Issu e 11

N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017

Ed i t or ?s n ot e Ju st Bl ack & w h i t e
An in ter view with ar tist Swam in ath an , an ar tist wh o is at ease
Dear fr ien ds, wh il e dr awin g an d wh o is u n affected by th e accol ades
Excitin g n ews!! Swam i wh at do you l ik e th e m ost weavin g or dr awin g?
In col l abor ation with a I l ov e bot h w eav i n g an d d r aw i n g. I en joy w eav i n g .I t i s
l eadin g on l in e patien t an d cal m . I l i k e f i n i sh i n g.
car egiver h eal th car e pl atfor m , Swam i, do you l ik e to dr aw por tr aits or sk etch es of th in gs
an ar ticl e swap is bein g fl agged ar ou n d you ?
off with Ler oy Li m 's fi lm "I
Beli eve" a p er son al en cou n t er I l i k e d r aw i n g seei n g p h ot os
bet w een a p er son w i t h au t i sm or p i ct u r es-I l i k e bot h .I see a
an d a y ou t h l ead er , cl ear ou t l i n e i n t h e p i ct u r es
com m em or atin g W ORLD W h ich col or do you l ik e or l et
AUTISM DAY (Apr il 2n d) m e say wh ich m ediu m do you
On r equ est by r eader s, a l ik e both as an ar tist an d an
col u m n dedicated to advice by ar tisan
th e exper ts is bein g in tr odu ced.
I am n ot p ar t i cu l ar abou t col or s. I u su al l y d r aw w i t h a
Excitin g in ter views, videos,
p en ci l or w i t h a bl ack m ar k er p en .On t h e l oom , I u se al l
u n iqu e accessibl e fest, m or e
col or s.
detail s on on l in e l ibr ar y ar e
awaitin g you r r eadin g in th is
edition al on g with a n ote on job
fair.
I tak e th e occasion to
r em in d th at Con n ect Special
n ewsl etter is avail abl e for
r eadin g, sh ar in g an d su bscr ibin g
on i n f o.con n ect sp eci al .com .
H appy Readin g!
Regar ds,
Bh avn a Botta
botta.bh avn a@ gm ail .com

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 Issu e 11

Swam i -you r dr awin gs al ways h ave

N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017

featu r es a bit str etch ed ?a u n iqu e An ex p er t ?s op i n i on ?

styl e!! Swam i h as sh own a pr ocl ivity to dr aw
I t r y t o d r aw w h at ex act l y i s t h er e i n geom etr ic sh apes an d l in es fr om wh en h e was ver y
t h e p i ct u r e- m y st y l e com es ou t you n g .H e appear s to pr efer a 2dim en sion al ph oto or
pictu r e, to copy fr om ,an d gives it h is u n iqu e visu al
W h at ar e you - a spon tan eou s ar tist or per ceptu al sl an t, in h is ar t. It is n ot typical of th e
an ar tisan con dition .
Ar t i st H e h as th e k n ack of tak in g a3 dim en sion al
I n otice you star t you r dr awin gs fr om view an d cr eatin g br il l ian t 2 dim en sion al ar t wor k .A
a par ticu l ar poin t -is th er e a r eason spatial in tel l igen ce is fou n d in per son s with au tism bu t
it's sh ows u p differ en tl y in differ en t per son s
N ot h i n g, I w an t t o com p l et e t h e
p i ct u r e as i t i s.
Regar din g h is th ou gh ts on society- It's a
sim pl e r epl y,based on h is h appy l ife exper ien ces! , n ot
W h at do you en joy oth er th an
based on h u ge r efl ection s! It com es fr om a
dr awin g?
com bin ation of con ten tm en t with h is sim pl e
I l ov e t o w at ch son gs an d ser i al s i n str u ctu r ed secu r e l ife an d detach m en t th at is a par t of
TV. . I n t h e ev en i n gs, I w al k f or an th e con dition th at al l ows a l ive an d l et l ive in h is case,
h ou r .I l i k e t o go on t ou r s t o t em p l es I gu ess!!
an d h i l l st at i on s
W h at ch an ges do you wan t in th e H e is su ch won der fu l h u m an bein g!!
com m u n ity?
N ot h i n g

M r s .Ush a
Ram ak r ish n an ,is
Ex-Ch air per son Vidya
Sagar an d accl aim ed
gu r u of au tism wh o l ook s
at au tism th r ou gh th e
l en s of m u l tipl e
in tel l igen ce
pr ess t o w at ch sw am y dr aw
you t u be lin k -
h t t ps:/ / you t u .be/ b0HFWE_B5LA
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 Issu e 11

