FACILITATING INCLUSION OF

VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN SSA

January 2009, Vol. 6

Special Issue - Visual ImpairmentSpecial Issue - Visual Impairment

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Contents

Invention, Evolution and Advent ofBraille in India 3

Role of NGOs in the Education ofthe Visually Impaired 9

Teaching Children with Low Vision 14

Mainstreaming Children with Visual Impairment-Experience of National Association for the Blind:Delhi 22

A Report on the National Workshop onInclusive Education in SSA 25

Role of Parents in Visual Impairment 33

Facilitating Inclusion of VisuallyImpaired Children: The NAB India Experience 37

News from the States

Preparing Visually ImpairedChildren for Schools through RBCs in Bihar 41

Mainstreaming Visually Impaired Children:The Gujarat Experience 45

Creating Awareness on Visual Impairment:An Initiative of SSA Rajasthan 49

Technology for the Visually Impaired:An Overview 51

Growing Trends in the Services forChildren with Visual Impairment 56

Send your responses to:

Ms. Sarita MittalDirector

Department of School Education & Literacy

MHRDShastri Bhawan

New Delhi – 110 001

Or

Dr. Anupriya ChadhaChief Consultant – Inclusive Education: SSA

Educational Consultants of India Limited

10 – B, I.P. EstateNew Delhi – 110 002

Typing AssistanceMs. Deepika Masand

Designed and Printed at:CYBERART Informations Pvt. Ltd.

www.cyberart.co.in

2

* Lecturer in Education, NIVH, Dehradun

Introduction

After its invention and evolution, Braille has replaced a host

of strategies/methodologies/ways and means, employed to

provide some knowledge of the printed word and some kind

of education to the blind persons around the world. Strategies

devised before the invention of Braille, could hardly qualify

to be termed “scripts” because the blind could read in them,

that too, at unspeakably slow speed and painstakingly, but

could not at all write in them.

Today, the unseeing children and adults are receiving

education in regular special schools and integrated/inclusive

settings throughout the world with the medium of Braille,

the touch script. With the staple medium of Braille, millions

of unsighted across the globe have become and are in the

process of becoming graduates, postgraduates, PhD’s, and

some even D.lits’s.

Braille as a potential instrument has empowered the blind

people to read and write freely, think critically and creatively

and independently. It has enabled them to acquire useful

and gainful knowledge and social communication skills to

make their mark in the society. Higher education, acquired

with the medium of Braille, has developed their all round

personality, imbuing them with valuable qualities of self-

awakening, self-confidence, self-competence and self-reliance.

The people without sight have even become administrators

and teachers at all levels—school, college, university, and in

other Government departments and elsewhere the world over.

Some of them have even established their NGO’s to train

other visually impaired persons in various vocations,

professions and in numerous other aspects of respectful and

meaningful living. Thus, realizing the crucial and relevant

universal importance of this System, it can be safely and

frankly stated that Braille is the most precious and cherished

contribution of Louis Braille for the blind in the history till

date.

Invention of Braille System

Even before Braille came to be invented in 1829, by Louis

Braille, a French blind man, sporadic valiant efforts were

made by several well-meaning persons to somehow educate

the blind people. But such efforts were concentrated mainly,

to Europe and, to some extent, to Iran in Asia, during the

16th and 17th centuries.

In Europe too, Germany was the torchbearer and was in

the vanguard of other countries of Europe to think of

somehow educating the persons with no sight. A German

blind man devised his own method in which he used to prick

holes on the paper with a pin on a cushion and read it at a

phenomenally slow and tedious speed. Vizemburg, another

German, used to emboss normal German letters on the

cardboard in order to help blind access the German print

letter. Maria Theresa Von Peradis, an Austrian pianist of

international repute, had used both these methods for her

auto-learning, much before Braille came to replace them.

In due course of time, Von Camplan, another German,

invented a machine that could emboss German script, which

could be read by touch but woefully slowly. France, England,

Switzerland, Sweden and so on and so forth closely followed

Germany in this sphere. In this way, by and by, this process

evolved into a movement to provide some kind of education

to the blind.

3

Invention, Evolution and Advent of Braille in India

R. P. Singh*

Louis Braille has provided unseeing

mortals with eyes on their finger tips which

enable them to see, like those with two

eyes, through the embossed print,

to con it and thereby, acquire

potential knowledge and wisdom.

Even though, the Germans were the first people to think of

some ways and means to afford some semblance of education

to the unsighted, French snatched away the leading role from

them and became the real pioneers in this field. Rousseau

acted as a Linguafranca between Denis Diderot and Velintine

Hauy to carry the idea of the former to start some institution

for those who can’t see, to the latter.

And, Velintine Hauy accepted the daunting challenge with

a great deal of courage and conviction and created the

revolution of sorts by setting the first ever School for the

Blind in Paris in 1784. It was here in Hauy’s school in

Paris, Louis Braille, a student of less than thirteen years of

age, catching a clue from Charles Barbier, a French military

captain’s “Night Writing”, in November, 1821, possessed

with the true scientist’s and mathematician’s genius, set out

at once to invent his Seven line dot system composed of sixty

three characters, employing Permutations and Combinations

theorem, completed his long and strenuous work nay, a

historic invention, based on six dots to be configured by the

finger tips, and gave it first to his own school to be put to use

to teach his schoolmates.

But Louis, the young inventor, under twenty years of age,

was soon rebuffed and rejected by the cruel apathy shown

by his school authorities who could, unfortunately, not see

any merit or worth in it. Thereafter, Louis approached the

French Government authorities to recognize his invention

and also started training his school mates in learning of

Braille, which the blind students found quite easy and

convenient to read their lessons with.

Thus, Hauy’s school in Paris became the epicenter of a

historic revolution, which created ripples all around and

proved a watershed for creation of educational facilities for

the blind across the globe as a chain reaction. And, during

the first half of the 19th century, this movement spread thick

and fast, involving all other continents and engulfing

hundreds of countries, depending on their quality of

consideration, commitment and level of economic situation.

Braille, as a system of educating the blind was finally

recognised on the 49th birth anniversary of Louis Braille.

His unique invention was named after him i.e. “Braille” in

1856, posthumously.

Recognizing and saluting his invaluable and immeasurable

contribution to the education and all round welfare of the

blind with gratitude, the world community observes his birth

anniversary every year on 4th January with a festive and joyous

mood. The January 4th, 2009 marks Louis Braille’s bi-

centennial and on this sumptuous and rare occasion, the

world is gearing up to observe this day across the globe with

robust enthusiasm and renewed spirit and tenacious resolve

to rededicate and redetermine all energies to educate all

children with visual impairments and their all round

development ushering in a new era for the blind and new

global attitudes and culture, conducive to their better

upbringing and uplift.

Advent and Evolution of Braille in India

Genesis of Braille System in India could be traced back to

Miss Hewlett who, at a very young age, lost her vision for a

year and regained it after a successful eye operation. It was

Miss Hewlett, a Christian Missionary, in1879 or a little

later, who invited and requested one more young Christian

Missionary, Miss Annie Sharp to receive requisite training

in special education to teach the blind of this country who

were living in a piteous and sorrowful situation. Catching

an inspiration from Miss Hewlett, Annie Sharp on her return

to India from Perkins set up a north India Industrial Home

for the Christian Blind in Saint Catharine Hospital at

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Amritsar in 1887, the first school for the blind in India.

Thus, Miss Annie Sharp became the “Mother of educational

facilities for the blind, in India”.

Doctor Neelkanth Rai Dahiyabhai Chatrapati, even before

launching his own co-ed school for the Blind at Ahmedabad

in 1895, went to Annie Sharp’s school at Amritsar and

received training in Braille. Doctor Neelkanth Rai

Dahiyabhai Chatrapati lost his vision adventitiously and even

then, he worked tirelessly to evolve a common Braille code

for India. L. Garth Waite in unison with Reverend J.

Knowles developed Oriental Braille and brought it to India

at around the same time when Annie Sharp opened her first

school in1887.

But, Lal Bihari Shah learnt Braille from L. Garth Waite in

1893 and developed his own Braille code, effecting certain

changes in the original Braille System invented by the genius

of Louis Braille. His code later went on to be evolved into

the Bangla Braille Code. Lal Bihari Shah also strongly

advocated the need for a common Braille code for the whole

country. Subsequently, P.M. Advani also evolved Sindhi

Braille Code, but kept always striving for a burning necessity

for a common code for the country.

Apart from these luminaries of Braille World in India, many

other veterans thought and worked hard to evolve a common

Braille code for Indian languages. Thus, by the year 1947

when India gained its freedom, there were ten different Braille

codes being used in different schools for the blind across the

country which were as follows:

� Tamil Braille of Miss Askwith

� Oriental Braille by Reverend J. Knowles and Mr. L.

Garth Waite

� Shah Braille Code

� Indian Braille of Doctor Neelkanth Rai Dahiyabhai

Chatrapati

� Mysore and Kannada Code

� Sindhi Braille Code of Mr. P.M. Advani

� Shirreff Braille

� Chatterjee Braille Code

� Uniform Indian Braille Code framed by the Expert

Braille Committee of the Central Advisory Board of

Education

� Standard Indian Braille Code framed by an Informal

Committee under the Chairmanship of Lt. Col. Sir

Clutha Mackenzie, the commandant, Saint Dunstun’s

Hostel for Indian War Blinded, which later culminated

in to NIVH.

From this all, a fact can be easily deduced that before 1951,

when Bharati Braille was finally drawn up, the education of

visually impaired children was pervaded by chaos and

confusion and the net result was the total disaster in education

of the visually impaired.

Role of the National Institute for Visually

Handicapped in Braille Development

After its invention in 1829, different English speaking

countries evolved different codes as per their understanding

and appreciation of the system. As a result, almost all

countries had different Braille codes and a “Battle of Types”

was witnessed all over. In this kind of scenario, the western

countries initiated concerted action to avoid the chaos and

confusion created in the path of educating the visually

impaired all around. This kind of chaotic situation

persistently pervaded the English Braille world for over 120

years.

Solution to this quaint problem was realized in 1931 when

Braille experts assembled for an international meet at New

York and finalized the “Standard English Braille Code”, to

be followed by all countries wherever English is taught to all

those who can’t see. Also, the following year, they devised

contractions and abbreviations, and even short hand system

for Standard English Braille.

Taking a lead from all that, India also initiated and

accelerated its initiatives to develop a single uniform Braille

code in place of ten codes, as enumerated above, in prevalence

at that time. In this regard, the efforts of St. Dunstan’s Hostel

for the Indian War Blinded, through the Ministry of

Education in collaboration with UNESCO proved of

immense worth and virtue which culminated into the drawing

up of Bharati Braille in 1951.

Through the course of its existence and development of over

64 years, National Institute of Visually Handicapped

(NIVH) as a premier body in the field of Braille

Development under the Ministry of now, Social Justice and

Empowerment (MSJ&E), has boldly taken up the task of

enriching the Braille to suit the emerging technologies of the

day. In the sphere of Research and Development of Braille,

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NIVH has contributed significantly which cannot be

overemphasized, but still its contribution can be summarized

as under: -

Through the Braille Development Unit, the institute has

evolved contractions and abbreviations in different Indian

languages with a view to reduce the size and bulk of Braille

books and to accelerate the reading rates which are essentially

conducive to education, especially in higher education.

i Survey of Hindi Braille Contractions and

Abbreviations

After formulation of Hindi Braille contractions and

Abbreviations in the year 1985, a series of courses for

the purpose of training to the personnel, engaged in

Braille production as well as to the teachers of visually

handicapped children in appropriate application of the

code was organised.

ii Development of Braille Mathematical Code for

India

Mathematics is a discipline of paramount importance

and is an integral part of the syllabus being taught in

regular schools. But its teaching has been disastrously

impeded in the absence of Braille mathematical code,

consequent upon which it could not be feasible either

to print text material of mathematics in Braille or to

teach maths to the visually impaired children in their

schools. Realizing this exigency, the institute embarked

on framing up of Braille mathematical code, using

Nemeth Code (1972), which was ultimately finalized

and adopted in 1989 with the experts invited in a

national workshop from different parts of the country.

This mathematical code is presently being revised under

a project of the Institute in the light of the feedback

from the users and teachers of mathematics serving

under educational programmes for the blind. As of now,

endeavour is underway to develop signs and symbols

for Science and Mathematics being used at secondary

and plus 2 levels of schooling.

iii Teaching of Braille Mathematical Code

With an aim to implementing this mathematics and

science code the country over, the Institute has been

conducting short-term training courses to train teachers

and personnel involved in the production of Braille

mathematics and science books, so as to make them

available through out the country. This will go a long

way towards promoting and popularizing mathematics

and science education amongst the visually challenged

in the country.

iv Braille Short Hand

It has been widely realized that the visually impaired

persons can successfully pursue stenography as their

future career. In view of this fact, NIVH, along with

some other NGO’s, initiated work of framing Braille

shorthand systems in different Indian languages in order

to enhance the employability of visually handicapped

persons as Stenographers. Consequent upon this,

numerous trained visually impaired stenographers have

been able to get jobs in Public Sector Undertakings

and many Departments of Government; and for this

reason, Braille Shorthand Systems have been drawn

up In the following languages: Hindi, Gujarati,

Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. Hence, realizing a vital

and crucial importance of this trade, efforts are afoot to

formulate the Braille shorthand systems in the remaining

Indian languages at the earliest. Furthermore, with this

focus in mind, the Institute has prepared English

glossary containing 2000 words for the purpose of

imparting sound practice to the Braille shorthand

trainees in day-to-day practice in the difficult words of

English.

v Braille Music Notation

As a man of multi-faceted personality, Louise Braille

was a musician of high order as well. He made his

instant career by playing music in Church. Therefore,

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keeping this special need of the blind, pursuing their

career in music in view, he himself devised music

notation in 1837. In our country to, this need was badly

felt and in absence of suitable code of Braille Music

Notation, the work of teaching music as well as the

Braille production of the Music literature had to suffer

a great deal of difficulty even after the introduction of

Bharati Braille in the year 1951. The Braille

Development Unit formulated the Braille Code for

Hindustani Music Notation and currently, the work

on development of Carnatic Braille Music Notation is

in progress. After the completion of both Carnatic

Music and advance Mathematics and Science Codes,

the Institute will start training students, music teachers,

maths and science teachers and personnel in both these

codes next year, so that these subjects along with music

education as a fine art becomes conveniently graspable

and popular amongst the visually challenged in the

country.

vi Braille Reading Readiness Kit

With a view to help the visually handicapped children

to increase their finger motility on a stiff page, a pre-

requisite to acquire pre-Braille reading skills before

actual introduction of Braille to them, NIVH has

developed a kit containing several items therein, to

facilitate the task of the Braille teachers for Braille

instruction, in accordance with the pedagogical and

psychological principles.

vii Braille Reading Speed Test

The Institute through its Braille Development Unit and

Crisis Intervention Unit has completed a project on

Developing Braille Reading Speed Test. This test aims

at mathematically measuring the Braille reading speed

of the visually handicapped children, in absolute terms.

The educators of the visually impaired and trainees-

cum-participants of short-term-training programmes,

conducted by the institute in the past, have found it

extremely useful.

viii Development and Launching of first on Line

Braille Library in the Country

For wider coverage and particularly to meet the reading

needs of blind persons pursuing higher education, the

National Institute for the Visually Handicapped

proposes to launch country’s first on line Braille Library

with downloading facility in Braille from 50 locations.

The launching will coincide with the bi- centenary birth

anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille

script. The on line library will also pave way for the

formation of a Braille Libraries Consortium in the

country as the project is envisaged in a collaborative

mode. This will result in giving the country its:

1. First Braille website

2. First online Braille library and

3. First multi modality downloading facility with

Braille display on 50 locations.

The project will promote better coordination and

linkages amongst Braille libraries, Braille Presses, IT

organizations and Web-developers.

ix Better and timely availability of Braille text

books for school going Blind Children

As per the Seventh All Indian School Education

Survey (2002), the country has a total of 2,10, 107

visually impaired children from the primary to the Sr.

secondary stage in 35 States/Union Territories. In order

to provide text books in Braille to all the school going

blind children, the countr y needs to produce

approximately 27,83,60,670 Braille pages per year.

Against this demand the Braille Presses in the

Government and in the Non Govt. Sectors are able to

produce about 6,19,98,000 pages per year.

A cursory review of the present situation reveals that

there is a chronic shortage of text books in Braille. In

most cases, visually impaired children either have no

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textbooks in Braille or have to do with just one or two

sets of Braille books in a group of ten-twelve students.

This naturally places the blind children at a serious

educational disadvantage.

