advice with regardto employing disabled people both in terms of possible legal requirements and more practical considerations.

Testing should not be an obstacle to employing disabled people and it is important to ensure that it is not so. Whenemploying a disabled person, the most important implication is that the complete selection process needs to be mindful ofthe rights of disabled people especially the concept of reasonable adjustment.

The first issue is the establishment of appropriate role descriptions. Normal job analysis methods will help with theirestablishment but some extra consideration needs to be given to what reasonable adjustments could be made to the workingenvironment to enable a wider range of people (specifically including disabled people) to apply for and carry out therequirements of the role efficiently and effectively.

Having established the role descriptions, consideration should be given to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantagedin applying for the role or taking part in the selection process itself.

Where tests are being used, it is important to ensure that the test assesses skills and attributes relevant to the job itself. Thisis true whether the applicant is disabled or not disabled. Tests should be part of the selection process and not the selectionprocess itself; so it is essential that different types of information from different sources are utilized in making selectiondecisions.

However some tests do not lend themselves to assessing certain disabled candidates appropriately, for example, a spatialreasoning test for a candidate with visual impairment. If such candidates are required to take these tests reasonableadjustment must be made to the test conditions (including the time given to complete the test) and/or to the tests themselves.If this is the case, National Trust ought to advocate the guaranteed interview scheme which guarantees an interview todisabled applicants who met the essential criteria for a post. Modifications to the psychometric test administration, timingand scoring can be made.

The guidance with regard to feedback to the candidate tends to be the same as that surrounding the testing itself. Feedbackshould be accessible to all and the results presented in the way in which they are being interpreted by the employer. Ifwritten feedback is made available to candidates, a reasonable alternative format should be provided for candidates with avisual impairment (telephone feedback being the best alternative).

The usual considerations should be given with regard to personality questionnaire feedback, especially with regard to oralfeedback. Oral feedback of a personality questionnaire is likely to include informing the candidate of the findings, validatingand checking the findings with the candidate, gathering extra information which pertains to the post or scenario andensuring that the process has been a positive one for the candidate.

If such feedback is being provided to a candidate with a hearing impairment, check with the candidate if they can lip reador may need an interpreter. As mentioned previously, the candidate tends to be the best judge of what adjustments mightbe easily or might need to be made.

Sharmila Divatia

Sharmila Divatia is a member with disability in the Governing Board of the National Trust. She is Program Manager Software Quality withEssar Information Technology Limited, Mumbai.

The Editor writes:

8The National Trust wall calendar 2008 has been receivedvery well by all stakeholders. It features role models -

persons with developmental disabilities from different parts

of the country who have proved by example that there is no limit to what one can

do, if one dares to dream.

The NT Calendar 2008

G J Siddharth is an Officer with ABN

Amro Bank, Chennai. He is the first

among persons with Cerebral Palsy in

India, to pass the Banks Certified

Documentar y Credit Specialist

examination. He has an MA in

Economics and has been recognised and

honoured by many organisations and

eminent persons, including the former

President of India, Honble Dr. APJ

Abdul Kalam.

Krishna Narayanan has graduated in

Mathematics and uses the computer to

communicate. He has authored three

best-selling books, two on Autism and

another, a romantic novel. He has

Autism.

Achyutanal Guha (Guha to his friends) hasDiplomas in TV Repairing & ElectricalWiring , and Multimedia Applications.He looks after Accounts andAdministration at Action for Autism,Delhi. He loves watching news channels,surfing the net and travelling. Guha ismarried. He has Autism.

9The NT Calendar 2008

Ummul Khair is a third year student of

Sociology in MOP Vaishnav College,

Chennai. She loves adventure sports, music,

dance and takes active part in co-curricular

activities in college. She is a member (with

disability) in the Local Level Committee,

Chennai. She has Cerebral Palsy. She is

abseiling up a 40-foot vertical wall here, on

her wheelchair.

Sharmila Divatia is Program Manager

Software Quality with Essar Information

Technology Limited, Mumbai. She has

Masters degrees in Mathematics and Business

Administration. She loves trekking, cycling

and swimming, listens to music and reads

voraciously. She is a member of the National

Trust Board and helps several NGOs in their

activities. Sharmila has Cerebral Palsy.

A group of ten young persons with Mental

Retardation trekked across the hills,

through rain and storm, from an altitude

of 6000 feet to reach Sandakphu

12000 feet above sea level, covering a

distance of 31 kilometers. The spirit and

perseverance of this happy group of young

adults is worth emulating.

10

Swayamkrushi sets up group homes for

young adult women with mental

challenge. The homes are located in

residential colonies, where they are

trained in self-help skills, domestic

chores, social skills and community

living skills.

Thus the group very often forms a part

of all community activites and festivals.

Darshan is an economically

independent food-processing unit, run

by three young women with Mental

Retardation, who have found

happiness, self-fulfillment and their

own place in the society, through this

venture.

Zamir Dhale is Advocacy Officer at

Sense International (India), Delhi. He

has in his earlier assignments, taught

Communications & Mobility skills, and

Computers to deafblind children and

adults. He is deafblind.

The NT Calendar 2008

11

We look forwardto similar storiesfor our forthcom-ing calendars.

Kishore Mohan Bhattacharya is a

Lecturer in History in Guwahati

University, and is known for his

poems, writings and musical skills.

He is the Founder-General Secretary

of Dristidan, and NGO working in

the Disability sector, and is a Member

of the Board of the National Trust.

He is deafblind.

Eleven-year old Aritra Das is a student of

HOPE, a school for special children in

Durgapur. In 2006, a fire broke out

accidentally from a lamp in the prayer room in

his home. His alertness in seeking help saved

him and his family from a major tragedy. He

has severe intellectual disability.

Dr. Rajinder Singh Sethi is a Braille

teacher-trainer at the National

Association of the Blind (NAB),

Mumbai, the Editor of Towards

Light, the Assistant Editor of

Deafblindness in Asia, and the Vice-

President of NAB. He regularly

presents papers on deafblindness at

international conferences. He is

Member of the Board of the

National Trust and is deafblind.

The NT Calendar 2008

12

State Nodal Agency Centre (SNAC) has been identifiedin each of the major states (28) to work as NodalAgency on behalf of National Trust for facilitation andeffective implementation of various activities ofNational Trust. 38 State Nodal Agency Partners(SNAP) also have been identified in these states to assistthese State Nodal Agency Center in the respective state.The major objective of SNAC and SNAP are:

Convergence with State Government inimplementation of various related scheme

Developing Registered organisations to befacilitators or Information Centres

Facilitation of Local Level Committees inappointment of legal guardians

Documentation of strengths and gaps in the state

Networking with other related organizations /NGOs.

Supporting pioneering organisations and groups. Sensitization of relevant professionals like

Doctors, Lawyers, Govt. officials etc.