N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017
I BEL I EVE Em path y,l ove, for given ess, n o gr u dges ar e
-A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER W ITH depicted beau tifu l l y. Repetition with r espect to th eir
AUTISM in ter ests an d dem an d, sen sor y defen siven ess is
por tr ayed wel l . In cl u sion at wor k pl ace an d in society is
Ler oy Li m 's fi lm "I Beli eve" so im por tan t, it says al l ."
na r r a t es a per sona l encount er
bet ween a per son wi t h a ut i sm a nd a
yout h lea der .
Does i t lea d t o fr i endshi p a nd i nclusi on
i n t he gr oup?
Th e fil m "I Bel ieve" was par t of
th e Tem asek Sh or t Fil m Pr oject 20/ 20 in
Sin gapor e. It is an accu r ate por tr ayal of
per son s with au tism an d th eir
in ter action s with peopl e th ey m eet.
It is based on a per son al
en cou n ter th e stu den t fr om Lasal l e,
Sin gapor e h ad with an au tistic teen ager.
As Ler oy Lim m u sed in an Pic cr edit: 20 / 20 - The Tem asek Shor t Film Pr oject
in ter view "..we h ope th e fil m 's m essage -
to u n der stan d an d accept peopl e wh o ar e
differ en t fr om u s - wil l get acr oss to You tu be l in k
an yon e wh o watch es it".
h ttps:/ / www.you tu be.com / watch ?v=EE4e26I0c4w
Read th e fu l l ar ticl e h er e
h ttp:/ / www.todayon l in e.com /
en ter tain m en t/ m ovies/ fil m - Th is ar ticl e was or igin al l y featu r ed on ou r par tn er
stu den ts-sh or t-fil m -be-pr odu ced- Patien tsEn gage site:
fu l l -l en gth -featu r e-m m 2-en ter tain m en t
Kavita Shar m a of Pr ayasLabs
h ttp:/ / www.patien tsen gage.com /
and a m other of a son with autism says:
"It is th e m ost appr opr iate r epr esen tation per son al -voices/ i-bel ieve-per son al -en cou n ter -au tism
of Au tism . I cou l d see m y son th er e.

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 Issu e 11

N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017
AN ACCESSI BL E BEACH FEST
th at ar e accessibl e
for th eir n eeds, an d
To r aise awar en ess abou t th e cr itical h ow poor qu al ity
issu e of accessibil ity in In dia, a fir st in for m ation can l ead
of-its-k in d, com pl etel y accessibl e 10 day to ser iou s tr avel
beach exper ien ce h as been pl an n ed to give disaster s. Far too
100 wh eel ch air u ser s an d th eir l oved on es a often PW Ds r eceive
ch an ce to en joy th e su n , su r f, an d san d in accu r ate or in com pl ete in for m ation abou t
togeth er. h ow wide a bath r oom door is, if th er e is r am p
M eet Yeshwa nt H olka r , CEO an d access at th e en tr an ce, if th er e ar e r estau r an t
co-fou n der of Um oja ,In dia?s fir st an d l ar gest m en u s avail abl e in br ail l e, etc. Th is can cr eate
tr avel pl atfor m for per son s with disabil ities . in con ven ien t, expen sive, h u m il iatin g, an d even
dan ger ou s cir cu m stan ces for PW Ds an d th eir
Um oja , w h at d oes t h e n am e m ean ? fam il ies.
UM OJA is th e Swah il i wor ds for in cl u sion , W h at ar e t h e ch al l en ges, h ow y ou ov er com e
an d th at?s wh at UM OJA is al l abou t: M ak in g On e of th e biggest r eal ization s for u s is th at
tr avel m or e in cl u sive of peopl e with m an y peopl e don ?t bel ieve th at accessibl e tr avel
disabil ities an d th eir fam il ies. is at al l possibl e in In dia, an d th is is som eth in g
W h y y ou h av e st ar t ed t h i s ? we h ave to ch an ge.
Ou r m ission is to u n l ock th e wor l d of tr avel To get peopl e to exper ien ce accessibl e tr avel , we
for over 1.1 bil l ion per son s with disabil ities by l au n ch ed UM OJA?s # W h eel ch air W an der l u st
pr ovidin g detail ed an d depen dabl e com petition , wh er e a wh eel ch air won a
in for m ation abou t exactl y h ow h otel s ar e or com pl etel y accessibl e h ol iday for u p to fou r of
ar e n ot accessibl e. th eir fr ien ds or fam il y at on e of 15 am azin g
destin ation s acr oss In dia.
W e ar e In dia?s fir st on l in e tr avel pl atfor m
wh ich m ak es fin din g accessibl e h otel s easy W e sh ar ed th e stor y of ou r win n er ?s tr ip with
an d fu n for tr avel er s with disabil ities. By over 5 l ak h peopl e on social m edia to r aise
gettin g PW Ds ou t of th eir h om es an d stayin g awar en ess abou t th e possibil ity of accessibl e
in h otel s, we al so aim to k ick star t a positive tr avel in In dia.
cycl e of in cen tivizin g h otel s to in vest in Th is fest is in col l abor ation with ADAPT (setu p
u pgr adin g th eir accessibil ity featu r es to in 1972 by a par en t, Padm ash r ee M ith u Al u r ,
attr act m or e bu sin ess. Ph d,an or gan ization to pr ovide th e edu cation
W e fou n ded UM OJA in Novem ber of 2014 an d tr eatm en t for ch il dr en with Cer ebr al Pal sy
after a con ver sation with a dear fam il y fr ien d com bin ed with car e an d advice for par en ts, an d
wh o is a wh eel ch air u ser. Th is con ver sation m oved fr om special edu cation towar ds
open ed m y eyes to h ow difficu l t it is for in cl u sion ).
per son s with disabil ities to fin d h otel s .
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 Issu e 11