In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply,

the Institute has initiated a major project which is likely

to double the current capacity in next 18 months.

x Publications

Over a long period of its existence, the Institute is

vigorously engaged in promotion and popularization of

Braille amongst masses with visual impairments, by

undertaking variety of activities. It has prepared and

published for wide dissemination relevant material in

appropriate form as well, to facilitate the professionals

of Braille in effectively dealing with their job. Such

publications are as follows:

a. An Overview of Braille Development in India

b. Braille Subodh

c. Hindi Braille Swayam Shikshak

d. Hindi Braille Gyan Sarovar.

Manpower Development

As the Institute is engaged in training of substantive human

resources required for the effective service of education and

rehabilitation for the visually handicapped persons of all age

groups, the Braille Development Unit is concerned with an

objective of upgrading and promoting the status of Braille in

the schools for the Blind as well as among the Braille users

throughout the country.

In pursuit of this long-term goal, it is engaged to plan and

design courses required for orientation of teachers in different

Braille codes and rules of Braille transcription adhered to,

while printing/embossing books on diverse subjects. This

Unit has designed and conducted different kinds of short-

term training courses of two-week to three-week duration

each. Details of these courses are presented below:

i Courses for Application of Hindi Braille

Contractions and Abbreviations

A series of 10 short-term courses of the aforesaid nature

was designed and conducted at National/Regional level.

The conduct of these courses included teachers of the

visually handicapped students and personnel engaged

in the process of Braille production. These courses were

intended to acquaint the participants with correct

application of Hindi Braille contractions and

abbreviations so that this code should become more and

more graspable and hence, tenable, amongst the visually

handicapped persons and use of Braille could be

encouraged. 207 professionals have so far, been

imparted training in this code of Hindi Braille

Contractions and Abbreviations.

ii Short-term Courses on Braille Enrichment

As a matter of fact, Braille script is the only best viable

tactile mode of acquiring literacy, education and

information for visually challenged persons available

today, hence, it is frankly trusted that no other system

will be able to surpass and supersede the superiority of

Braille in foreseeable future despite the fact that advance

technology is being used for the access of information

to them. Accordingly, the Braille Development Unit

has so far planned and conducted a series of seven short-

term courses so as to impart a sufficient but effective

training to the teachers of the sightless, so that they

could educate them efficiently in schools throughout the

country. The syllabi of these courses are designed,

encompassing several aspects of Braille development

in India. 134 teachers have attended these courses

organised in different quarters of the country so far.

iii A National Workshop on Promotion of Braille

To live up to its national expectations and aspirations,

NIVH organised a three-day National Workshop on

promotion of Braille, which attracted 27 Braille experts

from different parts of the country. The workshop aimed

at deliberations on several aspects of Braille enrichment

so as to derive well judged views of experts, in order to

chalk out future programmes/strategies, purporting at

qualitative upgradation of Braille delivery services for

the unseeing as well as the work of Braille production.

This article describes some of the initiatives being taken

up by NIVH for Braille development. It is hoped that

these initiatives would be a stepping stone in empowering

the visually impaired children across on the country.

8

Role of NGOs inthe Education of

the Visually Impaired

A. K. Mittal*

Introduction

Before embarking upon a detailed examination of the roles

NGOs are already playing in facilitating education of

children with visual impairment and putting forward some

related suggestions, it would be relevant to refer, here, to

two important documents which have a direct bearing on

the subject.

As is well known, the UN Convention on the Rights of

Persons With Disabilities has entered into force with effect

from May 2008. Government of India has already signed

and ratified the Convention.

Article 24 of the Convention deals extensively with the subject

of education. It calls upon all ‘States Parties’ to recognize

the “Right of persons with disabilities to education.” The

Article also enjoins upon the States to direct their efforts,

inter-alia, towards: “The development by persons with

disabilities of their personality, talents and creativity, as well

as their mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.”

Clearly, NGOs would have an important, nay, dominant

role to play towards the achievement of this important goal.

Mention must also be made here of the National Policy For

Persons With Disabilities, announced by the Government

of India through the Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment on 10th February, 2006. Para 37 of the Policy

speaks of ‘Promotion of Non-Governmental Organisations

(NGOs)’. The policy recognizes the NGO sector as a very

important ‘institutional mechanism’ to provide affordable

services to complement the endeavours of the Government.

It stresses the fact that the NGO sector is a vibrant and

growing one and has been playing a significant role in the

provision of services for persons with disabilities.

Historical Perspective

The contribution of NGOs has been of marked significance

in the field of education of children with visual impairment.

As a matter of fact, NGOs have, traditionally played a

pioneering role in providing services relating to the field of

education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired.

Whether it was the establishment of the first institution for

the blind in the country or the important subject of developing

a uniform Braille Code for Indian languages, private

institutions and voluntary organizations including Christian

missionaries, have been in the forefront. It is relevant, even

interesting to mention here that, responding to a request for

establishing a committee to work out a common Braille Code

for India, the then Secretary of State for India wrote to the

National Institute for the Blind, London in 1931 that “On

account of financial stringency, not even a committee could

be set up to draw up, implement and monitor programmes

for the education and rehabilitation of the blind.” A

committee for recommending a Braille Code came to be set

up by the British Government about 10 years later in 1941.

* President, All India Confederation of the Blind and Treasurer, World Blind Union

9

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Another notable fact, here, is that there were believed to be

32 institutions for the blind in undivided India by 1947,

most of whom were run and managed by voluntary

organisations. Of course, the appointment of another sub-

committee by the Government in 1942 was an important

milestone, in that it brought out the oft-quoted “Report on

Blindness” of 1944. The Report is a landmark document

which investigated causes of blindness in the country and

recommended measures for the rehabilitation of the blind.

As an important historical development, the Report, among

other things, led to the establishment of a ‘Unit on Blindness’

in the Ministry of Education in April 1947, which later on

covered other disability groups also and formed the nucleus

of the present-day edifice of government services for persons

with disabilities.

Contributions of NGOs in the Post-

Independence Era

A large number of NGOs have continued to make signal

and salutary contributions to the education of children with

visual impairment during the years following the country’s

independence as well. To illustrate, the first ever institution

for the training of teachers was established by an NGO –

National Academy for Teachers of the Blind in

Palayamkottai in 1960 by National Association for the

Blind. Thereafter, beginning with 1963, three of the four

regional centres for the training of teachers of the visually

handicapped were run by NGOs under the sponsorship

first of the UNICEF and then the Ministry of Social Welfare,

Government of India. These centres paved the way for more

extensive training programmes in special education for pre-

service and in-service teachers of visually impaired children

during 1980s and 90s.

As far as direct services in the field of education of the

children with visual impairment are concerned, about 70%

of residential schools are managed by NGOs. Some of these

organisations have also undertaken commendable task of

establishing schools for blind children in rural settings.

Organisations in West Bengal, Bihar, Haryana and Tamil

Nadu are examples, though not very large in number. As

far as integrated education goes, many NGOs (e.g.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu) had been supporting education

of blind children in regular schools even before the

introduction of the Government of India Scheme of

Integrated Education in 1974. It would be no exaggeration

to state that, subsequent to the launching of the above Scheme

much of the work in the field has been carried out through

NGOs. Such NGOs have been in the forefront in States

where programmes of integrated education/inclusive

education for the visually impaired have met with greater

success. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are

cases in point.

NGOs have not been lagging behind in the task of producing

reading material for visually impaired children. The first

audio-book studio was set up at an NGO. Some of the best

equipped Braille Presses in the country are run by NGOs

like All India Confederation of the Blind, National

Federation of the Blind and National Association for the

Blind. Today, the greater bulk of production of books in

Braille including textbooks, is the outcome of efforts of the

NGO sector. Some NGOs and a couple of commercial

organisations have also entered the field of production of

assistive devices albeit in smaller numbers. A striking feature

of such endeavours of production of books is that several of

these NGOs take up the task in collaboration with corporate

bodies, thus setting commendable examples of motivating

the corporate sector to come to the aid of the visually impaired

and fulfil their social responsibilities.

Several NGOs make special efforts to provide additional

support to girl-students with visual impairment. Thus, All

India Confederation of the Blind and UDIS FORUM run

scholarship schemes to help college-going visually impaired

girls as also provide them computers loaded with the required

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screen readers on the basis of merit. A few other organisations

are also running similar schemes of educational assistance

in one form or the other.

Some Additional Roles

The rapidly evolving educational scenario, the growing,

almost overriding, emphasis on inclusive education, the path-

breaking developments in the field of adaptive technologies,

the need for mobilising information technology strategies

more effectively, the urgency of much wider information-

dissemination and creation of awareness about the potential

of the visually impaired—all these present special challenges

for the NGO sector. More than ever before, these

organisations have to come forward with greater vigour to

facilitate creation of an environment conducive to equalization

of opportunities and full participation for the visually impaired

in the field of education in particular.

Inclusive Education

Para 20 of the National Policy for Persons With Disabilities

clearly states: “There is a need for mainstreaming of the

persons with disabilities in the general education system

through inclusive education.” Para 48 of the Policy has the

target of ensuring that “Every child with disability has access

to appropriate pre-school, primary and secondary level

education by 2020.”

A Comprehensive Action Plan for Inclusive Education of

Children and Youth with Disabilities prepared by the

Ministry of Human Resource Development lays down that

all disabled children will be part of suitably equipped

mainstream schools by 2020. The target, obviously, covers

children with visual impairment and makes it amply clear

that inclusive education is here to stay as an important policy

objective and implementation strategy.

Here, again, NGOs have a crucial role to play. For inclusion

to be really meaningful, these organisations have to take the

lead to ensure that its benefits do not remain just book-bound

but actually reach out to all visually impaired children. Mere

proximity of visually impaired children with their sighted

counterparts, limited as it has been, is no inclusion. It is

here that NGOs must step in to facilitate genuine and

comprehensive educational inclusion leading to full

participation. The organisations have to continually advocate

and assert that visually impaired children are provided the

right kind of material and textbooks in accessible format,

suitably trained and sensitized teachers, basic assistive devices

and schools which have a disabled friendly environment.

In addition, the following may serve as useful guidelines for

NGOs to promote effective inclusion:

a. If necessary, NGOs may provide intensive training in

Braille, orientation and mobility and use of special

educational devices to visually impaired children

studying in regular schools, who may be referred to

them for such support. Such training could be arranged

by NGOs during vacations and holidays and is essential

since these plus curriculum activities , generally , receive

scant attention at our regular schools under SSA

programmes, because of non-availability of especially

trained teachers of the visually impaired.

b. NGOs may undertake and stimulate action research to

identify new techniques and methodologies for providing

visually impaired children unimpeded access to subjects

like Mathematics, Science and Geography for which

special facilities in regular schools are rarely available.

c. NGOs may take the lead in cooperation with special

educators from inclusive settings to widen the range of

integrated sports and recreational activities for visually

impaired and sighted children.

d. These organisations, in consultation with community

ophthalmologists/optometrists, may undertake the task

of screening children with low vision in regular schools

and facilitate training in visual efficiency and stimulation

for such children.

e. Special educators from regular schools and trained

teachers from residential schools run by NGOs may

cooperate with each other to run short-duration

12

orientation courses in visual disability for regular school-

teachers.

Self-Help Organizations of the Blind

More and more, persons with visual impairment are getting

together and organizing themselves in what is called ‘Self-

Help Groups/Associations’. This is a welcome trend, which

needs to be provided all possible encouragement. These self-

help organizations strive to ensure that the oft-quoted

statement “Nothing about us, without us”, does not remain

a mere cliché or an empty slogan, but is translated into a

living reality.

The Biwako Millennium Framework For Action For Persons

With Disabilities which calls for the creation of an “Inclusive,

barrier-free and rights-based society for persons with

disabilities”, also gives utmost importance to organizations

of persons with disabilities. In fact, providing maximum

support to self-help organizations of persons with disabilities

is an essential component of the seven priority areas for action

laid down by ESCAP for its Extended Decade For Persons

With Disabilities (2003-2012). The Biwako Millennium

Document states: “Persons with disabilities and their self-

help organizations are the most equipped, best informed to

speak on their behalf and can contribute to solutions on issues

that concern them.” It is in this backdrop that organizations

of the blind have to perform the dual roles of acting as

educational advocates for the visually impaired children and

function as watchdog agencies for ensuring:

a. Protection of their rights,

b. Redressal of grievances,

c. Proper and timely implementation of various

government schemes concerning education of children

with disabilities,

d. Monitoring programmes on inclusive education and the

special scheme of assistance to children with disabilities

to ensure that the interests of visually impaired children

receive due attention.

Some Additional Suggestions

� There has to be greater coordination and cohesion

among NGOs and government agencies engaged in

the task of production of books including textbooks in

Braille and assistive devices, so that these could be made

available to visually impaired students cost-free or at

concessional rates within a given time-frame. For this

purpose, the possibility of establishing a suitable

networking mechanism may be considered.

� NGOs may motivate and provide necessary specialist

advice to the concerned scientific community and

technology institutions across the countr y for

undertaking necessary research and development

activities for prototype development and large scale

production of various technological devices, including

low vision devices of various types.

� A vigorous awareness campaign may be launched in

different districts to identify and detect visually impaired

children at the earliest possible opportunity. The services

of panchayat leaders/officials, health workers and ICDS

functionaries may be utilized for the purpose.

� Meaningful early intervention services need to be

provided for the benefit of blind infants and children

and their families. Leading NGOs and the concerned

district administrations may pool their resources together

for the purpose.

� More progressive and resourceful NGOs may also take

up a network of educational services leading to the

Inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based

society for persons with disabilities,

also gives utmost importance to

organizations of persons with

disabilities.

13

creation of on-line /e-libraries. Similarly, computer-

education and refinement of Braille translation and text-

to-speech softwares for Indian languages needs to be

undertaken more systematically with the help of well-

informed NGOs/ individual users.

� NGOs also need to tap more effectively the resources

of organizations like National Institute of Open Schools

for reaching out to visually impaired learners, currently

outside the existing organised services, so that the out-

of- school visually impaired population could be suitably

benefited.

Constraints and Pitfalls

Although NGOs have a crucial role to play in the education

of the visually impaired children, yet the challenges faced by

them should not be overlooked. Some of these include:

� Limited financial assistance

� Inordinate delays in approval of projects

� Procedural wrangles in receiving assistance

� Recruitment of trained staff

� Retention of well-qualified and competent staff.

Like other sectors of development, NGOs also suffer in many

areas from regional and state imbalances.

There is, of course, no immediate panacea to the problems

and ills concerning the NGO sector. Yet, leading NGOs

should take the lead in developing a self-regulatory

mechanism for the movement. Experienced and widely

respected voluntary workers and professionals could be

associated with the task. NGOs, especially organizations of

the blind, have to be involved more actively in policy

formulation, planning, implementation and monitoring in

respect of issues relating to the education of the visually

impaired, in particular as also other areas.

Conclusion

The task of providing primary and secondary education to

all children with disabilities (which, of course, includes the

visually impaired) is challenging and daunting. Properly

managed and adequately supported NGOs hold the key to

achieving this stupendous task within the given time-frame,

in quantitative as also qualitative terms. The government

and the corporate sector have to work in close partnership

with NGOs in this regard.

��

Introduction

Visual impairment has been defined as the diminishment of

the ability to see. The terms partially sighted, legally blind,

low vision, and totally blind are commonly used to describe

visual impairments. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal

Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)

Act, 1995 divides the inability to see into two categories of

Blindness and Low Vision. According to the Act, “Person

with low vision” means a person with impairment of visual

functioning even after treatment or standard refractive

correction and who uses or is potentially capable of using

vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate

assistive device”.

In functional terms children having low vision can generally

read print, although they may depend upon optical aids or

other means to enlarge the print. A few of these children

may read both Braille and print. Broadly, for the sake of

understanding one can say that while Blindness can be

defined as having no vision or no significant usable vision,

persons with low vision have significant usable residual vision

which can be used for various purposes. What they require

are assistive devices to make full use of their vision.

Nevertheless, their special needs can be assessed on the basis

of distance and near visual acuity, and other visual functions

like contrast, light sensitivity, colour vision and visual field.

Each child is unique and so is a child with low vision and

planning educational interventions for these children would

have to be individualized. Some of the factors on which these

children differ are:

� Level of visual functioning

� Exposure to various experiences

� Socio economic status

� Family support

� Age of onset

* Reader – DEGSN - NCERT

Teaching Children with Low Vision

Dr. Anita Julka *

14

The best and most beautiful things in the

world cannot be seen or even touched.

They must be felt within the heart.

Helen Keller

� Presence of other disabilities

� Cultural background and attitudes

� Innate cognitive abilities

� Whether loss of sight is progressive or not.

Yet they possess important common characteristics that must

be taken into consideration while planning educational

interventions.

This is their limited ability to learn incidentally from the

environment which means that the opportunities available

in the environment for all children may be limited for a child

with low vision because of his/her inability to reach and learn

by looking. S/he has to be helped through explanation about

various concepts and by closer looking and touching various

objects. Since there are gaps in knowledge, while introducing

a new task, the teacher should assume that no prior learning

has taken place. It is beneficial to move on to advance level

only after the child has mastered the prerequisite steps.

