Design invention to meet needs of Teen with Cerebral Palsy at Nike to help many

Design changes by Nike to make persons with Cerebral Palsy wear their shoes independently on request of Mr. Matthew is just another example how companies can use universal design to meet the needs of people. So this request from a user helps Nike do some invention & bring in a shoe they call the Flyese that is designed especially for people who have trouble with their hands and the company is bringing it to market in the Fall. Surely, it will many people & not just those with Disabilities of upper limbs!

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Teen With Cerebral Palsy Asked Nike For A Pair Of Sneakers And Got An Amazing Response

Teenager Matthew Walzer has Cerebral Palsy, and just like any of us, he wanted the freedom to take care of himself. He decided to send a letter to Nike asking them for help. Because of his condition, he has trouble with shoelaces. In his letter, Matt explained that he is soon going to college and wants a shoe he can put on himself. He also quoted an early mantra of Nike’s, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

What the company did in response? Simply wonderful! Not only did they do something amazing for Matthew, they took it a step further and now have a shoe they call the Flyese that is designed especially for people who have trouble with their hands and the company is bringing it to market in the Fall. It’s awesome how this young boy’s request sparked off an invention that’s sure to help many people!

Source: Reshareworthy.com 

Special Educator must in all Schools affiliated to CBSE

CBSE makes special educators must in all schools
Abhishek Choudhari | Jul 8, 2015, 03.28 AM IST

Nagpur: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has now made it mandatory for all affiliated schools to appoint a special educator so that children with learning disabilities could be assimilated with other students. Apart from the central board's philosophy of "inclusive practices" in schools, this directive has also been necessitated due to strict guidelines of the Right to Education Act (RTE).

DTS Rao, board's joint secretary, wrote in the letter to schools containing above directions, "Board will appreciate cooperation of the schools in implementation of the above."

Laying down broad guidelines, CBSE said a special educator was specifically required in schools to work with children and young adults who required additional support in order to complete their learning successfully. Rao wrote, "Special educators (SE) will focus on children with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities such as autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and specific learning disabilities as they are emotionally vulnerable and have behavioral difficulties". The scope of work has been widened for SEs as CBSE says they could also work with "gifted and talented children".

But finding qualified SEs is a big challenge for schools. Annapoorni Shastri, senior principal of Bhavan's BP Vidya Mandir (Shrikrishna Nagar), said, "In Nagpur it is difficult to get SEs with proper qualifications. Part of the problem is that in teacher training colleges, special education course is focused on kids with hearing and speaking disability rather than autism etc."

Schools where such children are enrolled said teaching approach has to be tailor-made. Shastri said, "For an autistic child there has to be one-on-one teaching and they cannot be burdened with all subjects at once, hence the open schooling system is for them. For others, CBSE does offer choices of subjects like music, e-typing etc which are relatively easy to handle."

Apart from subject choices, the other aspect that makes inclusive education possible is the students' support system on campus. Sumathi Venugopalan, principal of Centre Point School (Wardhaman Nagar), said, "Every student moves up from our pre-primary section school, Mothers Pet, so they all are anyway close to each other. It is only at a later age that learning disabilities become apparent and we all adapt accordingly. We have a 'buddy system' in which a student volunteers to help another and builds a great ecosystem. Some of our students have cerebral palsy and autism but they are doing well with help of SEs, counselors and their classmates."

Not every school has students with special needs, something that maybe incidental or deliberate. With CBSE making it mandatory for every school to have a SE, one might expect to more such admissions taking place.

Special children, no special educators?

PROBLEMS FACED BY SCHOOLS WHEN HIRING

* Finding qualified special educators in Nagpur is a challenge

* Schools say 'teacher colleges' focus only on teaching physically challenged kids

* Theory and practical skills required for kids with learning disabilities are lacking in teachers

* Considering that children with special needs form a very small percentage of total strength, dedicating enough manpower is financially tough

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Pre School/ nursery play school

* Std X passed and certificate program in early childhood and special education.

* Std XII passed and diploma program in early childhood special Education DECSE-MR DECSE-VI.

* Std XII passed and diploma in teaching children (Deaf and hard of Hearing)

* Std X passed and diploma certificate care giving program.

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by Rehabilitation Council of India.

Elementary (primary and upper primary)

* Std XII passed and two year DEd Special education in any of the category of disability

* Std XII passed and one year diploma in special education (DSE) in any of the category disability

* Diploma in community based rehabilitation (DCRB) with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs.

* Post graduate diploma in community based rehabilitation with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs.

* Diploma in Multi rehabilitation worker with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Junior diploma in teaching the deaf

* Primary level teacher teaching course in visual impairment

* Diploma in vocational rehabilitation mental retardation (DVR-MR)/ diploma in vocational training and employment mental retardation (DVTE-MR) with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Diploma in hearing language and speech with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Std XII passed with RCI recognized qualification for minimum one year duration and six months with special needs.

