N Ewsletter: December 2016

Issu e 8
N ewsletter
December 2016
Ed i t or ?s n ot e
H i fr ien ds,
Th e l ast for tn igh t h as witn essed
m om en tou s h appen in gs in
con tem por ar y h istor y .Per son al l y th e
excitem en t of m eetin g M s.H aben
Gir m a, wh o accepted m y in vitation an d
gave tal k s on access an d th e wor l d
disabil ity day cel ebr ation s of l au n ch in g
th e access to sea sh or e wer e h igh l y
satisfyin g.
Cycl on e Var dh a in capacitated l ife in
Ch en n ai an d br ou gh t for th th e u r gen cy
to tweak th e disaster m an agem en t to
m eet th e n eeds of peopl e with
disabil ities. Th e passage of th e RPW D
BILL, 2014 in l ess th an a m in u te in both
th e h ou ses, ch eer ed by som e an d
cr iticized by som e h as cr eated en ou gh
con fu sion am on g th e disabl ed. Th e
com in g days wil l th r ow m or e l igh t on
th is.
Th is issu e featu r es excer pts fr om
H aben 's in ter view , in cl u sion str ategies
fr om an exper t an d a u n iqu e in cl u sion
even t wh ich is bl azin g its way in to th e
h ear ts .
H appy r eadin g,
Regar ds
Bh avn a Botta
Fr om t h e H ear t
H aben Gir m a ,an in ter n ation al l y accl aim ed
accessibil ity l eader , was on a visit to Ch en n ai an d
del iver ed tal k s on Access.Th e fir st Deafbl in d per son to
gr adu ate fr om H ar var d Law Sch ool , H aben ch am pion s
equ al access to in for m ation for peopl e with disabil ities.
Sh e h as been h on or ed by Pr esiden t Bar ack Obam a,
Pr esiden t Bil l Cl in ton , an d m an y oth er s.
The excer pts of an inter view with her
Com m u n i cat i on an d i n f or m at i on h as t o be m ad e
accessi bl e t o al l -h ow i s t h e si t u at i on i n y ou r
cou n t r y
It?s tr u e th at in for m ation an d com m u n ication m u st be
m ade accessibl e. W e ar e wor k in g towar ds it by
teach in g an d tr ain in g peopl e to devel op pr ogr am m es,
tech n ol ogies th at ar e accessibl e .Positive stor ies of
disabil ity,can h el p in th is ,
Ed u cat i on i s a r i gh t , w h i ch p ol i cy d o y ou t h i n k h as
been ef f ect i v e i n i m p l em en t i n g t h i s
It is h ar d to pin poin t to on e pol icy wh ich h as been m or e
effective. In cl u sion h appen s in th e com m u n ity.Th er e
h as to be m u l tipl e peopl e wor k in g on it. Som e peopl e
wor k in g in scien ces to m ak e it accessibl e while
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Issu e 8
N ewsletter
December 2016
L ot s of Fu n w i t h Si gn Bee
som e peopl e wor k in g in ar ts to m ak e it accessibl e,
som e peopl e wor k in g in ph ysical edu cation to m ak e
A unique method of inclusion which
it accessibl e. It is m u l tipl e pol icies an d l aws wor k in g
not only removes stigma around disability
togeth er
but also develops a skill and a positive
Di scr i m i n at i on i s a cau se f or m en t al h eal t h
attitude .That?s Sign Bee.
i ssu es, d o y ou su e t h e ser v i ce p r ov i d er s on t h i s
Gen esi s gr ou n d an d d o t h ey f al l i n l i n e
In l ate 2014, IEEE - Ban gal or e (par t of
a gl obal n on -pr ofit body of EE En gin eer in g
Pr ofession al s), establ ish ed a 'Special
In ter est Gr ou p on Com m u n ication s
W h ose w or k i s i t t o p r ov i d e Job
Disabil ity?with tech n ol ogists, Cl in ician s,
accom m od at i on s?
Pr im ar y car e giver s & en d-u ser s. Th is
It is em pl oyer s wor k to pr ovide th e accom m odation s. gr ou p was ch ar ter ed to devel op stan dar ds
an d tech n ol ogies for 'En abl in g Abil ity in
It is as sim pl e as th at
Disabil ity?.
Tel l u s abou t an i m p act i n g case w h i ch y ou
Th e gr ou p star ted del iber atin g on
h an d l ed as a l aw y er
var iou s gaps in tech n ol ogies r equ ir ed to
Du r in g m y tim e, th e biggest case was th e digital
al l eviate th e day-to-day l ivin g of peopl e
l ibr ar y case. Th is was n ot accessibl e to bl in d r eader s.
with Com m u n ication s Disabil ities l ik e
So we su ed th e l ibr ar y an d got th em to ch an ge th eir
Speech & H ear in g Im pair m en ts, Visu al
website an d wor k s accessibl e.
im pair m en t, Neu r odegen er ative disor der s
It is a su ccess as th ey ar e wor k in g on it.
l ik e Cer ebr al Pal sy,Au tism , etc. It was
Con su m er r i gh t s ar e u p h el d i n y ou r cou n t r y , w h at decided to con du ct per iodic W or k sh ops,
Even ts & Stan dar dization activities th at
abou t t h e con su m er r i gh t s of p eop l e w i t h
can br in g var iou s stak eh ol der s to a
d i sabi l i t i es
com m on pl atfor m an d en abl e
Th er e ar e advocates wh o en su r e th at pr odu cts an d
devel opm en t of tech n ol ogies an d
ser vices ar e accessibl e. Th er e ar e advocates wh o ar e sol u tion s for th e differ en tl y-abl ed.
teach in g an d tr ain in g peopl e to m ak e th in gs
H owever ,al on g with th ese activities,
accessibl e.
a n eed was fel t to r aise th e l evel s of
Th er e ar e oth er s wh o test, wh il e oth er s wh o su e.
awar en ess an d in cl u siven ess in th e
Th er e is a l ot of wor k in vol ved in th e m ak in g th in gs
society abou t th e n eeds of th e
accessibl e.
differ en tl y-abl ed. Sign Bee Con test was a
r esu l t of th is n eed.
watch th e video on -h ttps:/ / web.facebook .com /
Th er e ar e l awyer s wh o wor k on access issu es , th er e