In addition children with low vision may also have the

following restrictions as a consequence of not only their visual

problem but also because of the parenting style of their

parents. These are:

� Limitation in the Range and Variety of

Experiences

This may occur not only as a consequence of limited

vision but also because of inability to move about freely

in the environment. In the sense, it is important to

15

My Voice

“Blindness has never come in my way as far as my academic achievement is concerned”

I was born with a problem in my one eye although I can see a little with my other eye. My father tells me that I had

congenital cataract. When I was four years old I was sent to a special school run by a voluntary organization for

studying in their Kindergarten classes. For two years I learnt a number of skills that were necessary to learn before I

entered a regular school with other children. At the special school, I was always told that I could do a number of things

on my own. My teachers made me understand that I should be eating on my own, finding my way on my own,

buttoning my shirt on my own, wearing my shoes, tying the shoelaces etc. I was also taught how to identify the smells,

how to make use of my remaining vision and many other things. The school teachers interacted a lot with my parents

and gave them a number of inputs regarding how best they could help me to develop.

I gained admission in the regular school in class I. It was a very novel experience for me. I felt miserable in the beginning,

as I was aware that I was very different from others in my class. Even following the pace of the teacher and understanding

what was being taught in the class was a problem as the peers were not very helpful and the teachers were very busy. If

I asked something from the peers they would just ask to be left alone so that they could finish their own work. But inspite

of this I never showed anyone that I had any problems. I never scored less than 70 per cent and this got me a lot of

respect in the class. Gradually with time, children in my class got used to me and started helping me. I also started going

to the teachers in their free time and they helped me as much as they could. Some children were not nice to me but that

was because they were competing with me academically.

Now, I feel very well adjusted in the regular school and I have no problems. Only sometimes children from other classes

bother me but that is because I don’t know them that well. The children who know me are friendly and helpful. Even the

Principal is good and I am given the opportunity to participate in the extracurricular activities. Whenever I do well it is

appreciated with a prize. I have participated in a number of competitions. Problems with my sight have never come in

my way as far as my academic achievement is concerned.

Everyday I go to the special school after finishing regular school to fill in the gaps and to improve on my Braille skills.

I can read large print but I cannot work for long hours at a stretch and because of that I need to know Braille. My

parents are not educated and I take help from my elder sister if I have some problems with my homework. I don’t go to

a resource teacher unless and until it is very important. My teachers take care of me in the classroom and only if they

have some problems they take help from the resource teachers.

I feel happy in the school and this is because I am studying in this school right from the beginning. Getting used to

condition, my peers and the teachers have accepted me the way I am. I do not experience any discrimination on account

my seeing problem and this has helped me a lot to feel better about myself.

Narration of a low vision boy studying in class V of a regular school

provide opportunities for learning new skills. Lack of

visual experience may result in the student with low

vision being slower than her peers as other students

have adequate opportunity to unconsciously practice

new skills through visual exposure and imitation.

� Limitations in the Ability to get Around and

Interacting with the Environment

Learning occurs best for students with low vision when

they are actively involved in the task. Use of concrete

materials like the real thing is best for learning a new

concept for all students. Also, opportunities for

associating the sound and smell with the objects

wherever necessary will help in enriching the concepts.

Identifying Special Needs

The screening device that is generally used for children with visual

impairments is the Snellen chart. The rows of letters vision.

Indicators of Visual Problems

The following guidelines can help teachers to be more alert

towards visual problems in a child. Presence of 4-5 such

manifestations would be indicating a possibility of a visual

problem that needs a thorough examination by an

ophthalmologist.

16

� Is there excessive watering or blinking?

� Are the eyes red, swollen or crossed?

� Does s/he squint?

� Does s/he have pupils of different sizes?

� Does s/he have crossed eyes or eyes that are not

functioning together?

� Does s/he walk with extreme caution?

� Does s/he rub eyes frequently?

� Does s/he cover (or tends to close) his/her one eye while

reading?

� Does s/he tilt head frequently?

� Does s/he show excessive wandering of eyes?

� Does s/he have difficulty in recognizing people?

� Does s/he have difficulty in seeing the time on the wall?

� Does s/he keep adjusting the window shades?

� Is his/her gait shaky while walking?

� Does s/he look at pictures or objects as a whole or in

parts, in a circular fashion or without any particular

pattern?

� While reading or doing other tasks, is s/he anxious or

nervous?

� Does s/he need more light than others while reading?

� Does s/he skip lines, complains of seeing double?

� Does s/he have inability to stay on ruled lines?

� Is his/her word spacing poor while writing?

� Does s/he avoid all near tasks?

� Does s/he complain of excessive fatigue?

� Are there frequent complaints of blurring on the part

of child?

� Does s/he read only for short periods?

� Does s/he lag behind in studies?

� Does s/he frequently avoid getting her/his copy checked?

� Does s/he have difficulty reading the blackboard?

� Does s/he hold her/his copy or book near to the eye?

� Does s/he complain of frequent headaches, especially

in the later part of the day?

� Does the child go to the blackboard again and again to

read what is written?

� Does the child make spelling mistakes while copying

from the blackboard?

� Does his/her head keep turning as he/she reads across

a page?

� Does the child use his/her finger as a line marker while

reading?

� Does s/he have difficulty in concentrating for long

periods or has a short attention span?

� Does the child bend over the book while reading?

Planning Educational Interventions

Educational interventions for a child with low vision may be

based on the student’s specific needs identified through

comprehensive assessment of student’s current level of

functioning in the following areas:

� Academic skills

� Communication skills

� Sensrimotor skills

� Social skills

� Orientation and Mobility skills

� Daily living skills.

Low Vision Children who have usable vision can generally

read print. The print may have to be enlarged, presented

through various contrasts and written with a thicker pen.

They may also need optical aids like magnifiers, spectacles,

microscopes, telescopes, computers, or non optical

environmental modifications like the following:

� Reducing glare or the light coming from front.

� Use of filters or tints that limit the amount of light.

� Varying illumination according to the needs of a low

vision child. Table lamps or making him/her sit next to

the window may help. Some students may require dim

light. Uniform light from a tube light is better than light

coming from one source. Filament bulbs should not be

used without a shade since they produce a lot of glare.

Metal shades are good for this purpose.

� Contrast means a dark background for viewing light

coloured materials and a light background for viewing

dark colour materials. This may enable a low vision

person to perform more accurately. Bold line paper,

felt tips pen makes writing easier by increasing contrast.

Typoscope (A piece of black cardboard with a slit to

block out all but the line of print viewed while reading)

is also helpful. The paper used should be without glare.

� Reading stands help the child to read more comfortably

with better posture for longer periods. In case it is

difficult to get a stand, the child can be encouraged to

read with their books propped up against other books.

Visual Efficiency Training

Visual efficiency refers to a group of visual skills important

for success in school, sports, driving, and in the modern

workplace. These include: depth perception, color

perception, and oculomotor skills such as eye teaming, eye

movement, and eye focusing speed and accuracy.

Visual efficiency training helps the child with low vision to

interpret visual stimuli by understanding the details - outlines,

colours and contours of the objects. The following factors

need to be taken into consideration before planning to develop

the visual abilities of the child to the highest level of efficiency.

� How close to the eye does the child hold the page?

� How does s/he look at the items - in parts or as whole

or in some other particular pattern?

� How does s/he mark the forms s/he is looking at? What

does s/he use for marking?

� What type and quality of light s/he needs?

17

� Does s/he appear to be dejected, anxious,

disinterested?

It is beneficial to develop an Individualized Educational Plan

for a child with low vision involving a team of people including

teachers, the child’s parents, school administrators, special

educator and anyone else concerned with the child and the

child himself/herself. The plan involves assessing the present

state of child, setting goals and deciding strategies in terms

of:

� Present level of functioning

� Short and Long term targets/goals

� Length of time required to meet these targets.

It also states the special or additional services the child needs

and how and when s/he can receive them.

Basic Cognitive Abilities

Children with low vision may sometimes need systematic

instruction to overcome deprivation resulting from partial

sight. Deprivation of learning experiences may result in poor

academic performance. Systematic development of cognitive

functions should involve facilitating the child to learn by

making use the other senses effectively.

Orientation and Mobility

The ability to move and orient oneself to other people or

objects in the environment can be affected in a child with

low vision. Low vision may prevent the child from

understanding his/her own relative position in space and as

a result prevent him/her from moving in the right direction.

Further, a visual impairment may also affect fine motor

coordination and interfere with learning to use the objects

and tools.

Sometimes the children may develop excessive fear of injuring

themselves and may not move at all. It is important for the

teacher not to contribute further to such fears by protecting

18

them from everyday risks. Overprotection may affect their

access to learning experiences and also limit their recreational

pursuits.

Physical Development and Recreation

A child having normal vision moves about spontaneously in

his/her environment and gets a better grasp of his/her

surroundings. The physical development of a child with low

vision is like any other child but because of lack of visual

stimulation, inability to learn by imitation or by watching

others the child may be deprived of valuable opportunities

to develop physical skills. Some other environment factors

that affect the physical development of the child are:

� Overprotection by parents

� Overprotection by teachers

� Overprotection by peers.

An example of this is when the teachers do not involve

children with low vision in recreational activities like picnics

and other outings because of fear of causing injury to the

child through movement. S/he may even ask the child to

stay at home and not even come to the school on the day the

whole class is going for a recreational tour. This results in

further segregating the child from her classmates. In these

circumstances, if need be, the child with low vision may be

paired with a responsible sighted child for full participation.

Giving opportunities to sighted students to explain and

discuss what they are observing in their surroundings will

not only help in building communication skills of the whole

class but also enable the child with low vision to enjoy and

participate fully.

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

Communication involves speaking, reading and writing about

the environment through language. The children with low

vision may sometimes be unable to visually associate words

to the objects. It is important to expose these children to

functional language so that they can use it appropriately and

make connections with the world. It has been seen that even

if a child knows the same words as his/her sighted

counterparts, the meaning of the word may not be as rich or

as elaborated. It is important that:

� While understanding verbs the low vision child can be

involved in acting it.

� Real life examples which the child has also experienced

are used.

� Simple sentences are used in conversation with the child.

� Questions and answer questions are asked.

� The child is made familiar with the usage of language

cues in a variety of settings.

� The child is involved in conversations.

Engaging in non-verbal communication is very difficult for

children with low vision because it involves eye contact, facial

expressions, head nodding and other gestures. Specifically

non-verbal communication is expressed through:

� Body Motion-gestures using hands and other parts of

the body, facial expression, posture, etc. Example,

waving, dropping head, nodding, etc.

� Touching behaviours e.g. shake hands, hug, pat, etc.

� Vocal qualities e.g. laughing, sighing, crying, coughing,

clearing the throat, etc.

� Use of dolls and puppets, drama or role playing

� Speech, debate, inoculation, dance classes, etc.

Use of non-verbal communication and body language for

communication can be learned by training and is important

for social interaction.

Literacy and Learning Media

Children with low vision require learning and literacy skills

to have access to the curriculum. They require to read and

write making use of appropriate medium like Braille, print,

audio and tactual media. Some children may use a

combination of different media. The teacher may have to

help the child to select and use the appropriate medium for

reading and writing in consultation with the special teacher

and the parent of the child.

Use of Technology

It is important for a child with low vision to have access to

technology and training in the use of technology. Today in

the age of information technology lot of information can be

gained through internet. Although computers are good for

all children, they are absolutely essential for children with

low vision. In addition, calculators, tape recorders, soft wares

for enlarging print and to convert print to audio etc. are

some other educational aids that are important for a child

19

with low vision so that s/he can have access to the

curriculum.

Study Skills

Low vision may affect the child’s task performance in the

class. Specifically it may result in the child being

� Slower than her peers

� Needing more learning materials than others including

tactual and auditory materials

� Needing more individual attention

� Having difficulty in using the blackboard

� Facing difficulty in managing his/her time more

efficiently

� Having problems in finishing his/her homework

� Having difficulty in using the library and taking notes

like others.

Living Skills

Since lack of incidental learning is a reality for children with

low vision, they need to learn the skills of daily living in the

areas like personal needs, dressing, eating and table manners

and social/emotional behaviours. It is important that the

teachers, in close proximity with the parents, expose the child

to skills of daily living. This helps the child to gain confidence

in his/her daily routine and interactions with the environment.

Conclusion

A school that hosts a diverse population has to respond to

the needs of different students as they arise during learning.

In such a set up, equal opportunities to participate in the

school curriculum are provided to all students by making

appropriate changes in the school organization and

developing partnerships with the community. Students with

low vision have the right to appropriate education that is

20

guided by knowledgeable and trained teachers and specialists,

who work in collaboration with parents, students and other

team members. Loss of vision can bring in a number of needs

and if these are not met by the educational system, they can

culminate into educational deficits. The education system

21

has to evolve strategies to meet the needs of all students and

foster independence and success. Finally, capacities have to

be built up at all levels to address the diverse needs of children

with low vision in the education system.

��

* Director Education, National Association For the Blind - Delhi

Mainstreaming Children with Visual Impairment-Experience of National Association for the Blind: Delhi

C. D. Tamboli*

22

Introduction

The background history of the education of special needs

children has undergone a sea-change after the post-

independence period in 1947 - a shift from segregation to

integration and from integration to inclusion. Education of

visually challenged in India started in special schools as in

other parts of the world. Bearing in mind that India has a

vast number of Special needs population, it was felt that

providing education to this vast number of special needs

children could not be covered by special schools alone, and

this was one of the major reasons amongst many that the

shift from special schools to integrated education was

considered inevitable.

The last few years of the twentieth Century have witnessed

an increase in the number of dissidents in special education

in favour of what is accepted as “mainstream” or “Inclusive

Schools”. Inclusion, according UNESCO, is a Philosophy

built on the belief that all people are equal and should be

respected and valued. It was argued that inclusion was the

right thing to do as disabled children have a moral right to

be included in mainstream education.

Salient Features of Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is currently being discussed all over the

world because it is considered that education of special needs

children is a part of the larger educational system and should

not be treated as a separate entity. The Salamanca statement

on principles, policy and practice in special needs education

proclaims that every child has a fundamental right to receive

education and must be given an opportunity to achieve and

maintain an acceptable level of learning. Every child has

unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs.

Educational system should be designed and educational

programmes implemented to take into account the wide

diversity of these characteristics and needs. Children with

special educational needs must have access to regular schools

which should accommodate them within a child-centered

pedagogy capable of meeting these needs. Regular schools

with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of

combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming

communities, building an inclusive society and achieving the

goal of “Education For All”.

If “integration” is about fitting a child into the school,

“inclusion” presumes a “whole school” policy to suit all

children, one where there is full parental and community

involvement. The ethos of inclusive education is to facilitate

meaningful opportunities for all children regardless of

impairment. It also means that utmost flexibility should be

given in terms of teaching and learning methods, schools,

resources and support. In a country like India, where

resources are limited, inclusive education is an inevitability

and not an alternative.

Implementation of Inclusive Education ofVisually Impaired Children by NationalAssociation for the Blind, Delhi

National Association for the Blind-Delhi is the only

institution for visually impaired children in Delhi which is

implementing “Inclusive Education” for the visually impaired

children. 256 visually impaired children are studying in 43

different mainstream schools - Government Schools,

Kendriya Vidyalayas, reputed public schools, etc.

A visually impaired child in the age group of 4-8 years is

admitted in the Preparatory Section of NAB where s/he is

provided training in the “plus curricular activities” - reading

and writing of Braille, daily living skills, orientation and

mobility, etc. The visually impaired child admitted in the

preparatory section is expected to gain competence in the

23

above-mentioned skills in about a year or two. After gaining

competence in the necessary skills, the child is evaluated by

the Preparatory school teacher about his/her competence

and accordingly a mainstream school is designated, based

on the capability of the child.

Once the child is admitted in the mainstream school, s/he is

provided with an Educational Kit comprising of a Braille

slate, stylus, Taylor Frame, arithmetic and algebra types,

Abacus, Geometric Kits, etc. There are a number of children

who are technically visually impaired, but have sufficient

residual vision which is suitable for reading large print and

efforts are now being made to provide the knowledge of

Inkprint alphabets. Provision is also being made to provide

school textbooks in large print. The child is provided (as far

as possible) school textbooks in Braille, large print, audio

CDs, cassettes etc. The child is also provided necessary

electronic gadgets for listening to the audio-CDs, cassettes

etc. Arrangement of volunteers to read out textbooks and

helping the child in preparing school instructional material

in Inkprint is also arranged by the special educators of

NAB.