N ewsletter
M ARCH
Th is h igh -visibil ity + h igh -positivity even t
2017
accom m odation , so th at an y wh eel ch air u ser
wil l n ot on l y dem on str ate wh at is possibl e an d th eir fam il y can en joy al l th at Goa h as to
wh en ven u es ar e accessibl e, it wil l br eak offer. Th is gu ide is UM OJA?s fir st step in
down bar r ier s an d sh owcase wh at PW Ds ar e cr eatin g accessibil ity gu ides, an d we pl an to
capabl e of wh en given a ch an ce. l au n ch a sim il ar gu ide for per son s with visu al
In th is spir it, th e h igh l igh t of th e 10 as wel l as au ditor y im pair m en ts in th e n ear
day even t wil l be an attem pt by In dian fu tu r e.
pr ofession al par a-swim m er to set a Lim ca You r p l an s, con t act p er son et c
Recor d for th e l on gest open water distan ce W h il e we ar e cu r r en tl y focu sin g on
swim of 8k m ! pr om otin g accessibl e tr avel to Goa, we al so
W h at i s t h e r esp on se? can h el p peopl e ar r an ge tr ips to over 11
W e?ve al r eady r eceived a destin ation s in In dia, in cl u din g popu l ar spots
tr em en dou s r espon se to th ese in itiatives, su ch as Agr a, Rajash tan , an d Ker al a. W e wil l
with over 3500 en tr an ts to th e soon be offer in g tr ips to h il l station s for th e
W h eel ch air W an der l u st com petition , an d su m m er m on th s, W e h ave star ted wor k in g
h u n dr eds of wh eel ch air u ser s gettin g in on wh eel ch air accessibil ity,bu t by n o m ean s
tou ch abou t com in g to Goa! wil l we stop th er e. Cr eatin g in cl u sive tr avel
pr odu cts for peopl e with visu al , au ditor y,or
Tel l u s abou t UM OJA?s com p r eh en si v e speech im pair m en ts is al so a goal for UM OJA.
gu i d e t o Goa f or w h eel ch ai r u si n g Look in g for war d to an excitin g beach fest
t r av el er s. ?M ARCH 31ST TO APRI L 9TH ,2017
In th is on l in e gu ide, avail abl e on
www.UM OJA.in , wh eel ch air u ser s an d th eir
fam il ies can fin d fan tastic h otel s, r estau r an ts,
bar s, an d tou r ist attr action s al l ar ou n d Goa
th at ar e wh eel ch air accessibl e. Ever y pl ace
in ou r gu ide h as been per son al l y vetted by an
UM OJA team m em ber to be at a m in im u m
step-fr ee, an d som e pl aces even h ave
accessibl e toil ets as wel l .
W e al so bel ieve th at seein g is
bel ievin g, so al l th e pl aces featu r ed in th e
gu ide com e with video wal k th r ou gh s of wh at
is an d wh at isn ?t accessibl e. Th e gu ide wil l be
pu bl ish ed on ou r website an d social m edia
ch an n el s in ear l y October ,r igh t in tim e for
th e tr avel season in Goa! W e h ave pu l l ed
togeth er ever yth in g fr om accessibl e
tr an spor t, to en ter tain m en t, to
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N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017