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by RCI

Secondary and senior Secondary 

* Graduate with B.Ed. (special education).

* BEd general with one year diploma in special education

* BEd general with two-year diploma in special education

* BEd general with post graduate professional diploma in special education

* BEd special education and post graduate professional certificate in special education

* PG diploma in special education (mental retardation)

* PG diploma in special education (multiple disabilities: physical and neurological)

* PG diploma in special education (locornotor impairment and cerebral palsy)

* Secondary level teacher training course in visual impairment

* Senior diploma in teaching the deaf

* BA/BEd in visual impairment

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by RCI

Source: Times of India 

Scheme of Railway Photo Identity Card for online concessional ticket booking for Persons with Disabilities

Dear friends,

As you all are aware, the Indian Railways is implementing  a scheme of Photo Identity Cards to persons with disabilities to enable them to avail concessions in train tickets in a hassle-free manner. Earlier it was being tested as a pilot project only in Northern Region, however, now the Railways has decided to replicate it throughout nation.

Here is the notification by Indian Railways : Concession based ticketing for PH based on Photo I-Card

The photo I-card can be used to book concessional tickets through both ticket counters as well as through the Internet. The card with a unique ID number will have to be carried during journey and produced for onboard verification.

Till now, a person with disabilities used to fill the concession form and produce all relevant documents at the ticket reservation counter to avail the concession in train tickets and there were several complaints from stakeholders who were demanding a hassle-free system.

In the new system, persons with disabilities will have to approach the nearest Divisional Railway Manager office along with all the relevant documents in original claiming concession and passport size photograph for issuing photo identity card. The persons with disabilities will also be required to provide a mobile number for communication while applying for the card, said a senior official.

After due verification by the concerned zonal railways, a photo identity card will be printed containing a unique ID. An automated SMS will be sent to the passenger on given mobile number to collect the card showing the original concession certificate.

After getting the card, the person is not required to fill any concessional form to avail the facility at the counter. Tickets can also be booked on the internet using the ID number printed on the card. The validity of the card will be for five years or the last date up to which concession certificate is valid.

For obtaining the Rail Identify Card for persons with disabilities for online reservation on IRCTC website, following documents are required to be submitted to the nearest DRM Office :-

(a) Written application requesting the ID card for online ticket booking through IRCTC  (Click here for a copy of the application )
(b) Copies of medical board certificate,
(c) Latest concession certificate,
(d) Mark list of Class 10 showing date of birth or other valid proof for date of birth
(e) Aadhar card or election ID for Proof of Address
(f) 3 Passport size photographs

Jharkhand CM unveils State's Disability Policy on 20 Mar 15

Dear Friends,

Jharkhand Chief minister Raghubar Das on 20 March 2015 (Friday) released the state's disability policy, underlining the need for collective efforts to facilitate barrier-free movement of people with disabilities and inclusive programmes to bring them into mainstream.

Mr. Das heading the BJP Govt in Jharkhand urged all government departments to be sensitive towards the problems of persons with disabilities and  to ensure proper execution of the policy to bring about tangible changes across the state.

"All old government buildings in the state, which currently do not have lifts, will soon be equipped with elevators to ensure barrier-free movement of people with disabilities," Das said while speaking at a daylong state-level workshop on disability at Sri Krishna Institute of Public Administration in Ranchi which was organised by Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development in association with NGOs Deepsikha, Chotanagpur Sanskritk Sangh and UNICEF.

The newly launched state disability policy accepts that at least 5 per cent of the state's population lived with some sort of disabilities - double the number (2.26 per cent) quoted in the recent census report of 2011.

Apart from barrier-free movement, the policy also stresses on inclusive programmes with regard to health, education, nutrition and employment, to ensure social rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

To access the copy of the Jharkhand State Policy for Persons with Disabilities- 2015 in Hindi Language click on the image below or the Text Heading below the image. 

झारखण्ड राज्य विकलांग जननीति हिंदी भाषा में प्रकाशित की गयी है/ इसे पढ़ने के लिए कृपया निम्न लिंक पर क्लिक करें!

  झारखण्ड राज्य विकलांग जन नीति 2015

Amendment in Leave Rules in consonance with mandate of Section 47 of Indian Disabilities Act 1995

Dear colleagues,

There is yet another welcoming news from the DoPT in favour of government employees who became disabled during service and had to take long leaves for medical reasons. Such leaves were often revoked or refused by the senior officers/ department Heads on whims and fancies sincere there was a complete silence in the rules on the impact of Section 47 of the PWD Act.