In addition to this, the SNAC / SNAP also organizesvarious Awareness programme, Organizationaldevelopment workshop, Disability Equity Training forLocal Level Committee members workshop,Professional training, Orientation of school teachersetc.

A questionnaire has been prepared, which the SNACsand SNAPs will send to each registered organization in

A House-warming af the new premises of National TrustThe National Trust team expresses its sincere thanks to Dr. Veena Chhotray, Secretary, Ministry

of SJ&E, who retires later this month, and wishes her many more active years ahead.

More at the SNAC/SNAPCentres

13

Niramaya - Medical Insurancefor persons with disability

OBJECTIVE

In order to enable and empower persons with

disability to live as independently and as fully as

possible, health services and their access to persons

with disabilities assume a very significant role. In this

context, the health insurance facility becomes

important but presently such products are not easily

available for persons with disabilities. In such a

situation, a health insurance scheme Niramaya is

conceived with the following objectives

To provide affordable Health Insurance to

persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental

Retardation & Multiple Disabilities

To encourage health services seeking

behaviour among persons with disability

To improve the general health condition &

quality of life of persons with disability

SCHEME & ITS COVERAGE

The scheme envisages to deliver Community based

cover which will

Have a single premium across age band

Provide same coverage irrespective of the type

of disability

Insurance cover upto Rs. 1.0 lakh. and

All persons with disabilities will be eligible and

included and there will be no selection

The scheme further envisages that there shall be

No exclusion of Pre-existing condition Same cover as that for other persons Services ranging from regular Medical Checkup

to Hospitalization, Therapy to Corrective

Surgery, Transportation

Conditions requiring repetitive medicalintervention as an in-patient

Pre & Post hospitalization expenses, subjectto limits

No pre-insurance medical tests Cashless settlements only Smart / Biometric cards with not only health

data but also provision for other (Micro)

financial data

ENROLMENT OF BENEFICIARIES

The National Trust will maintain the details of eachbeneficiary covered under the scheme. This will be

a part of their identification and enrolment under

the scheme.

EMPANELMENT OF HEALTH SERVICE

PROVIDERS

Under the scheme, health services will beprovided by a network of hospitals, nursing

homes which will be duly empanelled for the

scheme. Such service provider shall be of

good quality fulfilling relevant requirements

of the scheme and in case of networked

hospitals, should comply with the minimumcriteria specified.

PREMIUM & STOP LOSS

The premium shall be decided by inviting tender from

the eligible insurance companies.

The premium amount for BPL category of persons

with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and

Multiple Disabilities will be shared by the State Govt.

and Central Govt. / the National Trust. Othercategories of persons may join the scheme on

payment of suitable premium amount.

IMPLEMENTATION

The entire scheme shall be implemented & monitored

by the National Trust through a Third Party Nodal

Agency (TPNA) with the active participation of the

Local Level Committees (LLC).

14

The objectives of this scheme are as under:

To encourage National Trust activities inunrepresented districts.

Awareness generation of National Trust activitiesamongst parents of persons with disabilities, itsfamily members & related Govt. Officials /

Teachers & facilitation of services.

Training of parents / siblings, professionals,consultants etc.

Motivation, counselling, social integration activities.

Early intervention, Educational, Pre-vocational &Vocational activities.

The National Trust has about 250 districts with no

representation. The scheme helps to set up services in such

districts.

The project is launched during the year 2007-08. 16 projects

have been sanctioned and an amount of Rs.1.16 lakh has

been released under the scheme.

Districts for which there is no representation are

enumerated here:

Assam Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Karimganj, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Marigaon,Nalbari NC Hills, Sivasagar, Tinsukia.

Arunachal Pradesh Anjaw, Changlang, Dibang Valley, East Kameng, East Siang, Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley, Lower Subansiri, Tawang,Tirap, Upper Siang, Upper Subansiri, West Kameng, West siang

Andhra Pradesh Ananthapur, Adilabad, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Visakhapatnam,Bihar Araria, Aurangabad, Banka, Buxar, Bhabua, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Darbhanga, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Jamui,

Katihar, Kishanganj, Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Munger, Madhepura, Madhubani, Nawada, Samastipur, Saran, Sheikhpura,Sheohar, Supaul, Siwan, Vaishali, West Champaran

Chattisgarh Bastar, Dhamtari, Dantewada, Janjagir Chapa, Jashpur, Korea, Kawardha, Kanker, Raigarh, RajnandgaonDelhi New DelhiGoa South GoaGujarat Banaskantha, Narmada, Porbandar, Panchmahal, Patan, The Dangs,Haryana Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Kurukshetra, Mewat, Mahendragarh, Panipat, PanchkulaHimachal Pradesh Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kinnaur, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul & Spiti, Mandi, Sirmour, UnaJharkhand Chatra, Dumka, Gumla, Garwah, Giridih, Jamtara, Kodarma, Latehar, Pakur, Palamu, Serai Kela, Simdega, West

singhbhum.Karnataka Bijapur, Bagalkote, Bellary, Belgaum, Chamrajnagar, Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Gulbarga, Hassan, Kodagu, Raichur,

shimoga.Kerala PathanamthittaMadhya Pradesh Anuppur, Ashoknagar, Balaghat, Burhanpur, Chattarpur, Chindwara, Damoh, Dhar, Dindori, Harda, Jhabua,

Katni, Khargaon, Khandwa, Mandsaur, Narsinghpur, Nimach, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Raisen, Seoni, Shahdol, Shajapur,Shivpuri, Tikamgarh, Ujjain, Umaria, Vidisha.

Maharashtra Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Dhule, Gondiya, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nandurbar, Nanded, Parbhani, Raigad,Sindhudurg, Washim, Yavatmal.

Manipur Bishnupur, Chandel, Imphal East, Tamenglog, thoubal.Meghalaya East Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi, South garo Hills, West Khasi Hills, West Garo Hills,Mizoram Champhai, Kolasib, Lunglei, Lawngtlai, Mamit, Saiha, SerchhipNagaland Dimapur, Mokokchung, Phek, Tuensang, Zuhenboto.Orissa Angul, Boudh, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Nawarangpur, Nayagarh, Rayagada.Punjab Amritsar, Bhatinda, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Nawanshahr,

Sangrur.Rajasthan Bundi, Badmer, Bikaner, Baran, Churu, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jallore, Jaisalmer, Jhalawar, Karauli, Nagaur, Pali,

Rajsamand, Sirohi, Sikar, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk.Sikkim North, South, West.Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, Ramanathpuram, Sivagangai.Tripura Dhalai, North.Uttar Pradesh Auraiya, Ambedkar Nagar, Budaun, Bijnour, Bulandshahr, Ballia, Bharaich, Balrampur, Chitrakoot, Chandauli,

Etawah, Gonda, Hamirpur, Hardoi, Hathras, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kheri, Kannauj, Kanpur (Dehat)Lalitpur, Mirzapur,Mahamayanagar, Mainpuri, Mahoba, Maharajganj, Pratapgarh, Rampur, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Shrawasti,Sonbhadra, Sant Ravidasnagar, Unnao,

Uttaranchal Chamapwat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi.West Bengal JalpaiguriA& N Islands Nicobar Pondicherry Karaikal, Mahe, YanamLakshadweep Dadar and Dadar and Nagar HaveliNagar HaveliDaman and Diu DamanChandigarh -

Remote Area FundingScheme

15

This ramp has been constructed in the Jeevan Prakash Building

where National Trust is now located, after persistent efforts of

the Trust with the LIC of India. The rest-rooms also are now

disabled-friendly.

