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 Who
are the intellectually challenged? The term refers to those having
intellectual disability. How does this occur? There could be several
possibilities. However, the most common is: While the baby is inside
the mother's womb, a tiny deletion occurs on one of the fifteenth
pair of chromosomes. This tiny deletion has a lasting impact on the
child's development. In some cases it renders them speechless. Some
children are able to develop just a few words through-out their
lifetime. This is a serious impediment because speech is our way of
communicating with the world. It is difficult for them to grasp any
other form of communication. Some other common symptoms are: sleep
disorders, fascination for water, squinting of eyes and the most
common is: constant smiling or laughing.
A symposium on Empowering the Intellectually
Challenged was held at the Dr MGR Janaki College of Arts and Science
for Women. It was jointly organised by the Centre for Social
Initiative and Management (CSIM), Sri Arunodayam and the Department
of Psychology of the College.
Dr. Richard Bruggerman, Professor, Department of
Disability Studies, Flinders University, South Australia said that
one can learn about the capacity of people with intellectual
disability from India. These people who work in factories are very
intelligent and punctual”.
In South Australia, people with intellectual
disability are not allowed to take any kind of risk. The country
also focuses on protecting the intellectually challenged people from
harming themselves in any kind of activity and providing them
independence and choice.
He also mentioned that life of the intellectually
disabled is presently very narrow and it needs to be enriched. The
family of the disabled plays a vital role in developing their child
in various activities including sports, he added. Emphasising the
need for skill training to enhance the living standard of the
disabled., he said that fulfilling their needs and destinations are
very important for both India and Australia.
 Poonam
Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust New Delhi and Founder
Director, Vidya Sagar said that parents of the disabled person are
naturally worried about their ward’s future especially after their
(parents') death. “Unfortunately in India, unlike abroad, there are
no support systems”, she added. At the present moment, there is no
medical cure for disability. The disabled persons themselves say
that they do not want to be cured, but want to be a part of society,
she said.
Poonam stated that environmental change and
vocational training are a huge redemption. Capacity building also
plays an important role in empowering the disabled, where one has to
look at the strengths of the disabled and not at his or her
weaknesses.
She said that the National Trust conducts job
fairs and shelter workshops for the disabled persons and also help
them through marketing federation to market the products of the
disabled, so as to enhance their capacity to earn money.
According to her, NGOs play a major, significant
role in the upliftment of the disabled persons in the society.
Latha Rajendran, Secretary, Dr MGR Janaki College
of Arts and Science for Women was also present at the symposium.
U. Bakialakshmi
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