ar e oth er s wh o wor k on th ese em otion al issu es.
Per son al l y I bel ieve in fixin g th e bar r ier s to access.
Con n ectSpecial -237985419908836/
2
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Issu e 8
N ewsletter
December 2016
wer e th en in vited to par ticipate in th e Sign Bee
2016 Fin al s h el d on 03r d Decem ber (W or l d
Disabil ity Day) at Visvesvar aya In du str ial &
Tech n ol ogical M u seu m , Ban gal or e. Th e
su ccess of th is in cl u sive even t was r efl ected
in th e Fin al s, wh ich was a wel l -con tested
even t an d h ad Ties for th e Top 2 Pr izes!!
W h at is Sign Bee
It is a Nation al Level Com petition for Sch ool
Ch il dr en wh o h ave n o k n own Speech &
H ear in g disabil ity an d h ave l ear n t or ar e
wil l in g to l ear n Basic Sign Lan gu age Th e k ey
objectives of th e con test ar e
*NISH - Nation al In situ te for Speech an d H ear in g, Tr ivan dr u m ,
I. Teach an d tr ain Sch ool stu den ts on Sign

Lan gu age so th at th ey can h el p in
com m u n icatin g with per son s with h ear in g
im pair m en ts an d al so with th eir im m ediate
fam il y m em ber s wh o m ay su ffer h ear in g l oss
in l ater year s (ex: Gr an dpar en ts, El der l y in th e
society )
SRCISH - Dr. S. R.Ch an dr asek h ar In stitu te of Speech an d H ear in g,

Ben gal u r u ,
AIISH - Al l In dia In stitu te of Speech an d H ear in g, M ysu r u
www.signbee.org
II. Lead to an in cl u sive society so th at th e

per son s with h ear in g im pair m en ts ar e n ot
stigm atised
Con n ect Special con gr at u lat es t h e

w in n er s1st Pr ize Win n er s : Bhadra P Varma,
Meenakshy Sudheer (both from TVM)
III. Scal e u p th e avail abil ity of m an power for

'Sign Lan gu age In ter pr eter s' to aid
Gover n m en t In itiatives (ex: Accessibl e In dia,
In dian Sign Lan gu age Resear ch Cen tr e)
2n d Pr ize Win n er s : Deepit Patil (BLR), M.