The Trust is now taking efforts to make all buildings within a

miles radius from the office, accessible to all.

Our office is nowaccessible to all..

16

The National TrustAwardees 2007

Best Person with Disability. - Mr AbhishekKumar Dubey, from Jabalpur,MP. Abhishek works in a box-makingfactory.

Best Person with Disability - Ms RashmiRekha Sahu from Rourkela, Orissa(Dancer).

Best Person with Disability.- Ms RubynaHaroon, from Goa (Swimming champion)

17

Parent of person with Disability. -Mr T V Rao of Dakshinya, Guntur, AP.

Parent of Person with Disability.-Ms Saswati Singh, Inspiration, Dehradun

Best Professional - Ms Manjula Kalyan.Swayamkrushi, Secunderabad.

The National TrustAwardees

18

Best Innovative Design/Adaptation ofAssistive Devices - Ms Arathi Abraham forher software SLATE

Best Samarth project - Ms Sushmita De,on behalf of All Tripura SC, ST, andMinority Upliftment Council, Agartala

Best Samarth project - Ms Geeta Kathuria,on behalf of Disha, Sirsa, Haryana

The National TrustAwardees

19

Best Local Level Committee - LLCDistrict Jabalpur, MP, represented by MsMitali Banerjee

Best NGO - Open Learning Systems (OLS)Khorda, Orissa, represented by Ms VidyutSingdeo

Best NGO - Manav Kalyan Trust,Navsari, Gujarat, represented by

Shri Mahesh Bhai Kothari

Equal Opportunity Employer - IBM India Pvt. Ltd.,represented by Shri Ramesh Narasimhan

The National TrustAwardees

20

Best Parents Association - The Associationof Parents of Mentally Retarded Children(ADHAR), Thane, Maharashtra,represented by Shri Vishwas Madhav Rao

Best Association of Persons with Disability- Ganjam District OrthopaedicallyHandicapped Welfare Association,Ganjam, Orissa, represented by Shri KAnanda

Best Association of Persons withDisability - SHARPE Viklang Samiti,Chamoli, Uttarakhand, represented byShri Brij Mohan Negi

The National TrustAwardees

21

AGM 200

7

Friendly Software forSpecial Education

At the AGM, the second day was devoted to presentations on Technological Developments that can be used effectively withpersons with disability. Ms Arathi Abraham presented an overview of SLATE, a software she has developed.

SLATE was originally conceptualized as a communicationaid and language enhancement tool for children between 5and 15 years, affected by cerebral palsy.

modified for different user groups. The current library hasa pan Indian appeal as the images have been designed for anIndian cultural context. This exercise can be replicated fordifferent audiences across the world.

CONCEPT TEACHINGStudies have shown that using picture symbols as promptsand reminders really help children with concept-learning andreinforcement. Concept teaching cuts across abilities. Fromhelping the hearing impaired to learn visual spellings, toslow learners who need repetition and reinforcement, toautism where some children are visual learners, SLATEallows them to teach themselves at their own pace.

MULTI-ABILITY CLASSROOM TEACHINGSLATE allows teachers to teach at an optimal pace byallowing them to create rich multimedia content based onthe textbook. These can be designed to cater to a typicalclassroom whose students learn at a different pace and atvarious levels of understanding.

LIFESTYLE STATEMENTProducts for people with disability has always bordered onthe functional. I have always had strong views about thefact that disabled or not, children are children everywhere.They like to have fun. Fun when they learn, fun when theycommunicate. SLATE includes an amazing built- in feature,that allows seamless access to movies and music, making it astand alone entertainment console.

CONCLUSIONAll features in SLATE can be used for children withdisabilities and equally by children in mainstream schools. The effort in the end is to create a product in the disabilityspace that conforms to the principles of Universal Design-Equitable, Flexible, Simple and Intuitive.

SLATE is backed by a strong research and experiential base,being the result of a 7 year long collaboration with a centrefor children with disabilities based in South India and hasbeen successfully field tested in schools for children withcerebral palsy, autism, hearing disability as well as inmainstream schools.

SLATE is now at the end of the initial development phasefor the software. The next step is to set up an innovativesupport and distribution plan that will ensure that the productreaches everyone who needs it. It is important to disseminateSLATE to the widest possible audience across all developingcountries that have so far treated disability as aninconvenience rather than as a pressing need.

SLATE won the National Trust Award for The BestInnovative Design 2007.

Arathi Abraham is a Visual Communications Specialist, an alumnusof National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.

After seven years of development, SLATE has expandedinto a SOFTWARE with truly enormous application potentialin the fields as diverse as literacy, inclusive education, adulteducation and of course communication. SLATE is arevolutionary product that will allow teachers and parentsto tap into the vast information available on the internetand the public domain. SLATE will move education to acompletely new area of complete interactivity betweenteacher and student in a wholly inclusive environment.

What began as a communication assistance tool for peoplewith cerebral palsy is now a core engine around which avariety of applications, visual libraries, third party contentetc can be bundled, to produce a diverse range of end-products with nothing in common except their central driver the SLATE Program.

The Diverse Applications of SLATE

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

SLATE was developed to be a communication aid as wellas a literacy aid for children with disability, between 5 and15 years.

ADULT LITERACYEnglish literacy has been identified as one of the key focusareas of Government policy in India and across Asia, forthe next 20 years. It is in this field more than any other, thatthe potential of SLATE is truly vast and sustainable overan extended time period. SLATE is an effective conceptteaching tool, harnessing the full potential of multimedia,allowing adults to control and monitor what they want tolearn and how they want to learn it be it English or anyother language.

COMMUNICATION AIDSLATE has a highly researched and attractive picture librarydesigned for India. This picture library can very simply be

22

AGM In Pictures

The Inauguration ceremony

Honble Minister for SJ&E,Smt Meira Kumar addressingthe gathering

Dr. Veena Chhotray, Secretary,Ministry of SJ&E, addressing theaudience

23

AGM In Pictures

The National Trust Board at theInteractive Session

The August Audience

Team from IBM making a presentationon Day 2 of the AGM

24

Media Lab Asia, a section 25 company promoted by

Ministry of Communications and IT, Government

of India is mandated to leverage the benefits of

Information and

C o m m u n i c a t i o n

Technology (ICT) for

Empowering persons

with disabilities. It has

the mandate and

competency to bring

the persons with

disabilities to

mainstream by

facilitating them in

E d u c a t i o n ,

R e h a b i l i t a t i o n ,

Inclusion and

Communication Augmentation. It will lead to

Intangible Multiplier Effect and make them self-

sustainable, thus lessening Government. burden.