Now-a-days Computer literacy is provided to all visually

impaired children so that they can write their school

examination on the computer. This facilitates the general

class room teacher in checking the answer papers of visually

impaired children even without knowing techniques of

reading and writing Braille. Since Computer Training is a

recent trend, visually impaired children have not gained full

competency in writing, their answer papers on the computer.

In such cases writers/ amanuensis are provided to the visually

impaired children to read out the question paper which is in

inkprint and the child dictates the answer to the amanuensis,

who takes down dictation of the answer in inkprint.

The Role of Special Educators of NAB

The National Association for the Blind has a number of

trained special educators to assist visually impaired children

studying in mainstream schools under inclusive education.

After school hours, the child is provided tutorial guidance

in all the subjects which is taught to the child in mainstream

schools. Tutorial classes for these children are conducted in

NAB for 4 hours on all working days. The special educator

assists the child in completing his/her homework, and attends

to his/her problems in different subjects. Special attention is

provided by the special educator to all visually impaired

children in subjects like mathematics, science, language,

etc. so that they can compete with their non-disabled

counterparts.

A special educator periodically visits mainstream schools and

consults the regular classroom teacher to know the areas

where the visually impaired child needs special attention.

The special educators also attend the parent-teacher meeting

held periodically in the mainstream schools. The visually

impaired children enrolled in NAB come from different states

of India and are provided hostel accommodation in NAB.

It is therefore not possible for the parents of such children to

regularly attend parent-teacher meeting. However, there are

a number of visually impaired children who come from

different parts of Delhi and are day scholars in different

mainstream schools. The parents of those children attend

the parent-teacher meeting along with the special educator

where the problems of visually impaired children are

discussed at length by regular teachers.

24

Achievement of Visually Impaired Children

in Mainstream Schools

The performance of visually impaired children studying in

mainstream schools under the inclusive education is very

satisfactory. For the past few years, ever since NAB has

implemented the inclusive education 100% results have been

achieved in the Secondar y and Senior Secondar y

Examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary

Education (CBSE). This year 12 visually impaired children

appeared for their Senior secondary examination conducted

by CBSE, out of which 9 students secured first division

(more than 60% marks). Out of the 17 visually impaired

children who appeared for their Secondar y Board

Examination under CBSE, 16 secured first division.

Some Bottlenecks

Some of the problems faced by NAB Delhi are in providing

school textbooks in Braille to visually impaired students

registered with NAB studying in different schools - Govt.

Schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, public schools. Some children

study in the Hindi Medium while others in the English

medium. The textbooks, therefore, vary from Hindi medium

to English medium and it becomes difficult to provide all

textbooks as per the requirement of each student. To overcome

this difficulty, NAB provides school textbooks in audio-CD,

audio cassettes, etc. But listening to audio CD/cassettes is

not as effective as reading books by the visually impaired

child.

Since visually impaired children study in different schools

and in different mediums, it becomes difficult to provide

individual attention to each child according to his/her special

requirement. The special educator conducts different classes

for the same grade, whether the child is studying in Hindi or

English medium. Individualized attention is not always

possible by the limited number of special educators. The

textbooks of public schools are also different from one another.

The English book of one public school differs from that of

another. To provide school textbooks to public school students

studying in different schools often becomes difficult since

there are a handful of students studying in each class.

The school textbooks syllabus is periodically changed by

NCERT and even the Ink-print textbooks are not available

in the open market. After the textbooks are available in the

open market, they are purchased for printing them in Braille

or Large Print. This hampers the education of visually

impaired children due to the non-availability of textbooks in

Braille. It may also be noted that even if the textbooks are

made available to visually impaired children, the course

covered is different by different schools. In some cases the

syllabus is covered up to the fifth chapter, whereas in some

others the syllabus is covered up to the third chapter.

To tide over the above mentioned short-comings, NAB-Delhi

makes provision of volunteers who come from different

institutions to read out school textbooks according to the

needs of visually impaired children. NAB also arranges paid

readers to assist visually impaired children studying in

different mainstream schools.

Suggestions

The needs of special needs children vary according to the

nature of their disability. The educational need of a hearing

impaired child is different from that of a mentally retarded

child or a visually impaired child. Each group of special

needs children has its inherent limitations. The training

module of each disability varies according to the special needs

of the impaired child. So far as education of visually impaired

children is concerned, the method of reading and writing in

the Braille script is very different from that of the other

categories of disabled children. It has been abundantly proved

that if given the right direction and guidance and resource

support, the visually impaired child can attain maximum level

of educational achievement. It is therefore recommended that

a specially trained special educator who has undergone

training in the area of education of visually impaired children

is provided. In addition, maximum educational material

should also be provided to visually impaired children in

Braille script to make the visually impaired child as competent

as his/her sighted counterparts.

It should be ensured that school textbooks and other teaching-

learning material is made available to all visually impaired

children and necessary funds for making available school

textbooks in Braille and in large print are available. By taking

these appropriate measures, quality education can reach the

door step of each and every visually impaired child.

��

25

The national workshop on “Providing Equal Opportunities

to All through Inclusive Teaching” was held in

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from 4th – 5th November,

2008. The first day was devoted to technical presentations

by the resource persons. The second day mainly concentrated

on visits to IE related intervention sites. About 55 participants

from 24 States/UTs participated in the workshop. The main

objectives of the workshop were:

� To apprise the participants of the inclusive nature of

Activity Based Learning methodology of Tamil-Nadu

� To discuss some teaching strategies of including hearing

impaired children

� To discuss some strategies for including children with

mental retardation

� To share with the participants strategies for identification

and diagnosis of children with learning disabilities

� To visit intervention sites on IE.

The workshop started with Shri. Vijay Kumar, SPD-Kerala,

SSA welcoming all the participants to the workshop. Ms.

Sarita Mittal-Director, MHRD then apprised the

participants with the major issues on IE in SSA. This session

A Report on the National Workshop onInclusive Education in SSA

was followed by a presentation by Dr. Anupriya Chadha,

Chief Consultant-IE on the progress and issues in inclusive

education.

STATE-WISE PROGRESS

Progress on Inclusive Education

1. Andhra Pradesh

� 176344 CWSN identified and 150004 enrolled.

2500 CWSN covered through AIE and 13518

CWSN covered through home-based education.

� 176850 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 78 NGOs involved in the IE programme.

� 220871 teachers have been provided 5-day training

on IE. 633 trained through 45/90 day training.

� 751 resource teachers in place.

� 21337 schools made barrier-free.

2. Arunachal Pradesh

� 7208 CWSN identified and 3892 enrolled. 130

CWSN covered through AIE and 2 CWSN

covered through home-based education.

� 4062 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 5 NGOs involved in the IE programme.

� 921 teachers have been provided 5-day training

on IE. 67 teachers trained through 45/90 day

training.

� No resource teacher in place.

� 774 schools made barrier-free.

3. Assam

� 96929 CWSN have been identified and 61611

enrolled in schools. 6398 CWSN have been

enrolled in EGS and 24349 are being covered

through home-based education.

� 19924 CWSN have been provided aids and

appliances.

� 86824 teachers have been given five-day training

on IE.

� 167267 teachers have been given training through

the mass teacher training programmes and 2120

DIET/BTC faculties trained through RCI

foundation course.

� For barrier-free access, 37659 schools and new

school buildings are being equipped with ramps

and handrails.

4. Bihar

� 313500 CWSN have been identified and 214374

enrolled in schools.

� 80225 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� One day orientation programme has been organised

for 160475 teachers.

� 3-day training given to 109167 teachers.

� 984 teachers have undergone three-month

foundation course by RCI.

� 254 resource teachers appointed.

� 33246 schools have been provided with ramps.

5. Chhattisgarh

� 41672 CWSN have been identified and 40251

enrolled in schools. 216 CWSN have been enrolled

in EGS 193 CWSN being covered through home

based education.

� 29968 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 1-day orientation programme has been organised

for 65500 teachers.

� 3-day training given to 34091 teachers.

� 528 teachers have undergone three-month

foundation course by RCI.

� 23 resource teachers appointed.

� 17886 schools have been provided with ramps.

6. Chandigarh

� 4954 CWSN identified and 4679 enrolled.

� 12 resource teachers appointed.

� 6 NGOs involved.

� The State has started teacher training on IE and

800 teachers have been given 3 day training, 194

teachers given 45-90 days training on IE.

� 35 schools made barrier-free.

7. Daman and Diu

� 146 CWSN identified and 88 enrolled.

� 11 CWSN provided assistive devices.

� 69 schools made barrier-free.

26

8. Goa

� 1696 CWSN identified, and 1544 enrolled.

� 4 NGOs involved.

� 78 teachers given 45/90 days training.

� 612 schools made barrier-free.

9. Gujarat

� 75608 CWSN identified and 62411 enrolled.

� 1016 CWSN covered through EGS/AIE.

� 191044 general teachers have been provided

orientation to IE issues in the 2-day mass teacher

training.

� 122002 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 8835 teachers have been given 45/90 day training.

� 30192 schools have been provided ramps and

handrails.

� 1191 resource teachers appointed.

10. Haryana

� 27275 CWSN identified and 20431 enrolled in

schools. 6264 CWSN enrolled in EGS and 580

provided home-based support.

� 66000 general teachers have been provided

orientation to IE issues in the 2-day mass teacher

training.

� 39625 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 42850 teachers have been given 5 day training.

� 9391 schools have been provided ramps and

handrails.

� 70 resource teachers appointed.

11. Jammu and Kashmir

� 34825 CWSN identified and 23080 enrolled.

� 4450 CWSN provided with aids and appliances.

� The State has provided 1-day training on IE to

15000 teachers. 1000 teachers have been given a

3-6 day orientation to IE.

� 390 teachers trained through the foundation course.

� 5 NGOs involved.

� 2500 schools provided with ramps and handrails.

12. Jharkhand

� 45114 CWSN have been identified and 34893

are enrolled in schools. 95 covered through home-

based education.

� 29238 aids and appliances have been provided.

� The State has provided 3-5-day training on IE to

9048 teachers. 42260 teachers have been given a

1-day orientation to IE in the mass teacher-training

programme for the duration of 10-days.

� 426 resource persons have been trained through

the RCI foundation course.

� 19 resource teachers appointed.

� 12396 schools made barrier-free.

13. Karnataka

� 132297 CWSN identified and 106980 enrolled

and 14439 covered through home-based education.

� 44806 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 195894 teachers oriented to IE through the 20-

days refresher training.

� 15733 teachers oriented to IE for 5-days.

� 24121 teachers provided training through RCI

foundation course.

� 606 resource teachers appointed.

� 54855 schools made barrier-free.

14. Kerala

� 134570 CWSN identified and 127607 enrolled

in schools. 362 CWSN enrolled in EGS and 775

provided home-based education.

� 9 NGOs involved.

� 20199 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 132000 teachers oriented to IE through the 20-

day refresher training.

27

� 54859 teachers oriented to IE for 5-days.

� 375 resource teachers appointed.

� 14448 schools made barrier-free.

15. Madhya Pradesh

� 113023 CWSN identified and 98553 enrolled.

11553 CWSN are enrolled in EGS and 2917

provided home-based education.

� 68380 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 75204 teachers oriented to IE through the 20-day

refresher training.

� 15732 teachers oriented to IE for 5-days.

� 3727 teachers provided training through RCI

foundation course.

� 175 resource teachers appointed.

� 29222 schools made barrier-free.

16. Maharashtra

� 398232 CWSN identified and 347932 enrolled.

40354 CWSN covered through EGS and 9936

through home-based education.

� 35 NGOs involved.

� 94130 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 383082 teachers oriented to IE.

� 10446 teachers provided training through RCI

foundation course.

� 1102 resource teachers appointed.

� 58864 schools made barrier-free.

17. Manipur

� 7409 CWSN identified and 4234 enrolled.

� 7 NGOs involved.

� 1028 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 3062 teachers oriented to IE.

� 2502 teachers provided training through RCI

foundation course.

� 392 schools made barrier-free.

18. Meghalaya

� 8842 CWSN identified and 6145 enrolled.

� 168 CWSN covered through home-based

education.

� 4716 teachers trained through mass teacher

training. 4913 teachers provided 3-day orientation.

� 469 teachers provided training through 45/90 day

foundation course.

� 2886 CWSN provided assistive devices.

� 481 schools made barrier-free.

19. Mizoram

� 7228 CWSN identified, 5428 enrolled.

� 2416 teachers trained through mass teacher

training.

� 2043 teachers provided 3-day orientation.

� 282 teachers provided training through 45/90 day

foundation course.

� 893 CWSN provided assistive devices.

� 1217 schools made barrier-free.

� 9 resource teachers appointed.

20. Nagaland

� 3560 CWSN identified, 2949 enrolled.

� 1862 teachers provided 3-day orientation.

� 3 NGOs involved.

� 164 teachers provided training through 45/90 day

foundation course.

� 471 CWSN provided assistive devices.

21. Pondicherry

� 3125 CWSN identified. Out of these, 2983

enrolled in schools and 92 covered through home-

based education.

� A total of 1559 aids and appliances have been

provided to CWSN.

� 130 general teachers have been trained through

mass teacher training.

� 266 schools provided with ramps and handrails.

22. Tamil Nadu

� 116339 CWSN identified and 103133 enrolled

in schools and 412 in EGS. 12794 CWSN

provided home-based education.

� 76937 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 201604 teachers oriented to IE for 5-days.

� 34908 schools made barrier-free.

� 818 resource teachers appointed.

28

23. Uttarakhand

� 14103 CWSN identified and 11259 enrolled in

schools and 78 in EGS. 1226 CWSN provided

home-based education.

� 8361 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 40569 teachers oriented to IE through the 20-days

refresher training.

� 11847 teachers provided 45/90 day foundation

course.

� 8298 schools made barrier-free.

� 7 resource teachers appointed.

24. West Bengal

� A total of 199671 CWSN have been screened

and 128548 have been enrolled in the schools and

9325 in EGS. 16350 being provided home-based

education.

� 35132 CWSN provided aids and appliances.

� 149116 teachers have been provided intensive

training on IE.

� 137714 teachers have been oriented to IE through

20-days training.

� 734 teachers provided RCI foundation course.

� 722 resource teachers appointed.

� 46421 schools have been provided with ramps.

Technical Sessions

The first presentation of the day was on Learning Disability

Identification and Management by Shri. Joseph from

Association of the Learning Disabilities – India. Shri. Joseph

started his presentation by explaining the concept of scholastic

backwardness. He then explained that a child having

scholastic backwardness needs psychological medical and

psycho-educational assessment. He then briefly explained

the physical, psycho-educational and psychological

impairments that could be present in a child. Shri. Joseph

then explained the following terms:

� Alexia

� Specific Reading Disability

� Word Blindness

� Learning Disabilities

� Specific Developmental Disorder Of Scholastic Skills

� Dysgraphia

� Dyscalculia

Specific Learning Disability (SLD) is a disorder in one or

more of the basic, psychological process involved in

understanding or in using language, spoken or written that

may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak,

read, write, spell or to do mathematics, think calculations

including conditions such as perceptual disability brain injury,

minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia. SLD does not include

learning problems that are primarily the result of visual,

hearing or motor disabilities or MR or emotional disturbances

or of environmental cultural or economical disadvantage.

Shri. Joseph then explained in detail the reading, spelling,

writing and mathematical errors that a child with LD might

exhibit. He then explained the assessment of LD in detail.

The next part of his presentation focussed on classroom

management. The important components of classroom

management are approach, learning style, level of

inter vention and motivation provided. Classroom

management requires using techniques such as making the

child sitting in front, speaking clearly, writing clearly, giving

more time, allowing self correction, etc.

He ended his presentation by describing in detail the work

of ALDI. The States were informed that ALDI could be

used as resource organization by the states for conducting

training progammes, especially on the assessment and

management of LD.

Novel initiatives in IE by SSA Kerala

The second presentation of the Day I was on Novel Initiatives

taken by SSA Kerala on IE. SSA Kerala is implementing

IEDC programme under the following major gamut of

activities:

29

1. Community Awareness Programmes (CAP)

2. Parental Education Programmes (PEP)

3. Teacher Empowerment Programmes (TEP)

4. Facilities Improvement Programmes (FIP)

5. Learner Achievement Programmes (LAP)

These were explained in detail.

Early Intervention for Hearing Impaired

Children

The post lunch was devoted to a presentation by National

Institute of Speech & Hearing on Strategies for Teaching Young

Hearing Impaired Children. NISH has an intensive early

intervention programme which caters to children between

birth to 5-6 years. The following are the stages of early

intervention programme:

� Stage l - Parent Guidance Programme (PGP)

(Children between the ages of 0 to 2 ½ years)

� Stage ll - Lesson Preparatory Programme (LPP)

(Children between the ages of 2 ½ to 3 years)

� Stage lll - Pre-School Programme (PSP) (Children

between the ages of 3 to 6 years).