Athira (CBE)
IV. Pr ovide a for u m to cr eate an d in n ovate in

Assistive Tech n ol ogies (ex: Gestu r e
r ecogn ition , Apps, M obil e tech ) Th e Sign Bee
Con test was a big su ccess in its In au gu r al
edition in 2015 an d on r equ est fr om Sch ool s
an d Par en ts scal ed u p fu r th er to 'Spel l Bee'
con test.
3r d Pr ize Win n er
: Spoorthi K.S
Th is year ,th e Sign Bee Qu al ifier s wer e h el d in

3 cities viz. Tr ivan dr u m , Coim bator e &
Ban gal or e. Th e tr ain in g for th e Qu al ifier s
wer e abl y su ppor ted by pion eer in g
in stitu tion s l ik e NISH , SRCISH , AIISH * an d by
for war d-l ook in g in stitu tion s l ik e Coim bator e
Distr ict Libr ar y & Noida Deaf Society.
Ch il dr en sel ected fr om each of th ese cen tr es
Issu e 8
N ewsletter
December 2016
I N CLUSI ON STRUGGLES AN D
STRATEGI ES FOR SUCCESS
M r s. Su jat h a Sr i r am
W h at ar e t h e Ch al l en ges f aced i n
i n cl u d i n g ch i l d r en w i t h d i sabi l i t i es?
Th er e ar e issu es at ever y step- attitu de,
per ception , m yth abou t th e con dition s, l ack of
awar en ess abou t th e in cl u sion pr ocess an d
acceptan ce fr om teach er s get com pou n ded
by in accessibl e ph ysical str u ctu r es.
Fail u r e to desen sitize th e teach er s an d peer s
abou t th e ch il dr en with special n eeds, l ack of
cou n sel in g to h an dl e adol escen t beh avior s,
th er e ar e m an y ch al l en ges bu t n on e wh ich
can n ot be sol ved.
th e own er sh ip of th e stu den t even after year s.

Un wil l in gn ess to get on e teach er tr ain ed
towar ds in cl u sive teach in g, in som e sch ool s
th e r atio is n ot bein g m ain tain ed fr om th e
M an agem en t side, wh ich is actu al l y
bu r den in g teach er s.
H ow abou t t each er s?
It is a tou gh gam e with teach er s wh o h ave
tr adition al th ou gh t pr ocess. Th er e n eeds to be
a sh ift. Al so m an y ar e u n awar e of Differ en tial
Al ter n ate Str ategy n eeded .Al so ver y l ittl e
wor k is don e on in ter face between th e
teach er s, Par en ts an d Resou r ce Networ k .
Som e teach er s ar e r el u ctan t in tak in g th e
r espon sibil ity fr om th e r esou r ce teach er s to
pr epar e th e Al ter n ate Qu estion paper s an d
Coor din ation of Assessm en ts .An oth er ar ea of
wor r y is l ack of open n ess in in cl u sive
extr acu r r icu l ar activities.
Tel l u s w i t h y ou r ex p er i en ce som e
st r at egi es f or Su ccess
Ar e t h er e an y ch al l en ges f r om ot h er
p ar en t s an d f r om st u d en t s w i t h ou t
d i sabi l i t i es?
o Th e ch il d sh ou l d be assessed to k n ow th e
cu r r en t per for m an ce l evel tak in g in to
accou n t th eir m u l tipl e in tel l igen ces an d
l ear n in g styl es
Yes th e attitu de of som e par en ts of n on

disabl ed k ids is wor r yin g .th ey don ?t wan t
th eir ch il dr en n ot to m in gl e with k ids with
disabil ity,im itation is th e r eason bein g given
o Ch il dr en sh ou l d be pl aced in th e age
appr opr iate gr ade l evel or m axim u m on e or 2
gr ade l evel s l ower to avoid bu l l yin g
In som e cases th er e is peer bu l l yin g is seen

par ticu l ar l y with stu den ts h avin g Lear n in g
Disabil ity
o Adm ission s in itial l y for h al f day for better

settl in g in a l ar ger gr ou p an d space to
con tin u e th eir th er apy ser vices. Par tial
In cl u sion ? Littl e step towar ds sm ooth
tr an sition towar ds In cl u sion
I s t h e sch ool m an agem en t p osi t i v e