The DoPT has finally amended the Central Civil Services(Leave) Rules 1972 to remove this anomaly to bring its leave rules in consonance with requirements of Section 47 of The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

The Memorandum provides that  leave applied on medical certificate in connection with disability should not be refused or revoked without reference to a Medical Authority, whose advice shall be binding.  It also removes the ceiling on maximum permissible leave laid down in Rule 12  in such cases and thus any such leave debited for the period after a Government servant is declared incapacitated shall be remitted back into his/her leave account. The Memorandum allows even family members to make the leave application with medical certificates where employee is unable to submit due to disability.

Here is the OM reproduced for your ready reference:

No. 18017/1/2014-Estt(L)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Department of Personnel & Training

New Delhi, the 25th February, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Amendment to Central Civil Service (Leave) Rules, 1972 – Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995,)-regarding

The Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 were amended vide the Department of Personnel and Training Notification No. 13026/1/2002-Estt(L) dated the 15/16th  January, 2004 consequent to the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995) which came into force from 7th  February, 1996.

2. Section 47 of the PWD Act, 1995 provides that services of no employee can be terminated nor can he be reduced in rank in case the employee has acquired a disability during his service. The first proviso to the Section 47 lays down that if such an employee is not suitable for the post he was holding, he could be shifted to some other post. However, his pay and service benefits would be protected. The second proviso provides that if it is not possible to adjust such an employee against any post, he would be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier. Further, the Clause (2) of Section 47 provides that no promotion shall be denied to a person merely on ground of his disability. In Kunal Singh v. Union of India, [2003] 4 SCC 524, Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that the very frame and contents of Section 47 of the PWD Act, 1995 clearly indicate its mandatory nature.

3. The issues relating to leave or absence of Government servants who have acquired a disability while in service are required to be dealt with in the light of the provisions of the Section 47 of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. The case of a disabled government servant who is declared fit to resume duty but who may not able to perform the duties of the post he was holding earlier may be dealt with as per the first proviso to Section 47 of the PWD Act, 1995. The second proviso shall apply if it is not possible to adjust him against any existing post. In all such cases, the Government servant so adjusted shall be entitled to the pay scale and other service benefits attached to the post he was holding.

4. A disabled Government servant who is not fit to return to duty shall be adjusted as per second proviso to the Section 47 mentioned above, until he is declared fit to resume duty or attains the age of superannuation whichever is earlier, with the same pay scale and service benefits. On being declared fit for resuming duty, the Government servant who is not fit for the post he is holding, may be adjusted as per the first proviso to Section 47.

5. Leave applied on medical certificate in connection with disability should not be refused or revoked without reference to a Medical Authority, whose advice shall be binding. The ceiling on maximum permissible leave laid down in Rule 12 may not be applied to leave on medical certificate applied in connection with the disability. Any leave debited for the period after a Government servant is declared incapacitated shall be remitted back into his/her leave account.

6. For a government servant who is unable to submit an application or medical certificate on account of disability, an application/medical certificate submitted by a family member may be accepted. The provisions relating to examination of disabled Government servants and the Medical Authorities competent to issue such certificates are also being amended.

7. Necessary amendments to the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 are being notified separately.

Sd/-

(Mukesh Chaturvedi)

Director Tel: 23093176

To obtain a signed PDF copy of the above Memorandum Click here: 

Amendment to Leave Rules for Employees with disabilities : 26 Feb 2015  


Related Media Coverage:PTI

Don't deny leave to disabled employees: Government tells departments

Thursday, 26 February 2015 - 4:00pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

Any leave debited for the period after a government servant is declared incapacitated shall be remitted back into his or her leave account," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order.

Leave applied on medical certificate in connection with disability of a government employee should not be refused or revoked, the Centre has said.

For a government servant who is unable to submit an application or medical certificate on account of disability, a family member is allowed to inform the office or submit required documents on his behalf, it said.

The Centre is in the process of notifying new rules to ensure equitable working atmosphere for persons with disabilities in government departments.

"Leave applied on medical certificate in connection with disability should not be refused or revoked without reference to a medical authority, whose advice shall be binding...

"Any leave debited for the period after a government servant is declared incapacitated shall be remitted back into his or her leave account," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order.

As per rules, no employee can be terminated nor can he be reduced in rank in case the person has acquired a disability during his service. Even if such an employee is not suitable for the post he was holding, he could be shifted to some other post. However, his pay and service benefits would be protected, the rules said.

The rules also provides that if it is not possible to adjust such an employee against any post, he would be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.

Further, no promotion shall be denied to a person merely on ground of his disability.

"For a government servant who is unable to submit an application or medical certificate on account of disability, an application or medical certificate submitted by a family member may be accepted.

"The provisions relating to examination of disabled government servants and the medical authorities competent to issue such certificates are also being amended," the DoPT said.

Source: DNA India