The Lesson Preparatory programme prepares the children

between the ages of 2 ½ to 3 years to move to the next stage

- The Pre-school Programme. The focus here is on pre-

reading and pre-writing skills. Ms. Raji Gopal then explained

the techniques/ strategies. She explained that the strategies

that need to be encouraged from birth to 3 years.

She then explained the focus from 1 ½ - 2 years, 2 to 2 ½

years and 2 ½ - 3 years. She also explained in detail the

techniques that could be used for hearing impaired child

from birth to 3 years. She ended her presentation by stating

that NISH could be used as a resource organisation for

school readiness programmes being conducted for hearing

impaired children by SSA states.

The Inclusive Nature of Activity BasedLearning- ABL

The next presentation was conducted by Tamil Nadu SSA

on the Inclusive Nature of ABL. Shri. Selva Kumar, IE

Coordinator started his presentation by stating that Quality

Initiatives encompassed child centred pedagogy, inclusion

and most appropriate environment to meet the specific needs

of CWSN. The ABL classrooms are equipped with lots of

learning materials like flash cards, written strips, picture

cards, self learning materials, beads, blocks, etc. Child

friendly seating arrangement is also a part of ABL.

In ABL classroom, teacher sits close to the students, so that

individualised attention is given to CWSN. Regular teachers

and special teachers are facilitator/animator/supervisor/guide.

Low level blackboards are made for each child. Flexible are

the accommodations that ABL provides to all children.

Besides, through its strategies, ABL also promotes social

integration. The teaching strategies in ABL are child-centred

and activity-oriented that focus on learning by doing. There

is one-on-one focus and it is not chalk and talk method. The

resource teacher support mainly comes in the form of helping,

facilitating, guiding, teaching, counselling and monitoring

30

the CWSN. Thus, ABL has proved to be very useful for

all children, especially for CWSN.

Teaching Students with MentalRetardation

The last presentation of the day was devoted to Teaching

Students with Mental Retardation by Shri. Kutty from the

Association of the Welfare of the Handicapped. Mental

retardation refers to substantial limitations in present

functioning. It is characterized by significantly sub-average

intellectual functioning existing concurrently with related

limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive

skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills,

community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional

academics, leisure and work. Mental retardation manifests

before age 18.

He then explained to the participants the concept of measured

intelligence and adaptive behaviour. The prevalence of mental

retardation was also discussed. The representative

characteristics and concomitant problems of students with

mental retardation were also described. Shri. Kutty then

explained the following tips for teachers of students with

mentally retardation:

� Provide alternative instructional presentation using

varied examples and focus on functional skills.

� Provide opportunities for students to demonstrate

understanding actively before moving to independent

practice.

� Provide more opportunities for practice.

� Use concrete examples when teaching new skills.

� Provide supportive and corrective feedback.

� Modify tests and evaluation measures to compensate

for learning problems

� Evaluate students performance and progress more

frequently.

� Adapt instructions to environments where what is being

learned will be used.

� Break lessons into smaller parts when teaching complier

skills.

� Be prepared to repeat teaching more frequently.

The assessment process for children with mental retardation

was also explained. Shri. Kutty ended his presentation by

describing student variables, parent variables, regular class

variables and special education variables.

Visits to the Intervention Sites

Day- II began with visiting the following sites:

� Government Model Girls Higher Secondary School,

Patttam

� Home of a disabled child

� BRC Balaramapuram

The Government Model Girls Higher Secondary School,

Patttam had a total of 1600 students and 46 teachers. A

total of 88 CWSN were enrolled in this school. The school

had two models for mainstreaming CWSN. One model was

that of visits by the itinerant teacher and the second model

was that of a resource room. 106 children came to the

resource room for assistance. Children with mild and

moderate categories were mainstreamed in regular schools,

whereas those with severe and profound disabilities were

only partially included in the regular classes. The school

had enrolled all kinds of CWSN.

The next visit was made to the home of 14 year old Srikant

- a child with severe orthopaedic problems. This child suffered

from a severe spinal chord damage, which retarded his

mobility completely. This child was given assistance by a

resource teacher who visits him once a week. Since the parents

leave for their daily work early in the morning, they were not

found to be very actively involved in the learning process of

their child. Similarly no case history was found of this child.

The next visit was made to BRC Balaramapuram. This

BRC conducted remedial teaching programme for CWSN

in a resource room. 15-20 children come to the resource

room for this kind of assistance. It includes all kinds of

CWSN. Once a week the parents of CWSN also visit the

resource room to see the process of remedial teaching. A

brief interaction was also done with the parents who

mentioned that SSA should provide more opportunities to

manifest the skills and potential that CWSN have. They

also wanted more cultural programmes to be organised for

their CWSN.

Conclusion

The progress made by the participating States was reviewed

in detail. The focus was on covering more CWSN and to

31

provide them quality education. There was unanimity on

the need to address critical issues like providing Braille books

to the visually impaired children, initiating activity based

teaching for CWSN, assessment of learning disabilities, etc.

Some important aspects regarding inclusive education in

SSA were discussed at the workshop. These were relating

to the procurement and printing of Braille books, classroom

support for hearing impaired children, role of general teachers

in IE, etc. Addressing these issues is perhaps vital for

influencing and implementing inclusive education in SSA.

��

32

Role of Parents in Visual Impairment

George Abraham*

The process of inclusion begins right from the time the parents

discover the visual impairment in their child. Often times

the development of the child is neglected in the early formative

years. The parents and relatives get obsessed with medical

needs and a quest for a cure or reversal of their child’s eye

condition.

There is nothing wrong with exploring for treatment or

possible cure, but then it should be realized that the child

has a normal development process to go through which should

not be delayed. Yes the vision impairment could be a cause

for disappointment, but then it is important for the parents

to accept the child and focus on nurture and development.

The sooner this happens, the better it is for the child and the

family.

Parental attitudes are well known to influence the self-concept

of a blind child. In turn, self-concept of the child will

determine his/her school performance. Therefore, counselling

has to be a twin process of counselling the parents and

encouraging the blind child to perform better. Research

points out to the following parental reactions:

Acceptance

This is the best possible attitude.

Denial

Parents may deny the disability of the child and exert pressure

on him/her to do things, which are beyond his/her capacity.

Disguised Rejection

This usually takes the shape of discrimination at home. The

child may not be given the same treatment as other brothers

and sisters. This causes mental agony.

* CEO – Score Foundation

Outright Rejection

In such cases the blind child may be given a way to a gang of

beggars or left to fend for himself/herself in a residential

institution for the blind.

Over Protection

This is the phenomenon most commonly seen in affluent

parents. The mother feels a sense of guilt and shame and

does every thing for the child, destroying his/her initiative

and autonomy. Such a child may become totally dependent

even in the development of the survival skills.

Brothers and sisters may also have negative reactions. They

may not play with him/her, read to him or take him/her out.

All this gives rise to open and distinct resentment, which

may occasionally explode in out-burst of anger or protest.

Hence, to avoid such behaviours, attitudes and reactions,

parents must be trained to develop the skills of mobility in

the environment, developing a mental map of the child’s

environment. Increase in mobility will have a healthy impact

on self-esteem, cognitive and social-emotional development.

Early intervention must focus on communication. Therefore

specific methods and strategies must be devised to suit family

routines and culture so the child will discover the power of

communication, as he begins to regulate his/her own

behaviours and that of others. Only when an environment

which is optimally responsive to the child’s needs and interests

is created, will the child’s/adult’s interaction and participation

be promoted.

Low vision children face emotional mis-management as they

have identity crisis. This is because they are neither accepted

by the blind nor by the sighted children. Parents of low vision

children many a times do not realize that their child has a

33

problem and hence, have unrealistic expectations from the

child.

Credit should be given to Manjula and Jayant Mahajan,

though disappointed; they continued to nurture their children.

They were at a loss for ideas; they did not know what to do?

They did not want their blind daughters to be wasted away.

They were fortunate to get positive advice from friends as

well as the National Association for the Blind, New Delhi.

They also had the opportunity to meet with a couple of visually

impaired persons who were leading perfectly normal and

reasonably successful lives.

The Mahajans were quick to spot the light at the end of the

dark tunnel that they believed they were in. They started

realizing that the situation was actually not as bad as they

had imagined. The focus was no longer on the blindness and

the limitations that came with it. The thoughts were no longer

on their disappointments or so called misfortunes. The quest

for information and direction had become top priority. They

were advised to bring up their daughters as normal children.

Prachi and Pragya were showered with love and attention.

The parents ensured that they passed every milestone on time.

Whenever in doubt, they sought direction from either NAB

or from vision impaired role model friends.

Between the age of 3 and 6 years, the Mahajans worked

very closely with NAB, New Delhi and provided the girls

the opportunity to evolve, learning about themselves and the

world around them. Every day was a new lesson on life and

how to live life. They were toilet trained, were taught to have

a bath, dress and comb their hair independently. They were

given instructions in orientation and mobility. They were

introduced to the world of colours, shapes and textures. They

learnt to appreciate and enjoy the sounds of music, the rhythm

of rhymes and the power of group dynamics.

By the time the girls were 6, they were independent as far as

their daily living skills were concerned. They even had a

reasonable understanding of personal hygiene and cleanliness.

They could move about with confidence. They could recite

poems, answer questions and interact socially with fair amount

of poise.

Prachi and Pragya, today study in a reputed private school

in New Delhi. Admission was difficult to obtain in the

beginning. However persistence paid. The Mahajans were a

little disappointed that no schools in the neighborhood were

willing to take their children. Prachi and Pragya love going

to school. They have made friends. They not only learn in

the classroom, but also have been taking part in sports, quiz,

music and outings, etc. The Mahajans have also nurtured a

dream for their twins. The Mahajans are constantly in touch

with the teachers and are all the time exploring avenues for

their children to embark upon.

It is indeed important to identify the children with vision

impairment as early as possible. Timely intervention has to

be ensured for the vision impaired children in terms of giving

them suitable stimuli to achieve normal milestones and pave

the path for their wholesome all round development.

Psychologists affirm that the first 4 to 5 years of the child’s

life are the most vital, and the parents are in the best position

to make this possible.

Arush Bhat has been totally blind from birth. He was blessed

with parents who believed in him and who wanted a future

for him. They put him in a play school, Gunjan, at NOIDA.

The school was happy to take on the challenge of tackling a

visually impaired child. But then, the school soon found out

that Arush was not able to take part in many of the activities.

The parents were told of this and the challenge of taking matters

forward was more with the parents than with the school. The

parents approached an organisation the Eyeway Help Desk

and shared their problem. The professionals from Eyeway

met with the Principal and teachers of the school and suggested

that alongside activities that were vision driven like painting,

34

cutting, pasting, etc., activities involving non-visual senses

also be included. It was suggested that all children be blind

folded and made to feel objects and identify, smell various

fruits, vegetables, etc. Further it was suggested that games be

played wherein children were blind folded. It did not take the

school very long to realize that these additional activities not

only helped Arush to become an active participant in the

school’s activities, but also provided the school with an

opportunity to develop a multisensorial approach to education.

It is important to recognize and acknowledge the fact that

educating children with vision impairment in the mainstream

is still quite in its early stage. It would be fair to say that the

process of inclusion is very much in its infancy and is gradually

evolving. Children with vision impairment are being included

in mainstream schools in different parts of the country using

varied strategies and methods. The whole process is still

very much in an experimental stage. In fact, most schools

are hesitant to admit children with vision impairment. This

is perhaps not as much because of a lack of belief in the need

for educating children with vision impairment, but more due

to ignorance. The teachers have very little understanding

about the abilities and potential of the blind and visually

impaired children. Besides, most schools are not equipped

to handle children with vision impairment because of lack of

trained teachers, learning material and other needed

resources. Thus, parents have a significant role to play.

Role of Parents

No parent is ever prepared to be the parent of a handicapped

child. The parent primarily learns about the child through

the experience of family living and professionals working with

the parents must focus on these learning experiences.

Although parents may share common problems and

reactions, the combinations of reactions that are possible,

the intensity of the reactions and the duration of the reactions

are some factors that necessitate that each family be

considered individually. For e.g. parents’ reactions to the

diagnosis of a learning disability in their child may be similar

to feelings of grief and be characterized by shock, denial,

blame and/or guilt, anger, and sorrow. Initial feelings of

shock, denial and disbelief may be followed by feelings of

guilt, anger, or depression before the parent reaches

acceptance and makes constructive attempts to seek services

and incorporate the disability into the reality of daily life.

Parental adjustment might comprise the following:

� Awareness of a problem

� Recognition of the problem

� Search for a cause

� Search for a cure, and

� Acceptance of the child.

Besides, the parents should also bear the following in mind:

� Foster feelings of self-esteem in your child.

� Do not compare the performance of this child with other

siblings.

35

� All children have strengths and competencies and these

strengths must be identified and reinforced.

� Parents who convey hope provide a major force in

helping children overcome adversity and become

resilient.

� Parents can help children develop a feeling of

responsibility and sense of making a contribution to the

family and the world.

� Parents can provide opportunities for their child to make

choices and decisions and promote self-discipline.

� Parents can help children deal effectively with mistakes

and failures.

� If possible, parents should attend training programmes

with community.

Inclusion is good for both the visually impaired children as

well as their sighted peers. But then to make inclusion

happen, parents have a very critical role to play. In fact at

the present moment, inclusion, as a process has to be driven

forward by parents. This entails pushing for admissions,

helping the teachers find solutions to classroom adaptations

and providing the necessary support to the child.

Teachers, principals and resource teachers should find ways

to provide the necessary support services to educate all

children. The regular education teacher can provide good

role models and high expectations for students with particular

challenges. But this is only possible if general teacher,

resource teacher, school administrators, parents and

community all work as a team. Thus, the key to success lies

in shared ownership. Teachers will want to realize that all of

the children in their schools are “all of our children” and

work within a collaborative framework to meet the unique

needs of all children.

��

36

The National Association for the Blind, India (NAB) was

established on January 19, 1952. Today it is one of the

largest voluntary organizations in the disability sector,

engaged in the work for the blind. It has established a wide

network of 22 state and 65 district branches all over the

country for the promotion of a wide range of services, activities

and programmes aimed at prevention and cure of blindness,

education, training, employment, rehabilitation, production

of Braille and audio-literature, empowerment of blind

women, care of the aged blind and so on. It has established

the first cyber café for the blind in India at its headquarters

in Mumbai with the purpose of giving the visually impaired

access to information technology.

NAB is also credited for having one of the largest Braille

Printing Presses in the country that prints about 40,000

Braille volumes running into 60 lakh Braille pages in a year.

* Programme Manager: NAB India

NAB is also having one of the largest Talking Book Centre

in the country with a collection of about 6000 audio books

in 9 languages. It has pioneered a programme for home based

services to multiple disabled visually impaired children in

Mumbai city and its adjoining areas which have been

replicated in as many as 10 different locations in the country.

Recently, NAB has started a Residential Computer Training

Centre for the Blind students and teachers.

NAB through it’s department of education has been

promoting education of visually impaired children in regular

schools since 1981. Thousands of children today in India

even in rural areas are studying in this system what is

commonly known as ‘Inclusive Education’. It is a form of

education provided for those who are not achieving or are

not likely to achieve through ordinary educational provisions,

the level of educational, social and other attainments

Facilitating Inclusion of Visually Impaired Children:The NAB India Experience

Ms. Pallavi Shankar*

37

38

appropriate to their age and which has the aim of furthering

their progress towards these levels.

Inclusive education also refers to the measures taken to

provide educational resources, within the ordinary

educational system, for those children who need them. The

aim of inclusion is to avoid or reduce restrictions on any

aspects of a child’s development which might result from

segregated education. It also refers to the meaningful

involvement of such youngsters into ongoing regular

educational programmes to whatever extent it is feasible and

beneficial, in a given instance.

NAB’s Integrated Education Programme for Visually

Impaired Children commenced in the year in 1982 at Gujarat

and since then collaborated with more than 100 NGO’s in

the country and spread the concept, the programme

predominantly in the rural areas. NAB India has been

instrumental in bringing more than 5000 visually impaired

children under the fold of education over the past 26 years.

Guiding Principles of IE Programme: NAB

- India

� Coverage is as important as quality as the majority of

visually impaired children are still deprived of formal

education.

� IE Programme begins with existing resources like local

agencies, infrastructure, human resource, teaching-

learning material, assistive devices, etc. There is no ideal

IE setting.

� Though the family, school and community can

participate and contribute to a visually impaired child’s

education, yet there is no perfect substitute for a trained

itinerant teacher.

� All the IE Units of NAB India are manned by itinerant

teachers who are either professionally trained or at least

have done functional training course and properly

equipped with competency skills.

� Proficiency in plus curricular skills (especially Braille

and mobility) is indispensable for pursuance of higher

education and rehabilitation.