Media Lab Asia is engaged in and supporting several

projects to empower the differently abled. It is

implementing a Comprehensive Satellite/Internet

based National Network for initiating interactive

programs through Edusat for students, parents,

trainee teachers and professionals associated with and

engaged in different areas of disabilities like Mental

Retardation, Visual Impairment, Hearing

Impairment, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple

Disabilities etc. Media Lab Asia is also involved in

hosting a Comprehensive Internet Portal to

provide all the related information regarding

disability issues such as National Disability Register,

Government Orders, Directory of Specialists & Care-

givers, various

schemes of

Government of

India, digital Audio

Books, Text/Audio

and Multimedia

Repository in Indian

languages, details of

Assistive Devices,

LMS (Learning

Management System)

etc. It will fill the gap

in infrastructure and

support and help in

identification of requirement of trained manpower,

development of products & services, W3C compliant

websites, and Rehabilitation of educated & trained

differently abled persons.

Media Lab Asia is also involved in development and

deployment of various tools and systems for

Education and Communication of differently abled

persons such as TTS (Text to Speech) Engine,

Speech Recognizer, Screen Reader Software, AAC

devices, Braille Transcription system and portable

communication tools. Media Lab Asia favors such

tools and systems incorporate different vernaculars

so that they can be beneficial in every region of the

country.

Media Lab Asia is involved in developing technologies to empower persons with disability and benefit from the latest

developments in Information and Communication Technology. Dr. Hemlatha presented an overview of the organisations

activities to the AGM audience.

Information and CommunicationTechnology for Empowerment of

Persons with Disabilities

Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he

will never do all that he can. - Henry Drummond

AGM 200

7

25

Dr. Sudha Kaul, Vice-Chair and Executive Director, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), and President ofISAAC, presented the importance and usefulness of AAC in empowering persons with disabilities, and outlined

latest developments in the national and international arena.

Communication is a human

rights issue just as it is a

quality of life issue. While

recognizing this, the UN

Convention on the Rights

and Dignity of persons

with Disabilities 2007 has

acknowledged the use of

Augmentative and

A l t e r n a t i v e

Communication (AAC) as

a key area of focus towards

its mission.

AAC is a term used to describe a broad range of

communicative behaviours and methods which

support and enhance speech attempts of people who

are unable to talk clearly. People who use AAC are a

heterogeneous group with varied cognitive, motor,

and linguistic abilities. They cut across different

disabilities and age groups.

Communication problems occur typically among

adults with severe aphasia, degenerative cognitive/

linguistic disorders, individuals with traumatic head

injury and also among children and adults with

complex communication needs due to Cerebral Palsy,

Autism or Multiple Disabilities.

Myths about AAC

1. AAC is a last resort in speech-language

intervention.

2. AAC hinders or stops further speech development.

3. Children must have a certain set of skills to be

able to benefit from AAC.

4. Speech-generating AAC devices are only for

children with intact

cognition.

5. Children have to be a

certain age to be able to

benefit from AAC.

6. There is a

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l

hierarchy of symbols

from objects to written

words (traditional

orthography).

7. AAC can ONLY work

if you use Technology and Devices

The Reality

It is never too early to incorporate AAC into language

and communication intervention for the young child

with a significant communication disability.

Augmentative & AlternativeCommunication AGM 200

7

26

Kathamala, has been funded for mass productionby National Trust and will be shortly distributed toall SNACs and SNAPs

AAC is sometimes thought of as a separate area of

practice, and thus clinicians do not always incorporate

in their intervention programme.

Clinical decisions must be guided by empirical data

in the context of clinical judgment not just by

beliefs

It is imperative that AAC

be linked to early language

and communication

development Clinicians/

R e h a b i l i t a t i o n

practitioners must be

knowledgeable about AAC

and be made responsible

for demystifying these

myths.

Thus, AAC methods are

effective tools to

communicate with and

access the environment.

The concept was

introduced in 1986 by IICP

and has been augmented

by the Spastics Societies

across the country. The

International Society for AAC (ISAAC) was

established in 1983 to make AAC valued, recognized

and used throughout the world. It is now a movement

with over 3000 members from over fifty countries.

Meeting Challenges

AAC has been acknowledged as a field ofspecialization within speech and language

training

Interest of technologists including those at IndianInstitutes of Technology in communication

disorders has been enhanced

IICP & other CP organizations have developedresource material on AAC

Some Developments

Portable electronic Voice output communication aids

have been developed to increase communicative

competence with

immediate auditory

feedback. These are

wonderful teaching aids for

all children. Two

communication devices,

Gupshup and Kathamala

are easy-to-use, easy-to

maintain and non-

expensive, and can also be

used as effective teaching

aids.

Indian Picture Symbols for

Communication (IPSC)

have been developed with

a library of culturally and

linguistically appropriate

picture icons to make

communication boards.

Multimedia-based software has been developed to

teach number and language skills. Again, ITCP is a

software developed to facilitate writing with picture

symbols for students with lower cognitive abilities.

IIT Kharagpur has helped develop a software using

Artificial Intelligence to enhance language and literacy

skills. Another such software SANYOG is a visual

language interface using intuitive icons.

Barsha, a user of AAC says, AAC is a special gift in

my life. It has enabled me to continue my studies, to

write poems, and to build up my self-confidence. It

takes me forward in my lifes struggle.

AGM 200

7

27

The Universalisation ofLegal Capacity

Dr Amita Dhanda is Professor of Law at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

All adult persons are

presumed to be capable of

conducting their own affairs.

This presumption of

capacity has been displaced

for persons with intellectual

disabilities and persons

living with mental illness. Even as the letter of law

does not always impute incapacity only on a diagnosis

of mental illness or a finding of intellectual

disability, the operation of the law achieves just this

result.

Section 12(3) of the National Trust for Welfare of

Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental

Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999

altered this incapacitating accent of the law, when

it provided that the fact of disability alone cannot

be a basis for deciding whether a guardian should

be appointed to manage the affairs of a person with

disability. The fact that a person needed assistance

to undertake one kind of activity was no reason to

presume that global support was required. The

statute thus accepted that disability and capacity

could co-exist. More recently the Metropolitan

Magistrate Pankaj Shah has ruled in the Faizal

Khans case that a diagnosis of mental illness does

not mandate the appointment of a guardian and a

person living with mental illness is no way barred

from living independently.

