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Fifth quarterly publication, Vol.-I Published on 30th October, 2004 Editor : Mr. Ashoke Choudhury
Sponsored by: Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Govt. of India
Published at: Webel Mediatronics LtdP-1 Taratola Road Kolkata-88 Ph. 24015602, 24010713
Content
Editorial Mr. Ashoke Choudhury
Inclusion – Human Resources and other Support Services - C.D.Tamboli, Ex-Reader, NCERT, New Delhi
DISABILITY IN INDIA :THE ISSUES Mrs. Geeta Ghosh. (Principal South Calcutta Institute & President Dristidip)
Problems, Prospects & Need for Developing a Strategy for Vocational Shri Trilokesh Chakraborty Training of the Visually Impaired
Integrated Recreation : Role of HMI and SVH Dr. Suranjan Chatterjee
TRANSCRIPTION FROM PRINT TO BRAILLE : NEEDS AND CHALLENGES HENA BASU
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF THE LOW VISION CHILDREN & POSITIVE Mr. Ashoke Choudhury AMELIORATION.
Editorial
In our fifth edition I am happy that so many institutions for the visually impaired and very important sightless individuals have been concentrating upon “Inner Eye”. Some readers have given their considered opinions which have come to light in the readers’ column. Various topics relating to the sightless have found space in the present publication. For instance it may be stated that the mountaineering as practiced by the sightless is mainly conducted by S.V.H. time to time. Convertion of print material to Braille, Impact of Inclusive Education, Psychological effects of the low vision children have been highlighted for the awareness of the society. My main intention is to focus light on various issues relating to the education and full manifestation of the sightless as human being. Gradually the society will open its Inner Eye to see different issues and come to the conclusion that the given opportunity may at ease exalt the status of the visually impaired in different phases of life.
DISABILITY IN INDIA : THE ISSUES Mrs. Geeta Ghosh (Principal South Calcutta Institute & President Dristidip)
When there are million of sightless people in the world and India tops the list among the countries having sightless people it would be worth while to make an endeavor to help these hopeless fellow stand on their own so that they do not feel that they are only the burdens of their parents and the society. Once looked upon as a curse sightless still accounts for a great percentage of all the handicaps especially in India. The 1991 round of sample survey conducted by the national sample survey organization estimated that people with visual communication and locomotor disabilities number at least 14.56 million, or 1.9% of the total population of India. This with moderate to mild disabilities, who could, with a little effort, be integrated into efforts for rural development. Also not included in this figure are people with mental disabilities, and those affected by leprosy and deteriorating neuro-muscular conditions (e.g. muscular dystroply, motor neuron disease, Parkinson’s and senile domentia). A separate sample survey of mental retardation estimated that 3% of all children aged 0 to 14 are developmentally delayed. However, this figure one again excluded children with disabilities (e.g. dyslexia), or those referred to as slow learners. Again 5% to 10% of the general population of India is estimated to suffer from mental disorders of varying types and degrees of severity. Village level surveys in different parts of the country indicate that 4% to 10% of the populations are persons with disabilities. Available figures and disability statistics should be interpreted with a degree of caution. Many families are reluctant to report disability, particularly in view of the prevailing negative attitudes to disabled persons in most communities. In some instances, the data collectors, or even the in formants themselves, may simply not have the knowledge and experience required to recognize that a person is disabled. The national sample survey is accepted as a retable source of macro level data, but transposing NSS figures to make estimations at the micro level may not be relevant, given the wide regional variation.
About 80% of people with disabilities in India are the rural areas. The rural poor are particularly at rise of those disabilities, which are associated with malnutrition, poor conditions of environmental sanitation and communicable diseases. Accidents arising from negligence ignorance and lack of safety measures at work and in the community are also major causes of disabilities.
At present unemployment is a burning question in our present society. Millions of seeing people have been passing days ideally even after their good educational carrier, as unemployment has retarded the smooth progress of the society. So vocational training is necessary for all able & disabled persons, which helps them to cope up with their disability and to fix them with skills for effective participation in the socioeconomic life of the community.
Inclusion – Human Resources and other Support Services ................C.D.Tamboli, Ex-Reader, NCERT, New Delhi
Paper presented in 2nd All Bengal Congress of Rehabilitation Professionals on “Integration and Inclusion : Prospects and problems” Date : 23-24 September 2004 Venue : Sisir Mancha, Kolkata
Introduction:
The attitude towards the disabled has undergone an evolutionary change since the dawn of civilization. The first attitude towards the disabled was total annihilation and was based on the principles or ‘Survival of the Fittest’. In ancient days, disabled persons were rejected and deprived of living. During the Roman Crusade, 300 soldiers were blinded, and therefore, blindness was treated as a symbol of punishment. The second phase was a marked improvement from total annihilation to Ward Status. With the advent of Christianity and expansion of religion, the disabled were given the right to live as they are also the gift of God. The third phase of attitude towards the disabled gave disabled persons the right to receive education. The fourth phase of attitude aimed at integration of the disabled in the mainstream. The fifth and final phase of attitude towards the disabled is aimed at inclusion.
