Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

Project to detect physical disabilities launched

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI, JUNE 5 . A pilot project for early detection of physical disabilities in children has been launched in Manikandam block.

The project will be implemented through "Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services for Persons with Disabilities" (CRISP), a quasi-government organisation, formed to promote the cause of the disabled. The Collector will head the CRISP as ex-officio president. It will include representatives of experts and resource persons in the field of disability cure and care in both government and private sectors.

The CRISP will seek to identify children with disability symptoms, carry out clinical confirmation and provide treatment and rehabilitation. Village health nurses and community nutrition workers (VHNs and CNWs) would be in involved in the identification of symptoms. The project will be extended to other blocks, based on its success in Manikandam.

Inaugurating the identification campaign here today, P. Gnanadurai Michael, Advisor, CRISP, said the project would help to bring out accurate data on the number of children afflicted with physical disabilities. The type of treatment required would be assessed at the end of the month-long survey.

Speaking on the occasion, Prabhakar Immanuel, Director, Holy Cross Service Society, said early detection and treatment of disability would help children lead a normal life, and instil confidence in them.

The District Disabled Rehabilitation Officer, A. Joseph Xavier, said 25 VHNs and CNWs of the Manikandam block underwent an intensive training on early detection of disabilities under the auspices of the CRISP. They would visit different villages and meet each member of a family. Each of these workers would cover 600 families spread over 55 villages.

The project would focus on identifying early symptoms of visual impairment, low vision, speech and hearing impairment, mental illness and retardation, cerebral palsy, orthopaedic and multiple disabilities. Tools to determine the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) levels of people were provided to the trainees by the CRISP to spot any of these disabilities in the persons interviewed.

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