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,
5
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,
6
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
7
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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