Expansion of Educational Services in India:
In India, a multi-pronged strategy is adopted to educate disabled persons. Education of the disabled started through Special Schools. Besides, Integrated Education, Open School Education, Non-Formal Education, Distance Education, Adult Education and various other methods have been adopted to educate the disabled.
Despite sporadic efforts made by both government and non-government organizations, it is estimated that barely 10% of disabled children are brought under the gamut of educational arena and the large number of disabled children are still waiting to receive education and, to put it figuratively, are languishing in the dungeon of dayless gloom.
The concept of Integrated Education for the disabled is more a compulsion to cover the large number of disabled children waiting for education as the special schools cannot cover a large number of such children. The gap between the number of children receiving education and the number of disabled children waiting to receive education is so large that the special schools could not meet the challenge. Besides, the slogan “Education for All” which has been promulgated by the United Nations necessitates the urgency of evolving a multi-pronged strategy to promote educational services of all children, including the disabled.
Inclusive Education:
Inclusive Education is currently being discussed all over the world because it is considered that Special Education is a part of the larger Education System and should not be treated as a separate order. The Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education proclaims that every child has a fundamental right to education and must be given the opportunity to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of learning. Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs. Educational system should be designed and educational programmes implemented to take into account the wide diversity of these characteristics and needs. Children with special educational needs must have access to regular schools who should accommodate them within a child-centered pedagogy capable of meeting these needs. Regular schools with these inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society, and achieving the goal of “Education for All”. Moreover, regular schools provide an effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire educational system.
Type of Services for Disabled Children in General Schools:
Three types of services are needed for Special Needs Children in general schools – Peripheral, Essential and Supportive Services. The first type of services includes one-time peripheral service such as identification, assessment of educational needs etc. which are provided before the child enters the general school. The second type of services includes classroom instructions, teaching of concepts, teaching of plus curricular activities etc. These are classified as essential services and they are vital for disabled children to cope with general classroom instruction. The third type of services includes supply of Braille materials, preparation of teaching aids, teaching abstract concepts, teaching orientation and mobility etc. These services are classified as support services. To provide peripheral, essential and support services, the role of the following are necessary:- Parades, medical practitioners, volunteers from the village, community at large and service organizations, the involvement of non-disabled children in assisting the education for disabled children in general schools. General classroom teachers are the main service providers. Specialist teachers who have expertise, play an important role in promoting education services to disabled children in the general classroom.
Distinction between Integration and Inclusion:
There is a marked difference between ‘Integrated Education’ and ‘Inclusive Education’. In Integrated Education, the specialist teachers provide most of the essential as well as support services to the disabled children whereas the general classroom teachers provide additional assistance to disabled children in the classroom. In Inclusive Education, education of disabled children should be treated as an integral part of general education and, therefore, the essential services have to be provided by general classroom teachers themselves and the support services only are to be provided by the Specialist Teachers.
Nature of training needed by General Classroom Teachers:
For the effective implementation of inclusive education, general classroom teachers need training on understanding the special needs of disabled children. It is recommended that a separate paper on ‘Special Needs Children’ in the pre-service teachers preparation course be included. The Curriculum Framework of the National Council of Teacher Education (1998) indicates that the pre-service teacher preparation courses should include content on Special Needs Children. Teacher thus trained will be in a position to take care of the educational needs of the disabled children in general classrooms provided materials such as Braille books, assistive devices etc. are made available. The work of the general classroom teachers may be occasionally assisted by specialist teachers. It is also recommended that in-service training for a period of ten days should be provided to such teachers who have no exposure to the education of children with special needs.
