Institutions

National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities

The National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will soon introduce long–term courses in special education.

Director of the institute Neeradha Chandramohan informs that the institute is now offering diploma courses in special education. This apart, the institute is also training persons with multiple disability to carry out their routine works without depending on others. Soon, an employment cell would be established to provide employment for persons with multiple disability. As of now, more than 190 persons are getting trained in the institute.

At NIEPMD, special educators assess a candidate's capacity and design a programme to hone his or her skills. The service is free. Deserving candidates would be given necessary aids and appliances free of cost.

The institute is also involved in conducting awareness campaigns for parents and training programmes for special educators. It is located at East Coast Road, Muthukadu, Kovalam Post. For further details, call: 27472389.

Status Note on National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities

In order to reach the group of persons with multiple disabilities the Cabinet has approved the proposal for setting up of The National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) at Chennai held on 29.3.2005. 

The Objective of the institute are

(a) to undertake development of human resources for management, training, rehabilitation, education, employment and social development with multiple disabilities
(b) to promote and conduct research and areas relating to multiple disabilities and to development transdisciplinary model and strategies  for social rehabilitation to meet the needs of diverse  groups of people with multiple disabilities.

Activities/Courses

Both long term and short term courses in the field of multiple disabilities will be undertaken in the institute i.e. Graduate and post Graduate courses in development therapies, Master in rehabilitation psychology, Development in Special Education (multiple disability) etc.

Financial implication

Estimated cost for NIEPMD is Rs. 61.90 crores including land cost. 71 posts for institute have been sanctioned.

Organizational status

  1. General body
  2. Executive body
  3. Director
  4. Head of department

Release of funds

The setting up of NIEPMD is looked after by Director NIMH Secunderabad and in the year 2004-05 an amount of Rs. 1.00 crores was released.

Director NIMH Secunderabad is negotiating with CPWD authorities for finalization of drawing for the building of the institute and other related issues.  The matter regarding registration of the institute under Societies Act, 1860 and creation of 71 posts is under progress.  For the current financial year the budgetary allocation  is Rs. 6.50 crores.

Source: Long–term courses for special educators, The Hindu, 31 May 2007.

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District Physically Handicapped Association

About 12 years ago, a childless couple of Goroimari village near here had brought a two-year-old orphan boy - Amzad Ali - from an Army camp at Kokrajhar. Amzad Ali was brought up by the Army after his parents were gunned down by rebels at Kokrajhar. The couple - Md Arfan Ali (46) and Piara Khanom (40) in the course of the year brought three more orphan boys and girls to their home as they did not have their own children. By the year 2001, the couple had adopted twelve orphans, including a few physically handicapped children.
As the number of the disadvantaged children increased, Arfan, a primary school teacher constituted an NGO - District Physically Handicapped Association (DPHA) - which was registered in 2000-2001.

The NGO is now bringing up over 25 orphans and physically-challenged children. Help came from many people, including local MP Kirip Chaliha and former MLA of Chhaygaon Rana Goswami, who extended a helping hand for the construction of two hostels for the physically and mentally challenged children.

Md Ashrof Ali, a 10-year-old boy, does not remember his parents who had died several years back, and the DPHA has been everything to him. The entire Goroimari area is a flood affected area with 90 per cent people living below the poverty line. In this connection, the benevolent work done by Arfan Ali is highly commendable.

“I am trying to make the handicapped and orphaned children enjoy the bliss of childhood. The employment avenues to the provide self-employment avenues to the inmates. Till date, many vocational training programmes, including a 25-day-long training programme on dyeing funded by the Handloom Weavers’ Service Centre, Government of Asom, three 25-day training sessions on cane and bamboo, screen printing and domestic appliances funded by Lions Club, Guwahati, have been conducted for the inmates.

Late in May 2007, Kamrup Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Kumar Jain visited DPHA and inaugurated a five-day-long training camp on weaving for the physically-challenged inmates, mainly women. The programme was funded the small Scale Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

Monica Deka, a polio-afflicted girl from Goreswar joined the DPHA after she passed her HSLC exminations since she was neglected by her parents. She is now the president of the SHG wing of the DPHA which has been formed out of the senior inmates of the orphanage. Mamoni Das, a victim of polio, Anima Khatun and Mallika Khatun have all been brought up at the DPHA.

The NGO has also been running an LP school for the physically handicapped students at its main office,.

Source: DPHA: A heaven for orphans, disabled, The Sentinel, Guwahati, 26 May 2007.

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Five – Center for Child Development

Five, a development therapy center in Chennai for children with Down’s Syndrome, autism, Asperger’s Synrome, delayed development and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), is managed by founders Mathew M. Easow and S. Sowmya. According to them it is the first inter-disciplinary centre that offers the various therapies the children need under one roof and deploys a case manager for each child. Mathew, who worked in finance earlier, quit the corporate world because he had always wanted to do something for society. Sowmya is a speech and language pathologist with six years’ experience in India and the UK.

Sowmya says that in the 18 months - Five (so named because it aims to integrate the five senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and hearing) has been around, she has seen cases where her patients turned out to need one therapy rather than another.

The centre believes in involving parents, child, doctor and therapists, so that everyone is aware of the situation and the child gets the best out of it all. At Five, parents have to be involved and accompany the child.

Schools Should Be Involved Too

Five wants schools to be involved too. The case manager in charge of the child will even go the extra distance and scrutinize the child’s environment for factor that can disturb him/her-the position of the child’s seat in the class, the amount of sound and light it receives, whether that’s a cause for overstimulation, how other children interact with this child and how they can help put him/her at ease.

Sowmya stresses the importance of supporting the schools these children attend. Five is in favour of inclusive education, but she says that children with severe problems or those that were diagnosed late may not be able to fit into a regular school. “It wouldn’t be fair on the children,” she says.

Sometimes, the staff of the school, who have no experience with such children tend to write them off. However, sessions with the child, teacher and counsellor help the teacher identify the improvement that really counts- for instance, a child who is unable to write the alphabet may begin forming letters, which is a big leap, explains Sowmya. “Progress could be small, but it need to be continuous,” she adds.

Dealing with Problems Early

The centre also addresses behavioural problems in children - ill-tempered behaviour, fidgetiness, bad handwriting, learning trouble. Such troubles often stem from factors such as the parents’ relationship and home environment and parents do end up getting counselled as well. Mathew is working on a  programme involving school for early intervention to deal with these problems.

EduQ, the parent company of Five, also plans to source toys and other objects that can act as learning aids and sell them to organisation that work with children, therapy centres or otherwise. It has also started a Web site called www.childsupport.in. In March, Five opened one more center in the city, and two more are on the anvil.

Source: Sensory aid, Hindu Business Line, Daily New Delhi.

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