JUNE 2008
"Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us" – is the Theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities - 3 December 2008
Click on the link below for more details
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=109
INDIA
New HRD Ministry scheme on Inclusive education for special children
13 June 2008
India is set to upgrade its commitment to high school education for the disabled from merely 'integrating' them into an existing mainstream to making the environment 'inclusive'.
Banking facilities to the visually challenged – Reserve Bank of India Notification
RBI notice to All Scheduled Commercial Banks – regarding - visually challenged persons are facing problems in availing banking facilities. It may be noted that banking facilities including cheque book facility / operation of ATM / locker etc. cannot be denied to the visually challenged as they are legally competent to contract.
http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=4226&Mode=0
Sub Inspector gets trigger-happy over mentally challenged son
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Anil Kumar, an SI emptied two bullets from his service revolver on the sofa set of his in-laws at Jaraganahalli on Sunday night as he could not digest the fact that his one-and-a-half-year-old son was mentally challenged...
Disability does not mean lack of dignity
By Jayna Kothari
Even as the Union government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on May 3, the ground reality of experiences of disabled people in India is in stark contrast.
BIA's initiatives for disabled
The Bengaluru International Airport has replied to public views/opinions on BIA being disabled unfriendly on May 31, 2008 issue of 'Deccan Herald' from C Mahesh who said: "As a wheelchair user, I went to the rest room meant for 'Persons with Disabilities' at the arrival terminal and was shocked to find the way the doors open out and the way the grab-bars are fitted".
Even the appropriate WHO document clearly states that there is evidence that OPV has not worked in developing countries.
HC directs MCI to decide on handicapped candidate
Mumbai, June 16 The Bombay High Court has directed the Medical Council of India to constitute a medical board to examine a MBBS graduate who was denied admission to post-graduate course under the physically handicapped category within two weeks.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/HC-directs-MCI-to-decide-on-handicapped-candidate/323795/
Delhi Govt. told to work towards disabled-friendly transport
NEW DELHI: Physically challenged persons in the Capital who are unable to use public transport in its prevalent form will soon have access to disabled-friendly means of travel. The Union Urban Development Ministry has asked the Delhi Chief Secretary to draw up a road map for making public transport in the city disabled-friendly.
HC seeks Railway report on facilities for disabled
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The HC on Thursday sought a report on the facilities for disabled at railway platforms in Mumbai. Hearing a public interest litigation on the lack of such facilities, a division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice V M Kanade asked lawyers Mihir Desai and Suresh Kumar to visit Mumbai Central station for verifying the ground reality at railway platforms. The report has to be submitted before the next date of hearing which is scheduled for July 10.
A Universal Design Newsletter
DPI e-update - 13 June 2008
The May issue of Design for All is now available free of charge at
http://www.designforall.in/newsletter_may_2008.pdf
If operating the stick shift was confusing then using your hands to press the break pedals is definitely tougher. No, says Ferdinand Rodricks or 'Ferdi' as he is more popularly known, who works towards making driving less of a challenge for the disabled.
“It was so embarrassing to be wheeled in”
Shilpa Shetty bitten by a dog
Shilpa says her taking a double antibiotic dose one, for the dog bites and another for the chest congestion proved to be serious for her. "The strong antibiotics ruined my stomach lining and made me so weak that I had to be carried in a wheelchair from the airport on Wednesday evening when I returned from Dubai. Now I am having antacids. It was so embarrassing to be wheeled in."
Towards low-tech, high-value solutions for disabilities
Vijaysree Venkatraman
Cleverly designed, locally made mobility devices can help people with disabilities get around and do more — not become charity cases
Watch out for falling legs," Amos Winter, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate student, warns. Heeding that unusual warning, this writer gingerly settles into a low wheelchair in the basement studio. The legs in question are prosthetic limbs of rubberised material. This is the Mobility Lab, M-Lab for short, a workshop for an MIT undergraduate course of the same name.