The Importance of Cooperative Learning to make inclusion a reality:
Johnson & Johnson said ‘None of us is as smart as all of us’. There are two basic ways of transforming general education classroom into more academically and socially responsive settings. The first is to individualize instruction for all students – by sending them to Resource Rooms within the school. This does not mean or aim at eliminating or subordinating special education services. The second alternative is to promote cooperative learning in the classroom. Cooperative learning is the right answer to many questions and has been used by Researchers and Educators as an effective medium. Cooperative learning allows and encourages students in a class to discuss, debate, disagree, teach one another and eventually learn from each other. It provides less able children an opportunity to experience success. It provides practice in schools and develop skills. The social interaction involved promote acceptance of students with special needs by regular (non-disabled) peers. Cooperative learning goes beyond helping students learn academic content and skills to address important social goals and objectives. In cooperative learning the teacher creates opportunities for children to investigate and clarify their understanding by actively exchanging and using one another’s ideas. I would like to mention that Special Education in Inclusive Education may be a recent concept, but it is an accepted approach in General Education. In a general classroom in India, children of different IQ (Intelligence Quotient) levels study together. The classroom teacher usually targets the average learner in his/her teaching. He/she is also exposed to the situation of handling slow learners as well as academically advanced learners. Therefore, the Inclusive Education on the basis of cognitive abilities is already in vogue in general education. General classroom teachers apply this method of teaching without labelling it as Inclusive Education. Children in the extremities of cognitive abilities are classified as ‘Mentally Retarded’ and ‘Gifted Children’. The groups of ‘Slow Learners’ but not ‘Mentally Retarded’ and academically ‘Advanced Learners’ but not ‘Gifted Children’ are certainly different from ‘Average Learners’ and they are taught by general classroom teachers. The major commonality between the non-disabled children and the disabled children is that they are more like non-disabled children in cognitive abilities. This commonality is a very supportive factor of these children starting along with non-disabled children in Integrated Education. With the learning of ‘Plus Curriculum’ to cope with the particular disability, these children can also compete with non-disabled children. National and International efforts are being made to augment Inclusive Education Programmes. To conclude, Inclusive Education is no longer a mystery now, it is a ground level reality.
Integrated Recreation : Role of HMI and SVH Dr. Suranjan Chatterjee
The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) Darjeeling, a premier institute in the field of adventure sports in West Bengal, had launched into a different field of adventure sports in 1989 by taking the visually handicapped into the arena of rock-climbing and high altitude trekking supported by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), New Delhi. This was done with the assistance and initiative of the Society for the Visually Handicapped (SVH). This foreword to an entirely new kind of adventure sports and experience would remain incomplete without reference to Mr. Nima Tashi. This course could be accomplished only through the tireless vigilance and entrepreneurship of Mr. Nima Tashi, the Deputy Director of Field Training in the HMl. A maximum of 25 trainees from all over India are eligible to participate in this adventure programme. And the response has always been positive.
Content of Training
The author has visited the 15-day annual adventure programme more than once and cannot but recall the manifold experience of being with and handling of a visually handicapped in the arena of adventure sports. The programme chalked out by the HMI has two faces: the theoretical recreation and practical rigour. The theoretical part covers knowledge about mountaineering equipments and films on mountaineering. The practical side covers learning of climbing and camping knots, doing practical climbing on Tenzing and Gombu Rocks and some other minor rocks in Drajeeling, trekking and camping at Tiger Hill, a venue 14 kms from the Institute, and trekking with load up to Dzongri, in west Sikkim, to an altitude of 14,000 ft. With practical knowledge of rock-climbing and the sounds involved in it helped the visually handicapped to respond positively to the recreational films on mountaineering, a part of the curriculum in the evening. The practical training began from the morning at 6 a.m. Its major components were an one hour physical exercise, and three and a half hours of rock-climbing in the pre-lunch session and a two hour trekking programme in the post-lunch session. The first part of the physical rigour being concentrated in the surroundings of Darjeeling involved low altitude trekking, camping and rock-climbing. The second part involved taking the handicapped participants to west Sikkim, up to an altitude of 14,000 ft.
Value of adventure sports
It has often been asked that what is all the fuss about adventure training of a visually handicapped? Adversities are manifold on the way of advancement of a visually handicapped. They are groomed in social confinement, and as a consequence of which they develop within themselves a kind of social exclusiveness. This results in alienation from the general social milieu. Facing the atypical mental and behavioral norm of the visually handicapped, the sighted too nourish their superiority complex and keep his handicapped brother at a distance. Thanks to the training at the HMI, that the sightless person knows to motivate themselves to overcome adversity. “All is not lost; th’unconquerable will, And courage never to submit or yield”. The spirit of body-confidence and mobility also grow. As an escort of a trainee, I have felt that shown the ways the sightless are more capable of facing the adversities. I have heard Mr. Nima Tashi saying, “See he is climbing, knowing not the intensity of the fall; the sight of which would have shaken the legs of a sighted”. Another experience of a sightless person is that as a consequence of loss of a sense organ he/she organically acquires a concentration much ahead of the sighted. Particularly sensitized are the senses of sound and smell. Through sound and smell, the sightless comprehend the mysteries of nature in their long and arduous four-day trek in west Sikkim.