� In addition to the regular visits of itinerant teachers,

teacher Skill Development Camps are also organised

during vacations.

� Blind children need positive physical stimulation just

as much or perhaps a little more than their sighted

counterparts so as to stay away from bad posture,

mannerisms, obesity, indigestion, etc.

� NAB India has designed and conducted several

physical training-cum-adventure activities/camps

dedicated to P.T. exercises, yoga, outdoor games,

athletics, treks, rappelling, rock climbing, river crossing,

malla khamb, etc.

� Proficiency in English and computer skills must be

strengthened right from childhood, both being pre-

requisites for successful rehabilitation in present day

society.

� The Braille Press has undertaken two innovative and

ambitious projects for Braille production and free

distribution of about fifteen English titles relating to

Indian folk tales and two dictionaries English-Hindi

and Hindi-English to 500 institutions for the blind in

India to be completed during the Louis Braille birth

bicentenary year.

� Participation of the family, school and the community

is indispensable for the success of an IE Programme.

In this connection, NAB India has devised several social

engineering strategies and mechanisms to disseminate

knowledge and competency skills relating to education

of visually impaired Children. These include (a) the

one month (part time) Para-Professional’s training

course (b) Fifteen days (full time) Social Animator’s

training course.

39

So far about 50 such courses have been conducted all over

India covering 1500 persons comprising parents, family

members, neighbours, relatives, regular teachers, head

masters, volunteers, special teachers, etc.

Education should be viewed as a much broader phenomenon,

not restricted to academics, encompassing all round

development of visually impaired children. For this NAB

India organises picnics, educational visits, outings, long

distance excursions, rural camps; community based teaching

camps, treks, adventure sports, military orientation camps,

etc. at regular intervals at different locations (most of them

residential).

There is need to refresh, rejuvenate and update the

knowledge and skills of itinerant teachers. Keeping this in

mind, NAB India has designed and conducted several need

based short-term courses for them at different locations.

Dialogue programmes, subject enrichment courses, CRE

courses, etc. have been conducted. There is a need for

reference material in Indian languages for the teachers.

Visually impaired children with multiple disabilities need to

be included in IE programme as well. Thus, home based

services should be strengthened.

Involvement of stakeholders is imperative for the success of

the programme. Many blind and low vision persons are

involved in various capacities such as itinerant teachers,

programme supervisors/co-ordinators, programme directors,

consultants, etc. offering valuable support towards

programme implementation, monitoring, evaluation,

expansion and development. However, sustained efforts need

to be made towards advocacy for better inclusion of visually

impaired children in mainstream schools.

The model NAB has adopted the itinerant model of IE.

Here, the visually impaired children stay with their families

in their own community. They are enrolled in a regular school

in the vicinity. Services of itinerant teacher, educational

instructional material and equipment are provided to them.

The itinerant teacher travels from village to village to provide

special instructions and support-services in regular schools

or at homes of visually impaired children. The number of

times the itinerant teacher visits the school / home depends

on the needs of the children (one or two visits per child per

week). The teacher carries out functional assessment,

prepares the visually impaired children for formal schooling

by training them in plus curriculum, i.e. training in daily

living skills, orientation and mobility, sensory integration,

teaching use of special appliances, teaching Braille and social

skills. The teacher also does family counseling, guides the

regular teacher and is responsible for remedial teaching.

NAB, India provides Braille Kits to totally blind children

free of cost. It contains basic educational devices for writing

Braille, arithmetic, geometry, etc. It also provides textbooks

in Braille or large print to visually impaired children. Under

its scholarship and sponsorship programme, NAB India

provides assistance for personal needs like uniform, footwear,

stationery, medicines, and supplementary nutrition.

Periodic meetings are also conducted of parents, class-

teachers and headmasters for quality upgradation. Periodic

evaluation of children, especially in plus-curricular skills is

also undertaken.

Mobilizing community resources is one important activity of

NAB. NAB has conducted about 50 Social Animators

Training courses in different parts of the country and 15

Para-Professional training courses in Mumbai, all aimed at

social engineering in favour of integrated education of visually

impaired children. Similarly, it has also designed what is

called an Integrated Camp for blind children and their sighted

peers and conducted it at about 50 different locations. This

has led to motivating and training of parents, relatives,

neighbours, regular teachers, headmasters, volunteers and

sighted peers to work as writers, readers, tutors and

transcribers for visually impaired children.

Apart from teaching plus curricular skills, there is a need to

promote experiential learning of the visually impaired

40

children. Though many visually impaired children perform

extremely well with regard to academics, yet, their exposure

to the outside world remains greatly restricted. Whereas,

their sighted counterparts participate in several outdoor

activities in the school as well as in the neighbourhood such

as sports, picnics, camps, excursions, etc. the visually

impaired children seldom get the opportunity to participate

in the same, mainly for safety reasons. Similarly, viewing of

films and television supplement the process of concept

formation for sighted children, but not for visually impaired

children, who just hear the dialogues and some basic natural

sounds in the background.

The understanding of many basic concepts such as a lake,

river, sea, mountain, fort, waterfall, railway, train, etc. is

taken for granted in the sighted world due to constant

exposure and use of vision. However, they remain empty

words for the visually impaired children. In a nutshell, visually

impaired children have little access to experiential learning

that happens outside the classroom through observation and

through the print and electronic media.

Realizing the aforesaid limitations in the learning

environment for visually impaired children, NAB India

began organizing a variety of outdoor activities with specific

objectives. Some of the activities are as follows:

� Monsoon Treks

� Adventure cum military orientation camps

� A Residential Community-Based Education Camp

� Adventure-cum-Sports Camp including activities like

rock climbing, rapling, river crossing self defense,

trekking, obstacle training, rope climbing, burma bridge,

archery, karate, cultural activities, swimming, rifle

shooting, etc.

� Educational tours

� Rural camps to familiarize children with agriculture,

poultry, dairy, vegetable gardening, rural industries, etc.

� Annual Picnics.

The blind children have greatly welcomed the aforesaid

activities and have participated in the same with considerable

zeal and enthusiasm. Teachers served as volunteers for

aforesaid activities and provided multi-sensory experiences

to the children to the maximum extent possible. Such activities

became very popular amongst the blind children.

By giving opportunity and exposure to visually impaired

children they can be as successful in life as their sighted

counterpart. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has provided an

opportunity, wherein the general education system is gearing

its efforts to include the disadvantaged and underprivileged

children, the blind also being amongst them.

41

News from the States-

Preparing Visually

Impaired Children for

Schools through RBCs

in Bihar

Introduction

SSA ensures that all children with special needs (CWSN)

in the age group of 6-14 years irrespective of the kind,

category and degree of disability provided elementary

education in an appropriate environment with the desired

technical support from resource teachers and trained teachers.

To achieve this goal, a wide range of approaches and

strategies have been formulated and implemented by the

State of Bihar for imparting education to the CWSN

according to their needs. This includes engagement of

resource teachers; therapeutic management; parental

counseling; home based education; assessment of CWSN

and free distribution of aids and appliances; teacher training

for management of children in classroom situation; and

residential bridge course for school readiness of the visually

42

impaired children. This article in particular will deal with

the RBC’s conducted by Bihar SSA, especially for the

visually impaired children.

Objective of Residential Bridge Course

SSA State Mission Society realized the need of some

innovative practices for severely disabled children. To support

zero rejection policy, it was important to impart education to

severe CWSN. Moreover, children with severe disabilities

are not easily accepted in the school. They lack school

readiness skills and orientation in use of special equipments.

The general school teachers have their own limitations in

terms of expertise to provide intensive and individualized

training till the children with severe disabilities learn plus

curriculum skills. Therefore, it was decided that some

intensive and specialized short-term training had to be

provided to the children with visual and hearing impairment

before placing them in general schools. Once the child is

trained in plus curricular areas, s/he is generally well accepted

in the general schools.

Bridge course for children with severe visual, orthopaedic

and hearing impairment in Bihar is a short-term residential

intensive training programme focusing on developing skills

required for successful integration of these children in regular

schools.

The objectives of the bridge course are:

� To develop skills of readiness for successful integration

in regular schools

� To equip the children with required skills to use special

equipment independently

� To develop adequate 3R’s skills as well as academic

competencies required for immediate inclusion in the

regular classroom appropriate to the child’s grade level

� To develop sense of independence, self-confidence and

motivation for personal growth

� To orient the children with various environments, not

only for school inclusion, but also community and social

inclusion.

During the year 2008-09, 30 days Residential Bridge

Course has been conducted for the orthopaedically impaired

children with the help of resource teachers and trained

teachers in 36 districts during summer vacation. In the first

phase 2782 children were covered under the programme.

In the 2nd phase, 23 districts have conducted residential

bridge course and 965 visually impaired children have been

covered. The district-wise number of visually impaired

children covered under RBCs is shown below.

S. No Name of District No. of Visually

Impaired children

Boys Girls Total

1 Darbhanga 29 10 39

2 Vaishali 34 12 46

3 Gopalganj 22 8 30

4 Bhagalpur 53 18 71

5 E. Champaran 28 12 40

6 Banka 36 15 51

7 Patna 28 12 40

8 Muzaffarpur 26 14 40

9 Sitamarhi 26 14 40

10 Sheohar 17 10 27

11 Nalanda 24 16 40

12 Gaya 22 13 35

13 Shekhpura 28 12 40

14 Supaul 20 17 37

15 katihar 16 14 30

16 Rohtas 48 32 80

17 Aurangabad 22 18 40

18 Buxar 28 12 40

19 Madhubani 26 14 40

20 Lakhisarai 30 14 44

21 Begusarai 17 13 30

22 Purnia 32 8 40

23 Samastipur 24 21 45

Total 636 329 965

43

Strategy

The following strategies were adopted for successful

conduction of RBC for visually impaired children.

� Assessment of visually impaired including low vision

children was conducted with the help of resource

teachers. Parental counseling was done for confidence

building among the parents and to motivate them to

send their children to the programme. Information was

also provided to the parents regarding facilities and

provisions of RBC and its impact on their children.

� 40 visually impaired children including those with low

vision were enrolled in each RBC. The duration of the

RBC was 30 days and 3 resource teachers/trained

teachers were deputed for the management and overall

supervision of RBC.

� Two day orientation training was conducted for the

teachers/resource teachers who were to be deputed for

the bridge course for imparting educational training to

visually impaired children.

� A module called DRISHTI was developed by the Sate

SSA Society for the RBC of visually impaired children.

This focussed on developing Braille reading skills,

mobility training and learning about the environment

through other senses.

� All the enrolled visually impaired children were

provided dress and other educational items in

convergence with the local organization.

� All the districts were instructed to procure Braille kits,

mobility sticks, Brailler and Braille books from National

Institute for Visually Handicapped, and ALIMCO

before starting the programme.

� Each district administration was instructed to conduct

diagnostic camp with the help of existing medical team

and on the basis of the examination, disability certificates

were provided to each enrolled child during the

programme.

� Before completion of the programme, a meeting with

respective school headmaster where these children were

to be enrolled was conducted for providing appropriate

educational learning facilities as well as to increase peer

awareness and acceptance.

� Residential teacher training on DRISHTI module was

conduced for teachers for developing skills of Braille

reading and teaching to the visually impaired children.

� After completion of RBC, responsibilities were

entrusted to the itinerant mode resource teachers to

ensure that the visually impaired children were

mainstreamed and attended school on regular basis.

Activities Implemented under RBC

Parental Counseling

A meeting was conducted along with parents/Guardians in

which the district Programme Co-ordinator and district IE

Co-ordinator with the help of the resource teachers briefed

the parents about the educational activities and facilities of

the RBC and its long term impact on their children. Proper

counseling was done through model success stories for

confidence building and eradicating myths regarding visual

impairment. The facilities provided under the inclusive

education programme of SSA were also explained to the

parents.

Distribution of Disability Certificate

All the children diagnosed by the medical team of district

administration were provided disability certificates during

the programme. Parents expressed the problems faced by

them in procuring disability certificate for their child. Hence,

instructions were issued to all the districts to do the needful

in providing the certificate during the programme.

Admission in schools

After completion of the programme, all the children were

admitted in nearby schools with the support of resource

teachers. All the resource teachers and trained teachers were

entrusted the charge of these children for providing technical

44

support in the schools and follow up programme at home.

A meeting was conducted with respective school headmasters

in which they were provided technical inputs for placement

of the visually impaired children in classroom situation.

Educational Development

Another noteable feature of these bridge courses was

development of mobility skills. The children were also

exposed to various objects in the environment like plants,

utensils and seasonal fruits using the senses of touch and

smell. Concept of cleanliness was also dwelt upon in these

courses. Children learnt reading letters and words in Braille

with the help of Braille kit and Braille books. After

completion of the programme the confidence level of the

children increased and all of them became inquisitive about

joining a regular school.

Conclusion

RBC for the visually impaired children was conducted

successfully in 23 districts and it created awareness among

parents, teachers and the society at large about the importance

of educating visually impaired children in general schools. It

was observed that the sighted peers accepted the visually

impaired children without any inhibitions, thus making

inclusion a reality.

��

45

The State of Gujarat is implementing SSA throughout the

State in 25 districts and 4 corporations. The programme

aims at providing useful and relevant elementary education

to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. This cannot

be achieved without bringing children with special needs

under the ambit of elementary education. The Person with

Disabilities, Act-1995, provides that every child with a

disability shall have access to free education up to 18 years

of age.

The special educational needs of children can be met by

providing adequate resource support to them in regular

schools. Giving CWSN an opportunity to receive education

along with other children is an important area in SSA. This

also includes children with visual impairment who are

identified and also then mainstreamed into regular school.

In Gujarat, door to door survey is carried out to identify

children with special needs. 75,608 children with special

needs have been identified. Out of these, 14362 children

were visually impaired children. 12,344 visually impaired

children have been enrolled into schools. A total 397 visually

impaired children have been enrolled during the year 2008-

09. Besides, resource teachers have also been appointed in

each district specifically to teach children with visual

impairment. District-wise data is shown below.

In Gujarat, the number of children with visual impairment

who are getting enrolled into the regular schools is gradually

increasing. This has been possible because of some well-

meaning initiatives taken up by the State like enrollment

drives, training of BRCC/CRCC on visual impairment,

appointment of resource teachers, etc. Enrollment drives are

conducted regularly. The BRCCs/ CRCCs have also been

oriented to IE. With the help of BRCCs/ CRCCs,

headmasters, teachers, VECs/ MTAs/ PTAs more visually

impaired children of 6 years of age and above are being

included into the formal education.

As a part of Community Mobilization under SSA, training

has been given to all VEC/MTA/PTA members and

parents. As a result, parents are becoming aware of the

Mainstreaming Visually Impaired Children:The Gujarat Experience

disability issues and their rights. To strengthen the role of

parents and to empower and rehabilitate the visually impaired

children, special education kits have been given to all such

children. Appropriate training has also been given to the

parents on their use and maintenance. The kit for the blind

includes Braille slate, stylus, Taylor Frame, types, abacus,

Braille compass box, foot ruler, Braille paper, white cane,

spectacles, signature guide, rubber mate, Braille books bag,

spure wheel and audio cassettes. The kit for low vision

contains writing guide, marker pen, signature guide, typo

scope, broad and dark line note book, pencil, sharpener,

eraser, ball pen, magnifying glass, rubber mate, cap, large

printed books, bag, florescent paper and sketch pen.

The VEC also comprises the parents of disabled children.

VEC meeting is held every quarter in which issues regarding

education of visually impaired children, their environment,

access and achievement are regularly discussed. Problems

faced by visually impaired children along with possible

solutions are also deliberated.

Role of Resource Teachers

For this, the Gujarat SSA Mission has converged with the

IEDC scheme of Department of Secondary Education,

which has a provision for resource teachers. A resource

teacher is a specially qualified teacher, who is specialized in

teaching CWSN. Resource teachers have been appointed

at the block level from each area of disability i.e. visual

46

District-wise Visually Impaired Children

No. District Identified Enrolled

Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total No. of RTs

1 Ahme. Corp 187 161 348 76 82 158 -

2 Ahmedabad 452 363 815 402 329 731 28

3 Amreli 202 153 355 193 150 343 18

4 Anand 399 340 739 383 322 705 18

5 Banaskantha 829 467 1296 716 394 1110 11

6 Bharuch 122 117 239 98 94 192 04

7 Bhavnagar 272 249 521 265 245 510 25

8 Dahod 338 249 587 289 225 514 35

9 Dang 130 83 213 98 68 166 05

10 Gandhinagar 161 104 265 128 86 214 09

11 Jamnagar 134 103 237 109 84 193 04

12 Junagadh 246 218 464 204 195 399 19

13 Kheda 573 410 983 529 368 897 36

14 Kutchh 239 180 419 201 142 343 12

15 Mehsana 276 177 453 261 161 422 47

16 Narmada 76 62 138 74 59 133 -

17 Navsari 109 86 195 103 80 183 01

18 Panchmahal 739 605 1344 664 546 1210 02

19 Patan 367 268 635 318 235 553 25

20 Porbandar 41 28 69 38 28 66 -

21 Rajkot 254 165 419 215 144 359 06

22 Rajkot. Corp 16 11 27 13 9 22 -

23 Sabarkantha 321 215 536 307 211 518 35

24 Surat 273 216 489 224 189 413 08

25 Surat Corp. 419 152 571 131 77 208 -

26 Surendranagar 525 400 925 457 360 817 21

27 Vadodara 408 321 729 361 289 650 07

28 Vadodara Corp. 45 37 82 39 35 74 -

29 Valsad 154 115 269 140 101 241 06

TOTAL 8307 6055 14362 7036 5308 12344 382

47

impairment, hearing impairment and mental retardation.