- Dr. Amita Dhanda

This forward looking approach of the National Trust

Act has been reinforced by United Nation Convention

and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

(UNCRPD). Respect for inherent dignity, individual

autonomy including the freedom to make ones own

choices has been adopted as one of the general

principles of the UNCRPD. In line with this principle,

Article 12 of the UNCRPD reaffirms that persons

with disabilities have the right to recognition

everywhere as persons before the law. This

recognition is not limited to conferring identity on

persons with disabilities but extends to

acknowledging that persons with disabilities possess

agency and the capacity to act. Whether this capacity

can be exercised by persons with high support needs

has also been anticipated by the Convention.

Consequently States have been required to provide

access by persons with disabilities to any support they

may require in exercising their legal capacity. And

the accessing of such support by persons with

disabilities does not negate capacity. The Convention

thus promotes the paradigm of interdependent living.

Peer support, personal assistance, documentation of

the personal preferences of the persons with

disabilities in advance are possible mechanisms by

which support for interdependent living may be

provided. The Convention however requires that

the support should be based on trust and respect

and not against the will of persons with disabilities.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, underwhose shade you do not expect to sit - Nelson Henderson

28

Children develop their potential and complete

personality when all areas of development are

considered equally and nurtured holistically.

Developmental disorders account for a large chunk

of the total disability population in the country and

a significant part of it

is preventable if

identified early.

However, early

identification is

effective only with

proper awareness

amongst parents,

teachers and the

general public about

disorders of cognitive,

perceptual, language

and emotional

development which

can manifest in children in the early developmental

years.

The National Trust has recently launched its new

project Aspiration Day Care Centre scheme to

facilitate early intervention and school readiness in

children with developmental disorders in the age

group birth to six years. The activities under this

program involve enhancing awareness in public for

early identification, early intervention, and sensitizing

school teachers and professionals to the management

strategies for handling such children.

The first in the series of five day orientation

workshops in early intervention and school readiness

was conducted from 21st to 25th January, 2008. The

Anindita Mukherjee is a special educator, who has worked for a number of years on EarlyIntervention. She co-ordinated the organisation of the workshop conducted by National

Trust in end-January.

participants represented the implementing agencies

of Aspiration Day Care Centers from different

states across the country. The sessions were planned

to give a complete insight into the developmental

disabilities such as seen in Autism, Cerebral Palsy,

mental retardation

and multiple

disabilities.

The workshop was

inaugurated by the

lighting of the

ceremonial lamp and

a prayer song recital

by the children of

AADI, New Delhi.

Smt Poonam

N a t a r a j a n ,

Chairperson, The

National Trust along with Smt Usha Ramakrishnan,

Balamandir Research Foundation, Chennai, Smt

Reena Bhandari, Voice and Vision India, Mumbai

participated with the children in lighting the inaugural

lamp. Smt Natarajan invited all the participants to

come forward and light a candle from the ceremonial

lamp as a symbol of carrying forward the torch of

learning. The other resource persons included Smt

Sheela Sinha, Helen Keller Institute, Mumbai and Dr

Namita Jacob, Chetna, Chennai who joined later

during the course of the workshop.

Smt Usha Ramakrishnan, Balamandir Research

Foundation, Chennai, introduced the participants to

Parenting the child: Accepting Diversity a package

developed to assist parents, trainers and caregivers

Aspiration - Early Intervention &School Readiness Programme

By Anindita Mukherjee

Happenin

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29

Happenin

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addressed the school readiness program from a early

childhood developmental program. She discussed

the various orientations and mobility training that

can be included in a childs program for developing

varieties of concepts, motor as well as

communication skills. Dr. Namita Jacob, Chetna,

Chennai covered the topic of creating learning

environments for children with multiple

disabilities. She described the techniques the

professionals could use to set up effective teaching

learning environment for the child with disability.

The interactive sessions and activit ies on

developing communication techniques for children

with multiple disabilities illustrated the various

techniques the professionals could use in

developing a composite training and management

program for a child, preparing the child for

schooling in an inclusive environment.

The first in the series of orientation workshop on

early intervention and school readiness was attended

by 44 participants from different states of India. The

sessions were interactive and the activities were of

practical benefit to the participants. Smt Poonam

Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust also had open

sessions with the participants answering their queries

on the program execution.

Smt Poornima Singh, Joint Secretary, Disability

Division was the chief guest for the Valedictory and

distributed the Certificate of Participation to the

participants. The five day workshop concluded with

the participants describing their experiences at the

event and how they will carry forward the training at

their respective Centres.

The National Trust is conducting the next workshop

in Lucknow in the second week of March 2008.

in identifying the special needs of the child, their

abilities and effectively support the development of

the child. The package enables professionals to share

expertise and skills with parents, care givers and

community workers. Mrs Usha Ramakrishnan

explained the use of the package, consisting of the

quadrant, oval and the Learning through play

calendars, to the participants through several

activities and interactive discussions with the

participants. The participants received copies of the

package as a part of the training material from the

National Trust.

Smt Reena Bhandari, Voice and Vision India, Mumbai

described the types of multiple disabilities including

visual impairment, hearing impairment and the

deafblindness. She spoke of the importance of early

identification and intervention for these disabilities

emphasizing the greater impact on the progress of

the child on receiving training as early as possible.

She also highlighted the role of the parental/ family

involvement in the management program for the child

with multiple disabilities. The interactive sessions

concluded with a video presentation of the

management program for children with multiple

disabilities at Voice and Vision India, Mumbai.

Smt .Sheela Sinha, Helen Keller Institute, Mumbai

30

Workshop onOrganisation Development

The National Trust has launched several programs

across the country and these are implemented by

local organizations. In

order to widen its

reach to the remotest

locations, it was

identified that several

organizations needed

to be empowered inestablishing and

carrying out the

programs of the

National Trust.

A three day

brainstorming sessionon Organisation

Development was

organized by the National Trust from 28th to 30th

January, 2008 to meet this felt need. The participants

for this included senior members or heads of

institutions of established organizations fromdifferent parts of the country.

Dr. Achal Bhagat, an eminent psychiatrist at

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi and

Founder of Saarthak, was the facilitator of the

discussions.

At the inauguration of the event, Smt Poonam

Natarajan, Chairperson, The National Trust spokeof the objectives of the event. She described the

need to empower smaller organizations across the

country to facilitate the delivery of the services and

programs to the beneficiares in different parts of the

country. All the participants were requested to carry

out similar sessions in their respective regions.

Dr Achal Bhagat initiated the discussion by

describing the two levels of changes in the disability

service sector in India, the first level being the

Welfare-based approach and the second level being

the Rights-based approach of the organizations

providing services in the disability sector. The

participants were encouraged to introspect and

identify themselves in their respective levels of

functioning. This provided a platform to the

participants to introduce themselves, describe the

nature of their activities and the focus on the

direction of the services in future.

