Disability

What do you do if you have a child or a friend with special needs? Here are five questions answered through five experiences by people with disability, which give us an insight into what the term "inclusion" means to different people.

It’s been some time since we consciously sensitized ourselves by replacing the word ‘disability’ with ‘differently abled’ and ‘challenged’. Now, here we have someone who has dared to replace ‘mental disability’ with ‘employability’ – Madhumita Puri, Founder of Society for Child Development. It’s indeed an endeavour that has hearteningly pushed the boundaries of limitation to claim new territories.

A childish mistake, a "dare" at the age of 5, left him bereft of all his limbs. For 10 years after that, Raja was not allowed to step out of his house. Now, he not only goes to work everyday, but earns well, lives on his own and is completely self-reliant. Once a grateful recipient of a scholarship that helped him complete his studies in Finance and MBA, he is now a giver of scholarships and also participates in policy making. Can anything better illustrate the impact made by persons with disability if given half a chance in our society?

Many a times, the physically and intellectually challenged get some help and guidance when they are children, but once they reach a certain age and are asked to leave the schools, they find themselves on their own with no life skills and no direction. This is where DIYA comes in - to lend a helping hand to differently-abled adults and ensure that they live a life of dignity.

She had physical and mental sufferings of her own. But instead of grieving about them, she chose to draw lessons from these and reach out to others with a similar or worse plight. Preethi Srinivasan is a quadriplegic but that’s not what defines her. She chalks out and realizes plans to help other people with severe disabilities to stand on their own feet with dignity.

Delhi’s Navin Gulia hit headlines after his driving world record in 2004, but has since traveled to even more gratifying life motives, all from his wheelchair. Read about the remarkable man and his undying spirit that leads him to work towards the greater good, in spite of his disabilities.

Continuing our series on disability and the strides made in this field, we visit the office of one of India’s leading accessibility technology firms, and meet their visually impaired tester Priti Rohra, who decided to break away from the conventional jobs offered to persons with disability in India and try something new!

Being blind can be difficult for anyone to accept. In a country like India, it is sometimes all the more demanding due to societal attitudes and lack of access. Preeti Monga has been visually impaired since age six. Here she recounts, in her own words, the challenges she has had to face and the courage she found to not only overcome them, but also start an organization to help persons with disability. Truly, an inspiring woman.

Remember that greeting card which said ‘painted by a foot artist?’ Malay Desai from Trinayani meets Ramakrishnan, the most famous one of them all, and discover there is much more to their lives than that.

Dr Sam Taraporevala of Mumbai’s XRCVC, one of the country’s finest resource centres for the blind, tells us of his recent victories and his continuing battles for accessibility.