These teachers work in an itinerant mode, travelling from

school to school, in a block / cluster, as per the need. A total

of 382 resource teachers have been appointed specifically

for the visually impaired children.

These resource teachers perform the following functions for

the visually impaired children:

� Identification and assessment

� Teaching special skills like Braille, Taylor frame,

geometrical devices, etc.

� Apprising the class teachers on the needs of the visually

impaired children

� Suggesting necessar y curricular modifications,

adaptations and teaching strategies

� Assisting visually impaired children during and after

school hours, if required

� Parental counseling and community mobilization

� Management and supervision of the resource room

� Imparting pre-integration training to the visually

impaired children

� Preparing useful teaching learning materials

� Preparing Individual Educational Plan

� Monitoring the performance of such children.

Teaching Strategies

As a principle of inclusive education, those with special

education needs should be taught the same content as their

peers as a part of the regular education initiative. What makes

some students special is that they require:

� Specialised teaching techniques

� Special teachers

� Special teaching-learning material

� Special equipment

� Special setting, if need be.

Teaching strategies which have been adopted by SSA-

Gujarat, for visually impaired children are as under:

� Sensory training

� Orientation and mobility training

� Pre-Braille skills

� Braille Training

� Use of cane

� Tactile experiences

� Use of talk softwares.

SSA Gujarat, in collaboration with Blind People’s

Association also conducts the 90-day Foundation Course to

train the existing teachers on developing basic skills in coping

with the needs of the visually impaired. The course is an

introductory course for training teachers on how to teach

CWSN. SSA Gujarat has appointed Blind Peoples

Association (BPA), Ahmedabad, as a nodal agency for

conducting this course. Five teachers from each block are

trained every year. More than 8000 teachers have been

trained in this foundation course, so far. An amazing outcome

of this training has been that visually impaired teachers are

being included into the regular classrooms without the full

time support. The foundation course has enabled the existing

school teachers to handle these children effectively.

Master Trainer Approach

SSA Gujarat has further strengthened the capacity of BRC/

CRC coordinators to deliver resource support to the children

with visual impairment. These master trainers act as a

resource teachers where the itinerant resource teacher is not

available. BRC/CRC co-coordinators have given training

to all general teachers as a part of their 20-days in-service

teacher training and sensitized them on disability

management in order to provide quality education to the

visually impaired in regular schools. The state is also

organizing training in Braille for primary school teachers

with the help of Blind People’s Association.

To increase the effectiveness of the mainstreaming of the

48

visually impaired children, SSA Gujarat has introduced

some evaluation techniques which are as under:

� Large - printed question papers for the low vision

children.

� Special seating arrangement for children with low vision.

� Extra half an hour given to the visually impaired, if

required.

� Writer for the totally blind.

� Exemption to totally blind for map and geographical

figures/ drawings.

Visually impaired children are also given resource room

assistance. They are provided extra remedial assistance.

Wherever, the child is unable to comprehend the lesson in a

regular classroom, s/he is taken to the resource room and a

skilled teacher provides remedial tutoring. For example, a

visually impaired child may not be able to read from the

blackboard what the teacher writes, when teaching

mathematics. He/she may be taken to the resource room

and taught the use of pertinent equipment and explained

the methodology of solving a particular problem. In Gujarat

232 resource rooms have been developed at block level. More

than 10,000 CWSN are being benefited through resource

rooms. The resource rooms are equipped with all disability

related material and equipment, including that required by

the visually impaired children.

Successful Inclusion Story

Preeti is a nine year old girl studying class-2. Her functional

vision assessment was done one year ago, where it was noticed

that her vision was deteriorating. At present, she can see objects

like glass, toothbrush, bottle, spoon etc at a distance of 2 feet.

Initially when a picture book was shown to her, she recognized

only a few pictures, which she learnt in classroom. Also she

recognized few body parts. She could recognize few colours

and, barely identified shapes. Besides, she could read only a

few numbers on written paper.

She had lot of problems in distinguishing red and orange

colours. Further, if a picture was very shiny, she was not able

to identify it. For example, when shown a picture of lollypop,

she would identify it as a ball because she could not see the

stick. She gave the same response to the picture of a balloon.

The following activities were suggested for Preeti by the resource

teacher:

� Time table for her at home.

� Strictly following timetable.

� The mother was instructed to help Preeti identify pictures

and objects using her residual vision.

� Help Preeti with some art and craft activities like

painting, scribbling, etc.

� Making small balls by dough to strengthen the grip.

� Use bold black sketch pen for writing.

� Use large print.

� Do vision stimulation activities and exercises

� Attend school regularly, and

� Follow up at home.

These strategies are gradually helping Preeti and she is now

able to distinguish between similar looking colours in some

situations.

The increasing awareness on IE coupled by the formation

of the VEC and parents council has decreased the number

of out of school CWSN. Parents have started accepting

children with their exceptionalities and willingly enroll their

children in regular schools. The most significant contribution

of IE has been the societal acceptance of CWSN. This truly

marks the beginning of a journey towards equity and equality.

49

Creating Awareness on Visual Impairment:An Initiative of SSA Rajasthan

In recent years, due to awareness of medical care services

‘pre and post natal care’ have contributed to higher child

survival rate. Huebner (1995) too confirms that advances

in medical technology have significantly improved the life

expectancy of children, but at the same time, the number of

children with multiple congenital anomalies too has increased.

Therefore special strategies for identification, assessment,

professional guidance, early intervention for education and

rehabilitation of the visually impaired have to be worked out.

In India, ‘Visual Impairment’ has been defined in the

“Persons with Disabilities” (Equal Opportunities, Protection

of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 as well as under

the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB).

It says, “Blindness and Low vision refer to a condition where

a person suffers from any of the following conditions:-

� Total absence of sight

� Visually acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen)

in the better eye even with correction lenses; or

� Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of

20 degree or worse.

“Persons with Disabilities” Act, 1995, recognizes low vision

as a separate category of disability and defines it as follows:-

“Person with low vision” means a person with impairment

of visual functioning, even after treatment of standard

refractive correction, but who uses or is potentially capable

of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with

appropriate assistive device.”

Thus, ‘Visually Impaired’ is an umbrella term, used widely

for persons, whose vision is affected by impairments in seeing

irrespective of the nature or extent of the disability. In case

of persons who are completely without vision, or who have

light perception only, it is appropriate to use the term “blind”.

In all other cases of visual defects, failing in the definition,

the term “Visually impaired” should preferably be used.

Initiatives taken by Rajasthan - SSA

Rajasthan SSA has also taken a number of steps to improve

the education of the visually impaired. In 2004-05, 4222

visually impaired children were identified by the State. 78.47

% i.e. 3314 children have been enrolled in schools. In 2007-

08, 28,824 visually impaired children (this is 762.66 %

more, as compared to session 04-05) were identified out of

which 99.15 % i.e. 28580, children have been enrolled.

Status 2004-05 2007-08 % Increase

Identified 4222 28824 682.70%

Enrolled 3313 28580 762.66%

Strategies for Identification

For the identification of the visually impaired children,

slogans, posters and handouts were developed by the State

on ‘Vision Saving’ theme. Newspapers network, electronic

media and rallies were used to the maximum extent to develop

awareness and concern in the society for these children.

Check list and medical check-up cards to identify children

with visual impairment, were also developed. The criteria of

the extent of disability (mild, borderline or moderate) were

also established with the collective efforts of Doctors, ANMs,

teachers and other NGOs working on visual impairment.

Guardians and parents were specially invited to the VECs

meetings. Issues related to physiology of vision, causes of

visual impairment, prevention and cure of visual impairment

were discussed with them.

Interventions to Mainstream andAccommodate Children with Visual

Impairment

For this, a Social Audit of Children With visual impairment

was undertaken. District Collectors (Chairpersons of the

35000

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

02004-05 2007-08

IdentifiedEnrolled

50

District executive committee of SSA project in the District)

coordinated and monitored the identification programme.

Identification Check lists were given to all schools. Medical

check-up Cards of every school-going child was prepared as

a part of the Mukhya Mantri Shiksha Sambal Maha

Abhiyan – 2005-08. The Block and Cluster Resource

Centre facilitators (BRCFs and CRCFs) were oriented to

identify the visually impaired children. Head Masters of each

and every school, AWW/ANM /Para Teachers worked

collectively to identify them. Active support of the community/

PRIs and NGOs was also ensured. Eye camps were

organised for children with visual impairment.

Orientation of Parents

Parents of visually impaired children are regularly invited

for counseling at resource rooms at 240 educational blocks.

Counseling on physiology of vision, causes, prevention and

cure of visual impairment help parents do better care and

management of their children and also makes them aware of

facilities and special provisions, their children are entitled

for.

Developing Teachers’ Sensitivity

The state organised 3-days Teachers Training Programmes

on ‘supporting visually impaired children in general schools.’

NGOs also organised a training programme for teachers

through the distance mode on ‘teaching visually impaired

children studying in the school’ and ‘providing support

services to the visually impaired children.’

Special Interventions for Visually Impaired

Children

The following are some other steps being taken up by the

state for the visually impaired children:

� Residential Bridge Courses (Camps) have been

organised for the visually impaired. 50 never enrolled

and drop-out visually impaired children of 8+ age have

benefited from these camps. These children have been

mainstreamed according to educational status achieved

by them. The evaluation of their learning levels has

been done by an expert team.

� Skill Development Camps for visually impaired have

also been conducted, which includes training on

computer, canning and paper mashe, etc. The number

of beneficiaries is 37408.

� Textbooks of Class 1-8 have been translated and printed

in Braille through National Institute of Visually

Handicapped (NIVH), Deharadun and All India

Confederation of Blind, New Delhi. These Braille

books have been distributed to 750 visually impaired

students. Braille slates, stylus and Braille paper, etc.

have also been provided. Blind sticks have been

provided to blind children, to ensure easy access and

convenience in mobility.

� Tournaments for Visually Impaired, which include

speeches, debates, music, dance, drawing, Braille

reading and writing, other co-curricular activities and

related games are organised at the block level to build

the capacity and confidence. Of these 257 Visually

Impaired children have been benefited.

� Remedial Teaching for low achieving visually impaired

is organised, in which hard spots are identified on the

basis of different examinations. 89 visually impaired

children have benefited.

The State now plans to conduct public awareness campaigns,

organise eye check-up camps with the involvement of the

local eye hospital or the local ophthalmic surgeons, provide

treatment, medicines, eye drops to the children not requiring

eye surgeries, arrange appropriate follow-up of the surgery

cases and provide assistive devices to the needy visually

impaired children. These are useful steps to empower the

visually impaired children and to create awareness about

their education and rehabilitation.

��

51

When Louis Braille was born in 1809, the world was a

very different place to live in from what it is today. Much

that is a part of our daily life and most conveniences which

we take for granted today were unthought of and

unimaginable in the first half of the 19th century during which

Louis Braille gifted his wonderful invention: the Braille

script. Among various factors which have contributed to

bringing about a sea-change in the quality of life over last

two hundred years, technology has played a central role.

The visually impaired (including the blind and the low vision)

persons consisting of more than 1% of the world’s total

population have also benefited from this development. With

the help of various assistive devices, they are now outshining

their sighted peers in all walks of life. Instead of being a

social burden (as they were viewed two centuries ago), the

visually impaired persons are now functioning as contributing,

active and responsible members of their families and of

society, at large. Technology has helped open up all areas of

their lives; be it personal, educational or professional.

The word technology triggers in mind sophisticated items

such as computers, cell phones or various softwares. However,

for the visually impaired the word “technology” has a different

dimension. Many of the items which are not regarded as

important or ignored in the general use of the word

technology, actually, act as important technologies for them.

Technology for theVisually Impaired:

An Overview

Dr. Anil Aneja*

&

Sachu Ramalingam**

It must be borne in mind that the term ‘technology’ is highly

contextual. For instance, there was a time, not too long ago

when radio was regarded as an important technology and

television for the common man was non-existent. But today

these are hardly thought of as being anything special and

therefore, worthy of being considered as ‘technologies’.

Braille

Viewed from this perspective, the first and the most important

technology which brought light into the lives of the visually

impaired was Braille. The education of the visually impaired

was virtually unimaginable before the Braille script was

invented by Louis Braille. It is an embossed script based on

various combinations of 6 dots. Almost any language of the

world can be written in Braille by designing embossed shapes

through various permutations of these 6 dots. Books for the

blind persons for various purposes are produced in Braille

script. Despite the development of audio and computer based

technologies, Braille remains the most effective and primary

means of acquiring knowledge and performing various

educational and professional functions for the blind.

Braille writing technologies have undergone a revolutionary

transformation since the time it was internationally accepted

in the latter half of the 19th century. Among the more popular

ones are: Braille Slate, Pocket Frame, Braille Type-writer,

* Vice President, All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB)** Secretary, AICB

Braille Embosser, Braille Display, Braille and Speak and

Braille note.

Braille Slate is one of the earliest forms of Braille writing

equipments, but continues to be widely used even today by

blind persons. Braille can be written by using the Slate or

Frame which involves putting the paper between two parts

of the board or by inserting the paper in a frame fixed on a

board and then using the ‘stylus’ (a hand-held small pen

with a small needle at its end) to create various embossed

shapes of alphabets on the paper as per a pre-set code for

every language. The pre-set Braille code for every language

is different, but irrespective of whatever Braille equipment

you may use, it remains the same for that particular language

writing.

Braille Slate is somewhat large in size, therefore, for the

portable and daily use of blind persons various kinds of pocket

frames have been developed which they can carry with them

wherever they go and use these for taking notes in Braille or

for any other kind of Braille writing. A Braille type writer

helps a blind person write Braille much faster by the use of

keys on a carriable machine rather than using slate, Frame

and stylus. It is a very useful equipment for educational and

semi-professional Braille writing.

Braille has not remained unimpacted by the revolutionary

digital developments. Multiple kinds of Braille embossers

(Braille printers) are now available which, when attached to

a computer and with the help of Braille conversion softwares

can produce Braille materials at a much faster speed as

compared to the earlier Braille writing equipments. In a broad

sense, these embossers serve the purpose of Braille printers.

The Braille printing speed varies from 100 characters per

second to as much as 440 characters per second. This

technology has brought about a revolution in the lives of the

visually impaired as Braille books can be produced much

more in number and at a much faster speed than at any time

in the past. Students studying in schools and colleges have

greatly benefited from this development.

Many blind persons are using more individualized and

advance Braille technologies such as Braille displays and

Braille notes. A Braille display serves the function of a Braille

computer monitor. When attached to a computer, it can be

used to access the computer screen in Braille through

paperless Braille. Paperless Braille is the more recently

developed digital form of Braille which does not require paper

to emboss dots on. Rather, the dots and the lines appear on

the display equipment itself with programmed refreshable

cells forming letters and words by using fast moving pins.

The technology is rather expensive for developing countries,

but in the more advanced countries, it is quite frequently

used by blind students and professionals. A Braille note is a

more advanced technology which combines the features of

Braille display and computer in a single portable machine.

In a broad sense, a Braille note is a Braille computer, which

has a key board, the required softwares and the refreshable

Braille display screen in a single unit which can be easily

handled and carried by a blind person. This is one of the

most recent and advanced Braille technologies for the visually

impaired, not very affordable for the developing countries at

a large scale at the present, but certainly, a technology which

will be very popular in future.

Technologies to Teach Mathematics

While Braille script and Braille producing equipments have

undergone a significant transformation, since the time the

52

Braille script was first invented, these nonetheless, form the

core of the success of the visually impaired persons in

educational and professional fields. Much of the mathematics

should ideally be taught to students on the Braille

Typewriters. However, there are some devices specifically

dedicated to the teaching of mathematics to the visually

impaired.

The most common of these devices are a Taylor Frame and

an abacus. These are low cost technologies, easy to use by a

blind person and quite easily available. A blind person can

learn basic arithmetic sums and calculations by using these

equipments. These days, computers are also being used to

teach arithmetic and algebra to the visually impaired.