Dr. Bhagat introduced discussions on the participantsperception of the terms frequently used in the

disability sector. These included participation,

mainstream, integration, inclusion, least

restrictive environment, least violative

environment, equal opportunity and community

participation. The participants were then dividedinto four groups, which had to identify the possible

needs in the given part of the country, namely east,

west, north, south of India, and develop a model

District based rehabilitation program.

The strengths and weaknesses of the four models

were then discussed and it formed the base fordeveloping the Organisation Development module

By Anindita Mukherje, Volunteer Special educator, The National Trust with inputs

from Dwaraka Pandurangi, Volunteer

Happenin

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for the participants to take back. The five Esdescribing such a process consists of

31

Happenin

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Ensuring no violation of the Rights of personswith disability

Energizing the community Enabling the development of an organization

by identifying its strengths

Enhancing skill and capacity building Endeavour to experience small successes and

build on it to achieve the final goals.

The group went on to identify the various activities

that can be taken up at district/ state/national level

to implement various programs and services for the

disabled.

On the final day, the group went on to develop the

steps for Organisation development module. This

included:

Knowing the situation, identifying the gaps inpolicy/services/ in implementation of the two

and profiling the activities of various agencies

in the area

Sharing the information through alignmentworkshops and brainstorming sessions with the

various agencies. Promoting non-threatening

joint activities with NGO thereby developing

vision and mission for the disability sector in a

district leading to a state policy. A parallel

activity would involve forming informal

disabled persons organization (DPO) and

sensitizing them on current issues and

strengthening them through capacity building

training to take on a more responsible role in

the community

Centralizing the Think Tank by documentingbest practices and position statements creating

a basis for scientific advocacy.

It was also identified that micro processes need to

be developed in the area of education, transport,

health, livelihood, participation and independent

living for the person with disability. This could largely

be achieved by sensitizing the community on

disability issues and thereby eliminate the barriers in

the form of stigma, attitude and those from the

environment. The group also discussed the input/

output/outcome indicators for these processes which

could be reflected in the attitude of the community

towards the person with disability.

Some suggestions to the National Trust at the

conclusion of the discussions may be highlighted as:

Conduct similar workshops in different regionsof the country and document the situationanalysis of these

Document the good practices in these regions Funding the formation of Disabled Persons

Organisations (DPO) and mentoring cross

disability groups and NGOs

Create replicable and innovative models Ongoing capacity building workshops for

organisation development.

Other activities identified to be accomplished by the

group in the near future included

Developing resource directories Translation of the UN Convention in regional

language

Developing a central resource centre Developing a referral network Fund raising guidance to new developing

organizations.

30 participants represented different regions of the

country in this brainstorming session. The event

concluded with the formation of the National Forum

on Inclusion to facilitate the knowledge sharing of the

group by carrying out similar workshops in their region.

32

Training of Trainers

The Disability Workshop and the HR managersSensitization meet was a 3-day event held on the10th, 11th & 12th of October 2007 at AADIand Tagore Hall Scope Complexrespectively. The meet was organised byNational Trust & BCF in partnership withBlind Relief Association, ITC Welcomegroup, FOD, Saburi, AnubhutiConsultants, Office of the ChiefCommissioner Persons with Disability,NTPC, FICCI-SEDF & CII.

The objectives of the three day programmeincluded:

Understanding skillsets of thedifferently abled particularly thosecovered under NT disabilities.

Training prerequisites, potential job,self employment opportunities forthe differently abled

Glimpse of success stories Employers perspective from those who have

already employed the differently abled.

This included intensive work-related sessions withthe differently abled candidates, trainers, NGOs andthe HR of the corporate sector, addressing their workrelated attitudes, mindsets, general grooming,interview preparation, training skill perquisites,identification of potential employment sources, howto approach and working opportunities.

Day 1 of the event concentrated on training thetrainers from National Trust registered organisations,on improving the training and skills given to thedifferently abled for better employmentopportunities. The event was inaugurated by NationalTrust chairperson Ms. Poonam Natarajan. This wasfollowed by a short introduction by each of theNational Trust registered organisations on theirtraining, skills given, current livelihood opportunitiestapped and challenges faced by them.

In order to address the concerns of NT orgasnisations,Mr. Niranjan Khatri from ITC Welcome group made

a presentation on ITCs nature of training, successesand potential employment opportunities. The ITCsession was followed by a session from Ms. AnubhutiMittal from Anubhuti Consultants, a consulting firmthat works towards the employment of the differentlyabled. The session touched upon self-employmentopportunities, job placements and specific trainingskills needed.

The following session by Ms Madhumita Puri fromSociety for Child Development talked about trainingperquisites and how to go about setting up self-employment & marketing ventures for the productsmade by the differently abled individuals. This wasfollowed by a session by Ms. Preeti Johar from Familyof Disabled, where a slide show presentation wasshowed on their Apna Rozgar Scheme which has sofar facilitated self-employment ventures for more than300 differently abled people from a poor socioeconomic background. Last but not the least was themuch-awaited session by Ms. Shanti Raghavan fromEnable India, Bangalore. The session touched on the

A report on the HR Managers meet is presented by Alysha DSouza of Business& Community Federation, the co-ordinators.

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33

Samuel Mani presenting his success story

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main points of training of trainers, training onattitudes and roadmap for mobilizing employment how to do it?

Day 2 of the event concentrated on training thedifferently abled candidates addressing their workrelated attitudes, mindsets, identification of potentialemployment sources and how to approach employers.The day started off with an energetic session by Ms.Shanti Raghavan, where a 9 point blue print wasgiven to the candidates on things to do to get a job.These included Evaluation of the job; Evaluationof the person; Practice; Appropriate speed/efficiency; Goal; Exposure Fact sheet / business case;Documents: acts, certificates, success storiesrecommendation letter; Solutions.

This was followed by a question answer sessiondirected to Ms. Shanti Raghavan. To add a morepersonal touch to the event, Ms. Anubhuti Mittalundertook evaluations of each of the candidates, onwhat skills are needed, how their CVs should beprepared, attitude, behavior etc.

On Day 3 was an event, which brought together anumber of HR officials from numerous corporateorganisations like PWC, Kanoria Chemicals,Honeywell International, Tata Chemicals, Pantaloonsetc.The days event kick started with a welcome noteby Mr. Atul Prasad, CEO of National Trust. Whichwas followed by a short introduction on thecharacteristics of the four NT disabilities: CerebralPalsy, Autism, Multiple disabilities & Mentalretardation, by Ms. Poonam Natarajan.

This was followed by a highly inspiring session onthe success stories of differently abled, in theirstruggle for employment and an equal place insociety. They included Mr Siddharth from ABNAMRO, Mr Zameer from Sense International, MrGuha from Action for Autism, Mr Samuel Mani fromNeutron Computers, Mr Manoj & Ms Punchika fromMuskaan.