INTERNATIONAL
House passes Americans with Disabilities Act amendments
The US House voted 402-17 [roll call] to approve the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 [HR 3195 materials] Wednesday. The bill makes it easier for employees with mental or physical handicaps to prove they are victims of workplace or hiring discrimination.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/06/house-passes-americans-with.php
Britain's Missing Top Model: Shining a spotlight on disability in the fashion industry
With a plethora of modelling reality shows out there, the BBC's Britain's Missing Top Model, which starts on Tuesday, provides a welcomed insight into the lives of eight disabled models.
http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/2008/06/britains_missin.html
Disabled sailor starts solo trip
A record-breaking quadriplegic sailor has set off from Dover on a solo round-Britain trip in sea conditions described as "ideal".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7457603.stm
Disability dolls become more popular
Are Down's syndrome, blind and chemotherapy dolls a blessing or just a sick joke? Supporters say they help children.
U.S. seeks to vastly improve access for the disabled
WASHINGTON: The Bush administration is about to propose far-reaching rules that would give people with disabilities greater access to tens of thousands of courtrooms, swimming pools, golf courses, stadiums, theaters, hotels and stores in the United States.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/16/america/disabled.php
Blindness not a disability for School of the Arts student
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ Fourteen-year-old Brianna Murray navigates the Charleston County School of the Arts campus as deftly as any of her classmates.
Just like everyone else, Brianna had to audition to be accepted into the high-achieving magnet school, and she's as passionate about her art, playing the violin, as any other teenager there.
Govt. urged to ratify UN disability treaty - Australia
Posted Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:47pm AEST
Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes has urged the Federal Government to speed up the process of deciding whether to ratify the United Nations' treaty on the rights of people with a disability.
Opening doors for employees with disabilities
CIBC, TD Bank lead the way in efforts to find, train and support a diverse workforce
Jun 13, 2008 01:27 PM, Terrence Belford, Special to the Star
Tom Proszowski, 56, director of employment equity and diversity at CIBC, is more than just another mid-level banking executive.
As he rolls his wheelchair through the bank's Toronto headquarters, he is a symbol of the progress Canadian banks have made when it comes to hiring people with disabilities and not just in the low or mid-level ranks.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/443008
60 pc under-5 children live with death or disability threat
UNB, Dhaka
More than 60 percent of the country's total under-five child population is living with high death or disability threat because of indoor pollution, according to a research article.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/06/14/news0348.htm
Bringing the issues of disability into the open
AUTHOR Shanta Everington has used her struggle to accept she was disabled as the inspiration for her first novel.
Event highlights disability pride
An event to challenge discrimination faced by disabled people has been held with a number of people attending.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announcing Techshare India 2008 Road Shows - Bangalore and Mumbai
Visit http://barrierbreak.com/press_room/index.php to view our press releases, media coverage and photographs of Techshare India 2008.
Launching of New Website on Autism
Source: DPI e-update - 13 June 2008
The Canadian Autism Intervention Research Network (CAIRN) just launched a French version of its acclaimed autism information web site, www.cairn-site.com
People can now log on to the popular site and access either the French or English version to read plain language summaries of the latest in autism research worldwide.
Course on Traveling with Disabilities
Wild Iris Medical Education offers a useful course entitled, Traveling with Disabilities authored by Anne M. Becker, MS, RN, CNS and Miriam R. Breslauer, BS, MS.
The course is free through June 30, 2008.
http://www.nursingceu.com/courses/219/index_nceu.html
RESOURCES
DCDD Newsletter 15
Published by: Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD)
New DCDD newsletter! Read all about the UN Convention which entered into force on the 3rd of May, the National Platform for Disability, Sport and Development Cooperation.The adventures from our column writer, Petra Jorissen, in Mali and Egypt. And of course much more...
http://www.dcdd.nl/default.asp?action=article&id=3335
Ugandans need insurance against physical disability
If you were unable to work because of a long-term disability, how would you provide for yourself and family? What if you became permanently disabled and confined into a wheelchair for the rest of your life? Research shows that 10% of disabilities occur on jobs when, for example, a worker gets an accident or sickness and eventually becomes disabled while on duty.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/632702
Paying the price for disability
CHUA of Shah Alam, who is wheelchair-bound, is disappointed that he was made to purchase a RM350 ticket for the Beauty and The Beast concert for a front row seat due to his disability.
Disability 101: When to offer help