Drawing boards are the most effective means of teaching

geometry to the visually impaired. There are two kinds of

drawing boards for this purpose: in the first one, one can

use a ball pen to draw shapes and figures which would come

out in the embossed form on the reverse side of the paper. In

the second kind, a thread is used to mark the figure on the

paper in an embossed form.

Audio Technologies

Before the invention of Braille, the only means of acquiring

information and education for the visually impaired was

through the audio mode. Despite the availability of many

other kinds of technologies, audio continues to be a favourite

medium for reading books and accessing other information.

While the use of cassettes to record academic and other

materials has been quite popular among the blind for more

than four decades, the development of digital technology

has brought about revolution in this sphere. The Daisy

software designed around a decade ago allows the visually

impaired to record materials with many additional features

besides offering high quality and high clarity recording. With

the help of this software, a blind person can index page

numbers, chapter numbers and other important portions of

a book while recording itself. S/he can jump to the desired

page number, chapter number or other relevant section of

her/his choice. It is also possible to make book marks while

playing a CD in the Daisy software. Though the Daisy

players are still rather expensive and not easily affordable by

students, but once these are made available to them, the

software can considerably ease the study process for most

blind students. There are also several digital recorders

available which are being used by blind persons to record

and store audio files.

Technologies related to Daily Utilities

Talking about the audio mode and Digital technology, one

should not overlook a host of daily use gadgets (some of

which are specially designed for the blind, but others made

for general use) which help a blind person to access various

kinds of routine information and, thus, help him/her perform

his/her daily activities in a more effective manner. The Braille

watches and Braille alarm clocks have now largely been

replaced by talking watches which, though manufactured

for general use, are quite a favourite with the visually

impaired. Also, talking calculators, talking digital

thermometers, talking caller ids for landline phones, talking

colour recognition device, an audio room temperature

measuring device and even a talking washing machine, have

all helped the visually impaired enhance their quality of daily

life.

Mobile Technology

The development of Talks and Mobile Speak softwares for

certain models of mobile phones have helped the visually

impaired use this device as effectively as their sighted

counterparts. Both the softwares read out the mobile screen,

thus, making the mobile phone totally accessible and usable

by a visually impaired person. For the low vision, these

softwares have screen magnification options as well. Thus,

it is now possible for a visually impaired person to maintain

a contact diary, mark important dates and events as reminders

on the calendar, take down any information or dictation,

send text message and even send and receive emails: all on

the mobile phones.

Mobility

Though White cane and Electronic Cane still continue to

be quite popular tools of mobility, there are now some Global

Positioning System softwares which work on the mobile

phones. With the help of Talks and Mobile Speak, these

softwares can make the blind persons quite independent in

mobility.

Two of these softwares which are worth mentioning here are

“Load Stone” and “Way Finder”. Load Stone is an open

source software and comes free of cost. Once a particular

route in this software is programmed, it guides an individual

through that route provided the programmed route is

activated. It is possible to programme multiple routes in this

software. With the help of this software, one can read the

53

directions on the screen with the help of Talks or Mobile

Speak and thus, know whether one is on the right track or

not.

Way-Finder is a pre-programmed software, but more effective

and comprehensive software, which can take one as close to

as one meter of the destination if the city in which s/he is

traveling is on the Way-Finder map. Once the destination is

indicated, the software would guide on the right route through

voice as well as screen, till such time that one has reached

his/her destination. This software can also work on certain

models of mobile phones.

Computers and Reading Machines

In the present age, it is virtually impossible to think of life

without computers. The computers have invaded and

impacted all areas of our lives, whether these be personal,

educational or professional. In such a scenario, it becomes

almost imperative for the visually impaired to have access to

the functional ease and versatility which the computer affords.

With the help of screen reading softwares, screen magnifiers

and Braille displays, the visually impaired are able to use

the computer in the same manner and, in most cases, to the

same extent as their sighted counterparts.

Though there are many screen reading softwares, the two

which are worth mentioning for our purposes are “JAWS

for Windows” and “Screen Access for All (SAFA)”. JAWS

can be termed as a gift to the visually impaired in this age of

technology. With the help of this software, a visually impaired

person can access the screen in synthetic speech format and

can thus work with most of the popular and oft-used

mainstream softwares such as, “Word”, “Power Point” and

“Internet Explorer etc”. It is a highly user-friendly software

and also contains features and provisions of magnification

and Braille display for the visually impaired. The use of this

software has opened up a host of educational and professional

avenues for the visually impaired. They can now start learning

computers at schools as early as their sighted counterparts.

For those studying in the inclusive schools, doing home-tasks

has become much easier as the students can submit their

work through computer print outs.

Another area impacted by the availability of screen reading

softwares is communication among the blind. Sending emails

and being part of a serve group is a common activity for

most educated visually impaired persons these days.

SAFA is an Indian software which allows screen access for

blind persons by converting the text on the screen to speech.

However, it must be remembered that this software can read

out materials only when these are in Hindi or English. Screen

reading softwares for other Indian languages are still in the

development stage with various organizations and institutions.

One important barrier which the computer technology has

been able to break for the visually impaired is their difficulty

in reading. Now, with the help of scanners and computers a

visually impaired person can read any printed or typed

document. Softwares such as Kerzwel and ABBY Fine

Reader are designed to convert a scanned document into

editable word format. While Kerzwel has its own speech

software, JAWS would need to be used to read a document

in ABBY Fine Reader software. For both students and

professionals this improvised reading machine has

tremendous utility.

The most recent of the technologies for the visually impaired

is the “KNFB Mobile Reader.” This software can be

installed in certain models of mobile phones. With the help

of a 5x mobile camera the picture of the page can be taken

and then converted into readable format. Thus, the mobile

phone also becomes a reading machine for a visually impaired

person. Though not very popular at this moment, the KNFB

Reader is a technology of the future. It has immense potential

of making vast print materials accessible for the visually

impaired.

Low Vision Devices

Ironically, a significant number of visually impaired persons

are persons with low vision and can be helped with

54

appropriate corrective lenses or other low vision devices. But

due to lack of proper assessment, these persons are treated

as blind and are made to use technology which is actually

meant for a totally blind person.

A number of devices such as: spectacle magnifiers, hand

held magnifiers, stand magnifiers and video magnifiers are

available for such persons. Computer softwares such as the

zoom text and MAGIC are also meant to help such persons.

The wide range of assistive technology includes solutions

such as zoom mirrors that enable the person with low vision

to view ones face clearly, auto focus telescopes that help

identify activity at intermediate and distant distance

simultaneously, video magnifiers that enable them to read

any menu card in the restaurants and telescopes that assist

students to read the chalk board and complete their class

work (which otherwise would be difficult despite sitting in

the first bench due to their reduced vision) or read signboards.

Conclusion

Though technology has made an immense difference to the

lives of the visually impaired, many of the digital technologies

which can bring about a revolutionary transformation in their

lives need to be made accessible to the visually impaired,

especially in developing countries. If urgent steps are not

taken to make these available to the blind and the low vision

persons of these countries, then there will be a deep digital

divide between the visually impaired of the developing and

the developed countries, a divide which will be detrimental

to the growth, equality and full participation of the visually

impaired in the mainstream life.

In the context of India, the Government must ensure the

availability of the latest and appropriate technologies to the

concerned visually impaired, to both students and

professionals. The foremost impact of technology on the lives

of the visually impaired has been that it has helped change

the entire world of the visually impaired. If this trend is to be

maintained, if functional barriers are to be eliminated and if

the visually impaired are to move forward alongside their

sighted counterparts in this fast shrinking world, then

technology is the only answer.

��

55

The year 2009 marks the bicentennial year of the inventor

of the Braille reading system, Louis Braille, who brought

the first revolution in the education of children with visual

impairment. Emergence of this system enabled millions of

children with visual impairment to become literate and their

education has come a long way in the past century. The

recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in all

dimensions of services for them. This article enumerates the

advances that have been witnessed in the services for

individuals with visual impairment and also delineates certain

challenges that have to be addressed.

Technology – a Boon

The second revolution in the field of services for persons

with visual impairment may be referred to the advent of

technology. It has made the impossible yesterday into a

possible today. Visually impaired persons in the past were

not able to use computers, internet, e-mail, etc., as they

adopted mostly visual modes of communication. In fact their

access to public libraries too was limited as the books available

were mostly in the printed form and a visually impaired

person had to depend on someone to read for him/her.

Technology in the last two decades has brought in mind

boggling changes. The invention of screen reading software

like the JAWS (Job Access With Speech) have opened up

the world of knowledge to persons with visual impairment.

The technological developments are increasing rapidly. The

Sightsavers Dolphin Pen is yet another recent development,

which enables persons with visual impairment to access

information from any computer used by sighted persons.

Assistive devices used by persons with visual impairment

too are undergoing constant changes to make them easy to

use.

The Perkins School for the Blind recently brought out a

New Generation Perkins Brailler, which is an improved

version of the famous Perkins Brailler. Technology firms are

also sensitive to the learning needs of persons with visual

Growing Trends in the Services forChildren with Visual Impairment

Dr. M.N.G. Mani*

* Secretary General, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment

impairment. The Webel Mediatronics, Kolkata and the

International Council for Education of People with Visual

Impairment (ICEVI) have brought out a Mathematics

Transcription Software, which enables any sighted person

to transcribe books in Braille format even if s/he does not

know Braille. In the year 2007, WIMATS (Webel-ICEVI

Mathematics Transcription Software) was recognised by the

National Software and Service Companies as one of the

innovations in the IT sector in India. In summary, innovations

and advancement in the technology front have opened access

to services for persons with visual impairment.

Access to Education – Still a Concern

Though technology front shows positive results, access to

education of children with visual impairment is still a concern.

For more than a century, residential school approach

remained as the most popular and acceptable strategy to

educate children with visual impairment. However the

residential approach enabled only a limited number of these

children to avail educational opportunity mostly due to the

fact that the residential services were available only in major

cities and education in such an exclusive setting made it costly.

As education of children with disabilities became a human

rights issue in the 20th century, the need for integrated

education was debated and the 1950s witnessed emergence

of integrated systems in the western world and children with

visual impairment started attending general schools with

56

assistance provided by special teachers. Soon the integrated

approach emerged successful and the concept started

expanding in different parts of the world. Though integrated

education worked well, it remained as special programmes

in general schools and failed to become a mass movement.

As a result, the integrated education too could not expand

educational services to a large number of children with visual

impairment. Even today, the statistics reveals that nearly 90%

of children with visual impairment in the world do not have

access to education and more than 80% of them belong to

developing nations.

Inclusion is projected as a viable alternative to improve the

access to education for all children with disabilities. In this

system, the general education plays a key role in providing

the essential skills to children with disabilities and therefore,

general classroom teachers are sensitised to the educational

needs of children with disabilities. The support of special

teacher in the system of inclusion is minimal and need-based.

As a result of inclusive approach, visually impaired children

are enrolled in large numbers in general schools. Integrated

and inclusive education approaches are successful in the case

of children with visual impairment, provided they are assisted

with the right kind of support services including that of Braille

materials, assistive devices in addition to the support services

of trained teachers. The UN Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities states that children with disabilities

should have access to qualified teachers and therefore, success

of inclusion depends to a large extent on the availability of

qualified teachers and support materials. Promotion of

inclusive approaches would enable large number of children

with visual impairment to access educational opportunities.

Demand Creation for Education – Vital toIncrease Access

Though inclusion and all approaches to education of children

with visual impairment work well, the real challenge is to

bring these children to schools. Parents in particular need to

be motivated to consider education as a vehicle for the

development of children with visual impairment and also

treat investment on their education as investment in human

capital. Special and integrated schools report lack of

admission of children with visual impairment every year

whereas the general data reveals that there are large numbers

of these children not having access to education. Unless the

required demand is created for education of children with

visual impairment, schemes and plans would remain

ineffective.

Recognising this concern in the field of education of children

with visual impairment, the International Council for

Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) acting

in partnership with the World Blind Union has launched a

Global Campaign on Education for All Children with Visual

Impairment (EFA-VI) with the major principle of creating

a demand for education of these children. The campaign

has the endorsement of world bodies such as the UNESCO

and UNICEF and works closely with Governments, parents

and organisations of the blind in the country to ensure that

girls and boys with visual impairment have access to

education. The campaign is focusing on early intervention

for all preschool and school-age girls and boys with visual

impairment. The term “visual impairment” includes blind

and low vision children; children who are deaf-blind; and

multiply disabled visually impaired children. The guiding

principles of the Global Campaign are listed below:

� Creating a demand for education

� Working within the framework of the general and special

education systems of the country

� Ensuring appropriate support services for children with

visual impairment in the general education system

� Formulating alternative educational approaches for

children with specific needs such as those who are deaf-

blind and multiply disabled.

Leading world organisations serving persons with visual

impairment over the years have joined the campaign and

similar international initiatives augur well in the disability

sector. The EFA-VI Global Campaign is spreading in all

continents of the world and is expected to make a difference

in the services for persons with visual impairment. As the

Dakar Declaration made in 2000 urges Governments to

ensure education for all children by the year 2015, Global

Campaigns such as the EFA-VI highlight that Governments

should focus on education of children with visual impairment

too as education for all without their inclusion is not a reality.

Low Vision – The Need is Acute

The statistics world over clearly reveal that for every blind

child, there are about 5 to 8 children with low vision who

require special assistance in education. The concept of using

residual vision is acknowledged widely in the field and

teachers and parents are encouraged to create a visual

stimulating environment to make use of the residual vision

of these children. Teacher preparation programmes at present

focus more on blind children and therefore, they need further

capacity building training in handling children with low

vision. The teachers should also be oriented to the use of

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low-cost and high quality magnification devices to enhance

the learning potential of these children. The ophthalmologists

play an important role in the clinical assessment of low vision

children and teachers can work with them to make

appropriate educational assessment of these children.

Though not all children with low vision have the same ability

to use their vision, individual assessment would help making

appropriate educational placement. The low vision children

who could manage with magnification devices or with

refractive corrections should not be compelled to read Braille.

Low-cost and high quality resource centres should be set up

for the distribution of low vision devices as the availability of

such facilities would make education of low vision children

effective and affordable too.

Gender Issue in Visual Impairment - Yet

Another Area of Concern

UNESCO in its Global Monitoring Report 2008 indicated

that while the enrolment of children in primary education

has steadily increased worldwide, early intervention, gender

disparity and adult illiteracy are issues that require attention

at the global level. The gender issue is a major problem in

education of children with visual impairment. Among the

children currently enrolled in schools, girl children with visual

impairment are not at par with that of the enrolment of boys.

International organisations are sensitive to this issue and

therefore, reiterating the need for promoting education of

girls with visual impairment. There is a need to invest more

efforts to encourage enrolment of girls with visual impairment

in general schools.

Visually Impaired Children with Additional

Disabilities

Though reports at the national and international levels

indicate that incidence rate of blindness among children is

decreasing, it is also true that the number of visually impaired

children with additional disabilities is gradually increasing.

However, very few specialised services are available to serve

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these children. The Rehabilitation Council of India has

introduced a separate course to prepare teachers for deaf-

blind children and this goes a long way in strengthening

educational and other rehabilitation services in this area.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Opportunities

Abound

The enrolment of children with disabilities in the Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan is remarkable. The statistics reveals that

22.52 lakh children with disabilities have been in general

schools. Though most of these children are those with

locomotor disabilities, the SSA has opened doors for all

types of children with disabilities. The number of children

with visual impairment attending the general schools is

certainly increasing and therefore, general teachers have to

be trained in using multi-sensory approaches in classrooms.

Methodologies such as the Activity Based Leaning (ABL),

which primarily uses more visual cues, should not work

against the learning interests of children with visual

impairment as they are devoid of visual experience. Such

visual oriented materials need to be adapted to make them

tactile oriented too in order to optimize the learning potential

of children with visual impairment. SSA has clearly created

an inclusive environment where children with disabilities

experience welcome schools, but creation of the environment

alone is not sufficient. The children should be taught

necessary skills so as to perform at par with that of sighted

children. Therefore, the time is ripe to capitalize the

conducive-environment for inclusion to effective inclusive

education in the case of children with visual impairment.

In summary, innovations are growing in the services for

persons with visual impairment but the real problem is to

create a demand for education of these children. Public

awareness is necessary at all levels. While parents and

community members should be encouraged to develop

positive attitude towards the education of children with visual

impairment, employers should be motivated to provide

employment opportunities for them. The innovations in

technology should not stop just with the innovations, but

there should be concerted efforts to make the technology

affordable. Research and development activities need to be

promoted to make technology accessible to these children.

��

FACILITATING INCLUSION OF

VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN SSA

January 2009, Vol. 6

Special Issue - Visual ImpairmentSpecial Issue - Visual Impairment

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