The sessions that followed this were of Ms. ShantiRaghavan from Enable India, Mr. Niranjan Khatri

of ITC Welcome Group and Ms. Anubhuti Mittal ofAnubhuti Consultants. They touched upon breaking

myths on employment of the differently abled, best-case practices and how to employ the differentlyabled. Mr. S.P. Singh from NTPC spoke about theirinitiative to employ the differently abled and futureprospects. The program was concluded by a vote ofthanks by Mr. Mark Runacres who is on the Boardof BCF.

The programme brought forth some of the criticalareas that need attention:

Marketing strategies, design inputs to keep upwith competition.

Preparedness of the organizations in theirtraining programs to meet industryrequirements.

Connectedness, communication & net-savviness of the disability NGOs to keepabreast of market requirements.

Over protective attitude of the parents. Persistent and detailed preparation by

candidates prior to approaching employers.

Lack of networking between Disabilityorganizations especially for lobbying,advocacy.

34

Showcasing Abilities

The Abilities Mela / Job Fair was held on 1st & 2nd

December 07 at Blind Relief Association. Fourth in

Delhi and eighth in the country the mela was

supported & organised by the National Trust-Ministry

of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt of India in

partnership with BCF & Blind Relief Association in

association with Anubhuti Consultants, CII, Office

of the Chief Commissioner for Persons

with Disability, Deafway Foundation,

FICCI-SEDF, Family of Disabled, ITC

Welcom Group, Cordaid and Saburi. 55organisations across the disability sector

participated in the mela.

An integral part of the Mela, for the first

time this year, was the Job Fair, in which

potential employers came face to face with

a number of enthusiastic job applicants.The National Trust received applications

from about 50 applicants, and held a two-

day orientation workshop with them.

Finally about 20 came for this Job Fair, and

interacted with corporate sector employers.

While the Job Fair was for people with the

four disabilities that National Trust focuses on

(autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and

multiple disabilities), Vocational Rehabilitation

Centre (VRC) stall responded to employment-related

queries from candidates across other disabilities.

Dance Magic, a jam session, was organised by

Society for Child Development in collaboration

with Parikrama Inc. Anuj Prasad and Sandhya

Raman, professionals from NID, now have set

up their design organization called `Desmaniaspent both days at the Mela to guide

organizations in product designing & packaging.

Handicap International performed street plays

during the two days, communicating the

struggles of persons with disabilities. In the

evening, students of `Jeevanpath ViklangVidyalaya, Rai Bareilly, and Blind Relief

Association, put up cultural performances.

The mela served to be a good platform for all

the 55 participant organisations across the disability

sector to present their work and get to learn about

each other.

Deepshika stall at Dilli Haat fair

The National Trust organized the Abilities Mela to bring together Human Resourcepersonnel and persons with disabilities seeking employment. The event was coordinated by

Business and Community Foundation.

Happenin

gs

35

A Samarth Story

Dakshinya is an NGO established by Dr. T. V. Rao,

a father of two children with mental retardation, with

the aim of providing training and rehabilitation to

several such special children and parents. In was

Medical and Economic / Developmental

Rehabilitation. Its strength lies in providing all the

needy services under a single roof.

Association with National Trust

Dakshinya is closely associated with The

National Trust since 2001 and has been

implementing several schemes / activities as:

Respite & Prolonged Care Centre Completed

Community Based Caregivers Training Program

Trained 60 members in 3 batches

Information Centre Running

Organizational Member of LLC, Guntur

Running

Study Centre IGNOU, TNT & RCI Running (1st

Batch of 20 Trainees completed and processing for

2nd Batch)

SAMARTH CBS Running.

Dakshinya is one of the first centres running the Samarth scheme. Here is the

story of the success of this National Trust project.

Dr. T V Rao with his Bravery Award

Services: The services to the beneficiaries of

SAMARTH CBS were planned with the

participation of all the stakeholders in general and

particularly the professionals and the parents. With

the experience & expertise gained during the last

established in the year 1995 in the coastal rural part

of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. It is exclusively working

for the welfare of children / people with mental

retardation, autism, cerebral palsy and multiple

disabilities. During the year 2007, Dr. Rao got the

Best Parent Award from The National Trust and

has been recognized for his service with other 11

Awards. Dakshinya is recognized as one of the best

Training cum Rehabilitation Institutes.

Service Spectrum

Dakshinya, started with a special School in the year

1995 with seven children and two teachers & is now

developed in all the departments, catering to 641

children through Institutional Based (IBR), Home

Based (HBR) and Community Based Rehabilitation

(CBR). Its service spectrum ranges from

Identification, through Early Intervention, Special

Schooling, Vocational Training and Employment i.e.,

identification to empowerment covering Social,

36

Success s

tory

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others

cannot keep it from themselves James Mathew Barne

twelve years, Dakshinya is providing all the needy

services as:

Assessment & Diagnostic Services

Individual & Group Counseling

Special Education

Qualification enhancement through NIOS & other

distance mode

Pre-Vocational & Vocational Training

Therapeutic Services Speech, Physio, Yoga &

Dance

Entertainment & Recreational Activities

Sports & Games

Community Activities / Services

Medical Care and other Services

Economic / Developmental Activities etc.

Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries were selected based

on the guidelines. and cover all the four disabilities

i.e., Mental Retardation, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and

Multiple Disabilities. Accordingly, 24 Beneficiaries

are getting Residential Care and other six vacancies

are filled for Respite care. During the period of Feb.

2006 to July 2007, around 160 Beneficiaries got the

benefit of training & rehabilitation, the duration

varying from one week to one month.

Impact in the Community

Dakshinya, has had significant impact on the

community particularly with regards the SAMARTH

Project:

Awareness, Identification and Assessment programs

conducted created goodwill in the community and

made them accept & participate in this process.

The activities & services provided to all these

beneficiaries helped to feel the complete service

spectrum staring from the stage of identification to

empowerment. This further helped to build their

capacities covering Social, Medical and Economic /

Development Rehabilitation.

The HRD, Research and Training activities provided

to the professionals and other stakeholders from time

to time helped to refine the technology /

methodology based on the dynamic needs of special

children, and change in the concept and community

/ environment.

The process of obtaining Disability Certificate, Travel

Concessions and Legal Guardianship has been

simplified to the relief of parents and thus motivated

them to accept and participate in the process of

training & rehabilitation of their children.

Future Vision

Dakshinya is planning Sheltered Workshops to

provide employment to persons with the four

disabilities, thus working towards its vision of

Identification to Empowerment. Though the self

sustainability of SAMARTH CBS in its present frame

is having some limitation, Dakshinya, is putting best

efforts in achieving its sustainability to the maximum

extent possible. The institution hopes to provide for

their independent living with equality and dignity in

a Rights-based environment.

37

DERA - A Dream Project

The need for a residential facility for the persons

with disabilities needing assisted living, particularly

after the death of the parents, can be hardly

overemphasized. The challenge is to conceptualize

and create good models of assisted living that

recognize not only the basic survival needs but also

the whole range of other personal, social and

psychological

needs that

make for

respectful and

fulfilling lives.

