Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

`Take IT education to the disabled'

Staff Reporter

Instead of going in for rehabilitation, focus should be on early intervention

EMPOWERMENT: V.K.Jayakodi, State Commissioner for the Disabled, inaugurating the India Deaf Expo 2007 , organised by Deaf Leaders and Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, in Coimbatore on Friday. — Photo: K. Ananthan

COIMBATORE: The Government has sanctioned ten early intervention centres for the State for the hearing impaired, V.K.Jayakodi, State Commissioner for the Disabled, said here on Friday.

Instead of going in for rehabilitation, the focus should be on early intervention and treatment for deafness, he added.

New courses in B.Com and BCA would also be introduced in the next academic year for the hearing impaired, he said at the inauguration of India Deaf Expo 2007, an international conference on innovative technologies and education of the deaf and the hard of hearing.

Hearing impaired

He said that out of the 16.4 lakh disabled people in the State, around two lakh were hearing impaired. Also, 70 per cent of the nation's disabled population lived in rural areas.

According to the results of a survey that had been conducted, only nine per cent of the disabled population completed secondary education. The focus should be more on education and employment. The Government had also introduced computer-training programmes for the hearing impaired.

Mr. Jayakodi stressed the important role played by technology in assisting the disabled, "Information Technology should be taken to the disabled population so that they can participate in the decision making process," he said.

Potential

Information technology had immense potential to enhance their productivity and make their lives easier.

With the IT companies designing products with universal designs, even the need for assisted technology had become less, he pointed out.

The hearing impaired should be equipped with Information Communication Technology oriented education.

This was one of the ways to empower and mainstream them, he said.

Technology based cochlear implants were also possible now, he added.

Equipment

In the years to come, the cost of biomedical equipment might also come down so that access to the technology was made possible to more people.

However, the disabled should also make an effort to educate themselves and have self-confidence.

"They need more resources in order to have a standard of living equal to that of normal people," Mr. Jayakodi added.

Dr. V.Anand, Consultant ENT and head and neck surgeon, spoke on the need to create awareness among the population not to ignore deafness in children but seek early treatment for it.

Exhibition

Around 350 people from various parts of the country participated in the exhibition, which also had stalls put up by various organisations working for the welfare of the deaf community.

A few delegates from countries such as the US, the UK, Malaysia, Dubai and the UAE also participated.

Opportunity

Alok Kumar Kejriwal, Chairman of the Expo, said that the programme was an opportunity for the hearing world to understand the problems of the deaf and be more sympathetic towards them.

He expressed unhappiness over the usage, `deaf and dumb.'

He also added that the word deaf was acceptable and should be used instead of `hearing impaired,' in an earlier meeting with reporters.

The expo was organised by Deaf Leaders in association with Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi.

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