We are reminded of Shakespeare saying, “Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”
Another significant contribution of this adventure programme is the integration between the sighted, as escorts, and sightless, as trainees. During the 15 – days there develops a sense of bond, mutual trust and understanding. The Institute teaches the trainees through their guides and escorts, who had accompanied the sightless, and the trainees through their learning teach the escorts that given the opportunity and guidance they can equip themselves to the level of the escort, if not above. Still there is a long way to go both in the development of the sightless from their gloomy surroundings and in the way of integration between the sightless and the sighted.
Editor note : Milestones in the adventure sports for the sightless pioneered by SVH :
1989-1998 : A decade of annual mountain adventure training at national level for the sightless citizens of India. To date about 150 young sightless men and women from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and West Bengal have been trained.
Ø Participation in expeditions organized by mainstream mountaineering clubs.
Ø Collaboration in conducting nature camp for sightless school children with Youth Hostel Association of India.
Ø Collaborative rock climbing course with Bhoruka Mountaineering Trust, Calcutta.
Ø Several expeditions organized by HMI-trained sightless youths touching altitude of 18000’ and above. 1999 : SVH received Fourth National Sports Council for the Blind Annual National Award – 1998-99, Mumbai.
TRANSCRIPTION FROM PRINT TO BRAILLE : NEEDS AND CHALLENGES .................HENA BASU
[The Author is the Hon Secretary, Society for the Visually Handicapped, Kolkata and a voluntary sighted Braillist for the last two Decades]
What is Transcription?
Transcription is a process of transferring reading material from visual print format to tactile Braille format by trained Braillists, for use of persons with visual impairments.
Why is Transcription Needed?
Mainstream academic set ups and curricula are tailored to address needs of persons who have clear vision and good hearing organs. Braille or the tactile for mat serves as a vital alternative for persons suffering from a variety of visual losses and impairments, which make them disabled to read print to acquire knowledge and education.
Who are the transcribers?
There are several categories of transcribers as follows:
A. Persons with visual impairments themselves after training Braille printer Matter Read out live to them.
B. There are some professionally trained visually impaired Braillists who are employed as transcribers in special schools to handle the task of transferring visual material in Braille.
C. There are sighted persons who pick up Braille as teachers of the visually impaired from teachers training centers for the visually impaired and then serve the institutions for the Blind as paid Transcribers.
D. There are also some dedicated, committed and zealous sighted volunteers, a handful though, who undergo a painstaking Training of life-enrichment course in Braille.
Is there any monitoring agency in Braille?
English being a major single global language there are the Braille authority of UK and the Braille authority of North America who consistently revise, monitor and regulate the English Braille Code to facilitate Highly skilled professionals to handle their assignments as far as possible independently.
Unfortunately it has not been possible to develop a central monitoring body in India since Bharati Braille was standardized in the 50’s for reasons as follows :
What role does computerized Braille production set up play in facilitating transcription?
For a single language transcription such as English computer technology has achieved great heights. In India however many experimented with developing Software for transcription texts in Indian Languages. One of three, Pioneered by the Webel Mediatronics, has the innovation of embossing the print through a programmed Perkins Brailler. This is rather easier to handle compared to the Juliet Embosser. About 26 + computerized set ups have been installed by the Government of India in various institutions for the Blind in addition to a few having imported by non-Govt. Organizations. Apparently such an extensive provision should have solved the problem of catering to demand for Braille reading material at various level. But it hasn’t and we need to honestly investigate the factors responsible for underutilization of technology.
What role does the society for the visually handicapped (SVH) play in this task?