Bon d i n g Ri gh t s w i t h Op p u r t u n i t i es
H ow t o m ak e a job f ai r accessi bl e
A Car eer Fair excl u sivel y for th e
per son with disabil ities was h el d on 26th -Bh av n a, Ed i t or ,Con n ect Sp eci al
Febr u ar y,at Loyol a Col l ege, Ch en n ai by Th e A sen sitive cor por ate sector wor k in g
H eadway Fou n dation . Th e u n iqu en ess of th is towar ds equ al oppor tu n ities for al l ,sh ou l d
even t is a con fer en ce on disabil ity r igh ts was fol l ow th ese best pr actices for con du ctin g a
al so h el d to sen sitize em pl oyer s. job fair.In fact th ese steps r efl ect th e
Th e m ain speak ervs Gn an a gen u in e in ter est an d bel ief in an in cl u sive
Bh ar ath i, Co-fou n der of Spin al In ju r ed Per son wor k for ce.
Association spok e on Gover n m en t an d pr ivate - Al l in for m ation r egar din g th e job fair
sector pr ovidin g em pl oym en t for per son with in accessibl e for m ats
disabil ities. A P M r Var adak u tti,State Pr esiden t - .An al ter n ative for m at appl ication
Tam il Nadu Udavik k ar am , r eiter ated in h is for m (l ar ge pr in t, Br ail l e or el ectr on ic)
speech im por tan ce of In cl u sivity. - For on th e spot r egistr ation s al on g
Dr. Deepam al a K H ead with accessibl e for m ats en su r e
Devel opm en t in itiatives CII expr essed th e n eed vol u n teer s for fil l in g for m s
to get th e r igh t can didate for th e r igh t job an d - Com m u n ication su ppor t at in ter views
pr ovidin g th e r igh t sk il l set to th e in dividu al s - Special aids an d equ ipm en ts sh ou l d be
in stead of ju st ch u r n in g ou t r epor ts. M r. K m ade avail abl e
Ragh u r am an sh ar ed th e effor ts th at Kar n a - W h eel ch air accessibl e tr an spor tation
Vidya Fou n dation is tak in g to em power th e Reser ved par k in g Bar r ier -fr ee m eetin g
visu al l y by devel opin g a softwar es. M adh vil ata r oom s / podiu m / speak er 's pl atfor m
an em pl oyee of Stan dar d Ch ar ter ed Ban k is - Accessibl e l odgin g, r est r oom s
wh eel ch air bou n d, str essed th at Righ t Pol icies - An assistive l isten in g system
an d Laws n eed to be th er e an d fam il ies n eed to - Sign l an gu age in ter pr eter s
be m ade awar e of th em . - Vol u n teer s to gu ide an d descr ibe an d
l ead to differ en t cou n ter s, etc.
- A tech to h el p with assistive devices
an d scr een r eader s (e.g., JAW S)
Um m u l ,a l awyer by - Refer r al in for m ation for per son al car e
pr ofession an d is an atten dan ts
activist .Sh e h as
r eceived m an y
awar ds for h er
cou r ageou s an d
adven tu r ou s
n atu r e-sh e is k n own
for a wh eel ch air
r appl in g!!
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 Issu e 11

