Seminar On “Disability Management”
People with disabilities can work even in the IT sector, S. Ramakrishnan, president of the Amar Seva Sangam, Thenkasi, said here recently.Inaugurating a seminar on “disability management” organised by the Youth Wing for Disability Services at the GRD College of Science, he said the progress of an individual with disability depends on the opportunities he or she is given.The Amar Seva Sangam was taking care of more than 150 children with cerebral palsy and mental disability in the rural health centres. It also ran a physiotherapy centre, which offered help to people with physical disabilities. The vocational training centre taught note-book making, book-binding, handicraft to children with disabilities. Last year, the Sangam also started a rehabilitation centre for patients with spinal cord injuries.
Through the special study centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University on its campus, the Sangam offered an opportunity for both people with disabilities and people without disabilities to pursue courses such as BCA and MCA.A capacity building programme for SHG members too had been started recently with an aim of creating awareness among the public on issues concerning disability. S.S. Siva, Vice-President of UDIS Forum, a network that facilitates people with disabilities in finding employment, said the idea behind a Youth Wing for Disability Services was to mould the youth to work for the welfare of people with disabilities.
A. Ponnusamy, principal of GRD College of Science, said there was a need to create awareness among the public, especially parents with children with disabilities, on the need to understand disability and manage it. The seminar included intensive training modules on visual impairment and hearing impairment. The interactive session also included demonstrative classes on sign language and dealing with people with visual impairment. Social work students from in and around Coimbatore participated.