For the last two decades SVH has trained more that 50 sighted volunteer Braillists through classroom teaching and self-learning correspondence course. The valuable insight which guides and sustains this project may be replicated by professionals engaged in computerized Braille production set UPS :
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF THE LOW VISION CHILDREN & POSITIVE AMELIORATION. Low vision children have visual acquity of less than 6/18 to light perception or a visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of fixation, but who uses, or is potentially able to use, vision for the planning and / or execution of a task.This clearly indicates that the low vision children' are not visually impaired persons. But they have limitation of vision. They cannot properly see. In order to place them in educational programme some devices have been adopted for stimulation of their remaining vision. In the past the low vision children had to learn with the visually impaired persons. There was no seperate device for planning their educational programme. But with the growth of time technology has been developed and attention has been focused in order to increase their visually efficiency through proper lighting and preparation of large print materials which can be useful for the exclusion of a task. It is found in experience that this low vision children have some psychological effect owing to lack of complete vision. It is seen that their anxiety level is very high. As they cannot see properly but try to read the printed materials they often 'suffering from visual fatigue and it is duty of the teacher to reduce their visual fatigue and increase their visual efficiency to enable them to read the printed materials. At the initial stage the teachers of the low vision children have noticed that. they are mentally tenced. As they think themselves sightless they are scared for going into reading printed materials. But this type of psychological conflict is.. reduced as they go with this reading method and accustom to read the printed matters with the help of magnifiers and proper illumination. Some low vision children have retinities pigmentosa, They can see nicely during the day time. But at night .they fail to see with their eyes. Naturally they appeared to be in great psychological conflict as to what will be their fate in the lmgg run. So it is advisible that the low vision children having R.P. should not be admi tted . into the low vision programme. They should be better accommodated in the school for the visually impaired and learn braille embossed character, as they will be completely sightless in the long run. Remaining vision should be scientifically utilised with appropriate technology. If the appropriate technology is introduced the Psychological set back in the mind of the low vision children is gradually reduced. Then what should be the appropriate technology for their educational programme leading them to no-psychological set back. The earlier position of substituting textual or enlarged visual material for be material used by the sighted persons today, is not considered enough. Emphasis is on planning programmes specifically according to each child's level mf functioning and accepting the best approach to enhance learning for effective daily leaving. The researches of the nineteen seventies indicate that 52 percent of children registered with the American Printing House for the blind read either large Print or regular print. Thus a question emerges whether a low vision child should read print of braille. The International Trend is on the optimum utilisation of residual vision and receiving training in visual efficiency. If this is the context in which one has to search for the appropriate technology, then I would like to take into consideration three immediate requirements of low vision persons: Reading Readiness :- Partially sighted children differ from sighted children in reading readiness. They may be delayed in skills of visual perception and discrimination if they are able to see one shape, size and colour thus one can search for a technology which can provide increased activity in visual discrimination. It involves visual perception in terms of size, shapes and colours to be provided through a manual medium or through a medium which oan be mare interesting and efficient. Reducing Visual fatigue: It is a general experience of those who work for low vision persons that the procedures for increasing visual efficiency and the use if large print material results in visual fatigue interfering with the learning process. One of the suggested alternatives, is to provide favourable reading conditions, increase lighting and appropriate size of type, spacing, quality of material and use if illustrations., Can we have technology which can tailor a learning situation according to the need of the child so as to reduce the visual fatigue. Improving Listening Skills: Many a times two types of misconception, occur about the visually impaired and low vision children.. One refers to the misconception "Natural development of learning skills" and second refers to the ability of low vision child to "perform at the same level" at which a sighted persons performs. These two misconceptions leave much to be desired as far as the education of low vision person is concerned. These learners also need training in 'listening skills just as any other learner specially the visually impaired requires. Due to reduced reading speed and visual fatigue the learning experiences for low vision child can be enriched if he receives enough training on listening skills. A normal person spends approximately all 'the school day in listening which happens to be the next major sensory input for learning. Can technology provide opportunities for increasing for increasing the listening skills? If we try to teach the low vision children different. types of identification of sound, extending attention span listening faculty may be increased. Insufficient vision of the low vision can be reduced to some extent by modern technological devices. On increasing of listening faculty is another important step to be adopted by the low, vision teachers to substitute for visual inefficiency. Whatever they cannot read in absence of large print materials, they can listen to the human readers or tape recorders for going through their complete syllabus. What is paramount importance is that the psychological effect of the low vision children is very severe. As they cannot see properly they receive distorted new information from the outer world. As a result they are in a fix what to do. They lose self-confidence and suffer from psychological set back. To set them to a right path, teachers of the low vision children should prepare devices, so that they may receive proper information from the external world and through constant encouragement the loss of self-confidence and self security and self image may be restored by and by their successful accomplishment of a task. The education of the low vision children has been spread far and wide in southern and northern states of India. But the progress of the same is very meager in Eastern India. The Calcutta Blind School being a century old Institute has introduced the same in 1995 with the implementation of modern devices. But until and unless the other institutions for the visually impaired accept these methods the progress will remain meager. Considering the onward march of Science and Technology the Govt. and NGOs should join hands together and to give impetus to the establishment of Low Vision Centres in different parts of India as the volume of low vision children is stupendous in comparison to the population . of sightless in our country. Let us hope for the best and take oath to set up more Low Vision Centres and Clinics in different Institutions for the protection of education of the LOW vision children.
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