t ow ar d s i n cl u si on ? Th e fir st r esistan ce is to
o H ave th e stu den t pl an at th e tim e of
al ter th e str u ctu r al en vir on m en t of th e
adm ission addr essin g al l r el evan t ar eas of
sch ool to accom m odate a stu den t with
in ter ven tion
ph ysical disabil ity; som e ar e even ch ar gin g
1
h igh er fees .Th er e is u n wil l in gn ess to tak e
Issu e 8
N ewsletter
December 2016
o Jottin g down IEP cater in g to th e cu r r icu l u m
of th e sch ool . En su r in g th e ch il d is abl e to
par ticipate in th e sch ool cu r r icu l u m with
r espect to exam s, assign m en ts. Par al l el
wor k in g th e r em edial com pon en t fr om th e
cu r r icu l u m to br in g su ccess in per for m an ce.
Th is h el ps in boostin g th e con fiden ce of th e
ch il d an d al so m ak es th e sch ool / Par en t
bel ieve th at th e ch il d can per for m .
spor ts day,an n u al day an d an y ou tin gs fr om

th e sch ool
o Usage of Al ter n ative Au gm en tative
Com m u n ication (AAC) for academ ics an d
social in ter action s en com passin g total
com m u n ication .
o Regu l ar su ppor t ser vices fr om NGO or
r esou r ce per son to en su r e t h e ?con tin u u m of
ser vices?.
o En su r e avail abil ity of Aids an d Adaptation s

wh er ever r equ ir ed
M r s. Su jath a Sr ir am is a
Con su l tan t-special
edu cation / cou n sel or .Sh e
h as im m en se wor k
exper ien ce in in cl u sion .
W h at i s y ou r ad v i ce t o a t each er ?
Th e teach er is th e per son h an dl in g th e
stu den t so th ey
o sh ou l d ask for r egu l ar on ce a ter m tr ain in g
to or ien t abou t th e con dition s, th e facil ities
avail abl e for stu den t with special n eeds. o
Fol l ow al ter n ate teach in g m eth odol ogy so
th at th e wh ol e cl ass ben efits an d n ot ju st
stu den t with special n eeds
Talk on Access by Haben Gir m a
. o Rem em ber Ph ysical l iter acy pr ogr am /

spor ts is a Step to l ear n social sk il l s for
ch il dr en with special n eeds an d n or m al k ids
o Str u ctu r in g th e en vir on m en t based on th e
n eeds of ch il dr en . (e,g) Seatin g , br eak s, tim e
tabl in g, l igh tin g , n oise an d distr action l evel s
o An ectodal Recor ds to m on itor Beh aviou r al
ou tbu r sts (n ote to par en ts) wil l h el p to k eep
th e th er apists posted abou t th e h appen in gs in
th e cl ass.
o Peer l ear n in g an d peer bu ddy to assist th e
ch il d du r in g tr an sition s an d facil itate
com m u n ication in th e cl ass
o To tak e h el p fr om Par en t su ppor t gr ou ps
an d Vol u n teer s fr om Com m u n ity as scr ibes
du r in g Exam s, co cu r r icu l ar activities l ik e
For su ggestion s,r eviews &

su bscr iption
botta.bh avn a@ gm ail .com
2
www.con n ectspecial .com

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Issu e 8

Th er e ar e l awyer s wh o wor k on access issu es , th er e

Con n ectSpecial -237985419908836/

*NISH - Nation al In situ te for Speech an d H ear in g, Tr ivan dr u m ,

I. Teach an d tr ain Sch ool stu den ts on Sign

SRCISH - Dr. S. R.Ch an dr asek h ar In stitu te of Speech an d H ear in g,

II. Lead to an in cl u sive society so th at th e

Con n ect Special con gr at u lat es t h e

III. Scal e u p th e avail abil ity of m an power for

2n d Pr ize Win n er s : Deepit Patil (BLR), M.

IV. Pr ovide a for u m to cr eate an d in n ovate in

Th is year ,th e Sign Bee Qu al ifier s wer e h el d in

th e own er sh ip of th e stu den t even after year s.

Yes th e attitu de of som e par en ts of n on

In som e cases th er e is peer bu l l yin g is seen

o Adm ission s in itial l y for h al f day for better

I s t h e sch ool m an agem en t p osi t i v e

spor ts day,an n u al day an d an y ou tin gs fr om

o En su r e avail abil ity of Aids an d Adaptation s

Talk on Access by Haben Gir m a

. o Rem em ber Ph ysical l iter acy pr ogr am /

For su ggestion s,r eviews &

www.con n ectspecial .com

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