Dera MPCC

(multi purpose

c o m m u n i t y

centre) came

as a great

opportun i ty

for creating

such a

r e s i d e n t i a l

facility. Mrs.

Aloka Guha,

former chairperson National Trust, had initiated the

dialogue with Commissioner of Delhi and told me

about the need to pursue it. Few parents of Muskaan

visited several such MPCCs at the periphery of Delhi

and narrowed down the choice to MPCC located in

Dera village, around 12 kms. from Chattarpur Mandir.

It had a community centre surrounded by 3 acres of

land and was quite close to main road.

The real journey began in overcoming many obstacles

and confusions. With great efforts of Mrs. Poonam

Natarajan, Chairperson National Trust, it was

allotted to National Trust for running such a facility.

Not only this, the board of the National Trust also

approved the funds for renovation of the existing

building, putting some temporary structures and

other needed facilities.

Muskaan with National Trust coordinated several

meetings of

the interested

NGOs over

one and a half

years and tried

to evolve a

w o r k a b l e

model to use it

as a

r e s i d e n t i a l

f a c i l i t y .

S e v e r a l

q u e s t i o n s

were debated

in the process

e.g.

Would it be only residential facility or it shouldhave multiple facilities : vocational training,

work centre, sports, recreational etc.

Should it have persons with all the disabilitieswith various degrees

Would it be on the pattern of a hostel or grouphomes

Who will run it and how Working out the expenses and the means to

meet them

Dr. Shanti Auluck is Director, Muskaan, a centre working with persons with developmental

disabilities, and co-ordinates the DERA project.

Dr. Shanti Auluck

38

Not what we say about our blessings, but

how we use them, is the true measure of

our thanksgiving W T Purkiser

There are two ways of spreading light - to

be the candle or the mirror that reflects itEdith Wharton

The need for corpus fund for each beneficiaryto ensure regular income

Provision for medical facilities How to involve the surrounding communityAfter extensive debates on all these issues, things

are becoming clearer. Majority of the participants

agree that a model of assisted living in family kind

of atmosphere is definitely better. Group homes

where 6-8 persons can live together were proposed.

Those who can and would like to work outside should

be encouraged. The whole set up should become a

part of the larger community and there can be mutual

participation and support.

If we move slightly from care model to assisted

independent living model with an emphasis on skill

building to manage ones everyday affairs, we would

create an experiment which will allow us to test many

of our ideas in terms of capabilities of our young

people. We know that our vulnerability to

maltreatment increases when we are dependent on

others. Besides it robs us somewhere of our dignity.

Thus such a facility has to take the task of providing

opportunity to our young people in skill building also.

Our ideal image of such a community living program

is where persons with varied disabilities can live a

good, happy and productive life with mutual support

of each other. They can decide about matters of their

everyday life and take responsibility for that.

Opportunities for learning and faith in the capacities

of challenged persons should be the guiding principle.

It is important to involve larger community in

increasing measures so that the surrounding

community is friendly and supportive. It need not be

a one-way process as we can find several areas where

mutual cooperation can be achieved.

The whole site has immense potentiality for being

developed as a beautiful multi purpose centre for

community living. It would require a thorough

questioning and exploration of the attitudes and

beliefs of the management and the staff so that

there is a readiness to carry this experiment forward

along the vision and that is the hardest task.

Therefore, the preparation of the team itself is an

important step towards realizing this dream i.e. Dera

project.

39

Book Review

Inclusion of children withAutism Handbook forTeachers

36 pages

Published by the National Trust

As more and more special needsstudents are mainstreamed intoregular classrooms, teachers face thechallenge of meeting their needswhile creating an inclusive, exciting

and challenging learning environment for all students.Several alternative strategies can help teachers serve adiverse range of individual needs within a regularclassroom environment. Such strategies are especiallynecessary in dealing with children with autism. Thishandbook is a valuable resource for teachers in an inclusiveclassroom and reminds us that teachers should be sensitiveto all childrens needs. Though the book focuses onunderstanding the child with autism and strategies to reachout to them and include them in class, it can be used withall children to make learning fun and teaching moreeffective.

As parents and professionals trying to work towardsinclusion, many times we find ourselves against a wall,getting teachers to understand why children with autismdo the things they do. The book starts with addressingthe questions that teachers perhaps often ask themselveswhen they have to handle a child with autism in their classhow will I teach?, will I do justice?, . wouldnta special school be better? etc. By using a question-answer approach, this book gives simple, concrete, ready-to-use answers and helps allay any concerns orapprehensions that teachers may have.

The first part of the book looks at understanding thechild with autism what does autism mean, what are thedifficulties a child with autism may have, is autism curable,can a child with autism attend mainstream school, thesupport and training a school / staff would need etc.The simple language and style help demystify a complexand often misunderstood condition like autism.

The three main areas of difficulty which these childrenhave in sensory processing, understanding and usinglanguage and in relating to people, has been brought outvery clearly through simple language, examples ofbehaviours that are often seen and through commentsmade by people with autism about how they feel. Thefirst person accounts / statements give the reader an insightinto how every day sensations can be both confusing /painful or overwhelming for these people. These also helpus understand how we need to understand why a child is

doing what he is doing, rather than looking at it orresponding to it as just behaviour.

The second part of the book discusses structuring thephysical, social, and learning environment. It tells the readerhow important structure is to a child with autism and alsohow to provide structure, using examples and visuals (likevisual timetables, written rather than oral instructions,teaching concepts using concrete material, organizing hisactivity and transition time etc.). Some of the gamessuggested to introduce autism to children in a mainstreamclass could serve as good icebreakers to help youngchildren understand what kids with autism may be goingthrough and why they behave the way they do. Enhancingsocial development through a circle of friends is a niceconcept discussed here, that can be used not only withchildren with autism, but also with children who are morequiet, shy or who do not have many friends.

While providing structure is an important strategy thatmight help prevent certain inappropriate behaviours fromoccurring, I feel that what may be more important tounderstand is that this child with autism has a differentway of learning and is an individual with his own strengths,abilities and gifts. Often, understanding the learning styleof a child with autism is the key to reaching him andunlocking his true potential. The book could have dwelledmore on helping a teacher identify a childs learning styleand strengths and how to use that to help him learn better.I feel that would have had a domino effect on the wayregular schoolteachers think, teach, interact with kids, andlook at the curriculum, by getting them to be both morecreative and flexible.

I also feel that small case studies of children with autismin regular schools could have been presented, throughwhich the teaching-learning strategies, support needed,curriculum adaptations, etc. could have been highlighted.That may have helped teachers identify with issues theyface with such children and also understand how to usethe different strategies, in a better way.

The handbook also gives a list of books written by peoplewith autism, we