Sn i p p et s
N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017

A Special Ph on e" is a dial in g system cr eated specifical l y for peopl e

with special dial in g n eeds. Th is appl ication h el ps peopl e with
visu al disabil ities an d ph ysical h an dicaps. It cr eates a sim pl e
sol u tion to dial in g on a tou ch scr een th at wil l n ot on l y be of gr eat
u se to th e bl in d, bu t al so to th e el der l y,ch il dr en , an d th ose th at
h ave pr obl em s u sin g th e fl at tou ch su r face to dial .
h ttp:/ / www.aspecial ph on e.com /

Pr ol oqu o2Go is an au gm en tative an d al ter n ative

com m u n ication (AAC) app th at teach es ch il dr en h ow to
con str u ct sen ten ces u sin g sym bol s an d pictu r es. It al so h as
text-to-speech (in Am er ican an d Br itish ch il dr en 's voices),
wor d pr ediction , an d a cu stom izabl e vocabu l ar y an d
in ter face

L et t er s t o t h e ed i t or fr om th is on l in e l ibr ar y can be r ead on

com pu ter s, m obil e ph on es, tabl ets an d
Dear Editior , dedicated eBook r eader s. Th e ben efits-
pl ease give m e m or e in for m ation on on l in e Per son s with pr in t disabil ities: get access to
l ibr ar ies th is l ibr ar y th r ou gh an y of th e DAISY For u m
Devi of In dia m em ber or gan ization .
Or gan ization s pr odu cin g accessibl e con ten t
Editor -Th an k you for wr itin g to u s ,pl ease can u pl oad th eir book s col l ection to th e
see bel ow th e in for m ation Su gam ya Pu stak al aya an d th er eby r each
Su gam y a Pu st ak al ay a: Th e on l i n e l i br ar y ou t to pr in t disabl ed acr oss th e country.
of accessi bl e book s i n I n d i a Or igin al Organizations serving the print impaired,
Au th or (s): Pr ash an t Ran jan Ver m a Th e Universities, schools and libraries can take up
Su gam ya Pu stak al aya is th e aggr egator of DAISY Forum of India membership to be able
accessibl e ver sion s of book s avail abl e in
to download books f Mainstream publishers
In dia. Th is l ibr ar y h as been cr eated by
DAISY For u m of In dia to pr ovide access to can take up membership of DAISY Forum of
book s to per son s with pr in t India and can directly contribute accessible
disabil ities.Book sh ar e, th e l ar gest versions of their publications.
In ter n ation al on l in e l ibr ar y for per son s website,www.sugamyapustakalaya.in.
with pr in t disabil ities is al so in tegr ated in to
Su gam ya Pu stak al aya. Th e fil es down l oaded
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N ewsletter
M ARCH 2017

Ad v i ce f r om Ex p er t s f ood al l t h e t i m e.I r ead t h at ch i l d r en w i t h

au t i sm h av e h i gh su gar l ev el s.i s t h at t r u e?
Hi
Ram
I h av e a son w i t h au t i sm (8 y ear s ol d ),i h av e
been ad v i sed abou t d i et r est r i ct i on s ,cou l d In som e cases, ch il dr en with au tism can be
y ou p l ease ex p l ai n seen to h ave l ow bl ood su gar l evel s. It's ideal to
get bl ood su gar l evel s to ch eck ed in a good
k av i t h a l abor ator y. El evated bl ood su gar l evel s is n ot
v
Fol l owin g a GfCf (Gl u ten fr ee Cassein ver y com m on in isol ation ,( in you n ger
fr ee)diet,is often seen ben eficial to peopl e with ch il dr en with au tism )u n l ess oth er wise th er e is
au tism .Basical l y ,th e diet r estr icts th e in tak e of som e oth er associated biol ogical issu e.
wh eat an d wh eat pr odu cts( gl u ten ) an d m il k If it's an ol der per son with au tism , th er e ar e
an d m il k pr odu cts (cassein ). ch an ces of h igh bl ood su gar ,if th er e is a fam il y
Both th ese ar e n ot easil y digested an d h istor y or th er e is som e oth er biol ogical issu e.
absor bed,so it affects th e gu t of ch il dr en with It wou l d be advisabl e for th e per son with
au tism . As an after effect of th is, au tism , th at you h ave m en tion ed, to get a
sl eep,adequ ate sen sor y in tegr ation gets pr oper assessm en t to fin d ou t th e r eason s
affected an d th e ch il d often seem to pr esen t beh in d th ose beh aviou r s.
beh aviou r s l ik e,h ittin g h is own h ead,cr yin g or
an xiety,beh aviou r s sh owin g h yper sen sitivities.
M r s.Sh ir in
Al on g with th is avoid foods con tain in g
M am m en ,special
ar tificial col ou r in g,pr eser vatives an d an y
edu cator ,tr ain er
pr ocessed or pack aged food is al so to be
wor k in g with peopl e
avoided. Su gar is to be avoided total l y an d to be
with au tism for th e l ast
r epl aced by pal m jagger y. H owever ,Gh ee
with ou t pr eser vatives can be in cl u ded in th e 20 year s.
diet.
It wil l tak e abou t 8 m on th s,after th e diet is
fol l owed,for th e toxin s to be com pl etel y
el im in ated fr om th e body an d th e ben efits to For su bscr i p t i on ,f eed back ,l et t er s t o
sh ow. A sim pl e n u tr itiou s Sou th In dian diet is ed i t or -
wh at is con sider ed ideal for peopl e with bot t a.bh av n a@gm ai l .com
au tism .
For sh ar i n g an d r ead i n g on t h e go-
Hi
i n f o.con n ect sp eci al .com
I h av e a n ei gh bou r w h ose son h as au t i sm ,h e
scr eam s ,h i t s h i m sel f som et i m es an d gr abs
8