Class VIII Session 8.

14

TITLE

A Different Way Of Life

INTRODUCTION

This session attempts to sensitize students and make them aware of the difficulties and challenges faced by differently abled persons in day to day life. The session utilizes Self Awareness, Empathy and other Life Ski lls to orient and encourage students to adopt a positive outlook to life and to be proactive in preventing the occurrence of disabilities. 1. Objectives : By the end of the session, students will be able to: Understand and become aware of difficulties faced by Children with Special Needs (CWSN). Be sensitized to the needs of such students in their class and school. 35 Minutes Self-Awareness, Empathy, Critical Thinking to help develop a positive attitude. 1. 4 clean cloths (dupattas), preferably cotton Please see Contents Role Play, Brainstorming, Discussion.

2. Time 3. Life Skills Being Used

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4. Advance Preparations 5. Linkages 6. Methodology

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7. Process

Step 1: Please read the Fact Sheet carefully and go through this session well in advance before you carry it out with the students

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Step 2: Greet the students and tell them that today they are going to do a role play in the class.

Step 3: Ask for 3 Volunteers from the class to be blindfolded. Blindfold each of them and ask one of them to go to the Principals room. Ask anot her one to go back to the desk and start writing; ask the third one to go out to the playground. Send other student s to accompany these three so that there are no accidents. Note for Teachers: While the students negotiate their way and bump into things, they can be given verbal instructions or can be involved in some kind of conversation by the second student. Step 4: Simultaneously ask for one more volunteer. Fold this students right leg and tie it with the cloth piece and ask him to go up to the Principals room. Again ask a second student to accompany him. (Ensure that he is not in pain!) Step 5: Remind the students that today is a day for role -playing and ask for one more voluntee r. Make him stand in-front of the class and ask him to move his lips to say something without producing any sound. Ask the other students to lip -read and guess what he is saying. Step 6: When the students have returned from the Principals office and pla yground, ask them to sit in their usual place. Note for Teachers: There will be some noise in the class as students try to read his lips. Let them be involved in the whole process. But do keep an eye on the student who has his leg tied and is trying to move out of the class! And also the students who are blindfolded. Step 7: After few minutes send 3 students to call the volunteers back to class, untie the leg of the volunteer, untie the blindfolds, and ask them to go back to their seats. Step 8: After the students have completed the tasks allotted to them and have returned to their seats ask the students w ho were blindfolded the following: Could you see any light? How did you find the experience of not being able to see? YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888

Expected Responses: We could not see light It was difficult to move but was easier to go in the directions from where the sound was coming. Step 9: Ask the student whose leg was tied, his experience of walking around with one leg. Similarly, ask the students who were trying to lip read: was it ea sy to understand what he was saying?. Expected Responses: It was difficult to balance. Support was needed. Not easy to make sense of the lip reading. Had to concentrate really hard to understand what was being said. Step 10: Brainstorm on the following: How would you feel if you are not able to see? What would it be like to have only one or no legs to walk? How would it feel if you could not speak, or hear? Expected Responses: We will feel terrible if we cant see our face, or see our mother. It would be difficult to walk without support. It will be hard to study and take down notes of what the teacher is teaching if we cant hear properly. We just cannot imagine how we would manage without all of these. Reading and writing are essential for progress in life. Note for Teachers: Utilize the following for discussion: We all take our senses including the sense of vision for granted but all of us are not so fortunate. Generate a discussion about the kin d of difficulties a person with seeing problems may encounter. Introduce the term visually challenged instead of blind. Similarly, use physically challenged for a person with limb loss, and hearing challenged for the person who has hearing problems. Explain that in the role plays , students were challenged in some way or the other. To overcome their difficulties they needed a few special means/aids which are called SPECIAL NEEDS. Elaborate on the meaning of Special Needs emphasizing the fact that we a ll have needs. Give the example of a student who wants to be an engineer, but is weak in Biology. Its special need will be extra teaching in Biology. Similarly, suppose another child has one leg and uses crutches or a wheel chair. To attend his class, his special need could be a ramp, lift or a classroom at the ground level where he can reach on his own. Thus all of us have needs, but for challenged persons some needs contribute very significantly in their day to day life. These may include special education needs like learning through a different script - say Braille or using abacus to do mathematics instead of using common ways of learning at school. Explain to the students that they must understand the needs of specially abled children and help them, in the classroom in the school and wherever else they may meet them. YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888

Step 11: Ask the class: Is there any particular category of people who become disabled? Can anything ever happen to us? Can disability occur only at young age? Expected Responses: Mostly poor people become disabled, uneducated persons can become disabled, if we take care, we can avoid this, and anybody can become disabled. Note for Teachers: Generate a discussion about the fact that anyone of us can have disabilities. No particular strata, caste, age, race is barred from disabilities. Give examples of famous people like Stephen Hawking, F.D. Roosevelt, (ex President of USA), Major Ahluwalia, who have had such disabilities. Tell them that Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Rockefeller (the American business tycoon) and Tom Cruise have had dyslexia, the learning disability! So disabilities can strike anyone. Brainstorm about the possible causes of disabilities. After taking inputs from the students divide these in 3 stages (1) causes of disabilities before birth (2) during birth and (3) after birth. These causes would include health of the mothe r, RH factor, nutrition, radiations, virus, infections, accidents, trauma etc. Vaccinations at scheduled time can be a life saver.

Do Boond Jeevan Ki Polio Drops.

Ask the students to imagine themselves in place of any of the volunteers who had role played at the beginning of the sess ion and try to experience/ feel the difficulties and challenges faced by differently abled people. With numerous factors at play to cause disabilities let them become aware that a normal healthy body is a miracle and we usually take this for granted which is not so. Share with them that based on 2001 census data we can estimate 4 to 5 % of Indian population has some disability (Source RCI Publication). Prevention of disabilities can help to improve the situation. Point out that many of us keep complaining about our complexion, features, lack of resources etc. Let us learn to look at the positive instead. Share the story of a boy who complained about not having enough money to buy a branded pair of shoes. He was very angry, had arguments with his parents a nd was feeling very miserable about himself. In a huff he left the house to go out for a walk. Suddenly he saw another boy crossing the road. The boy didnt have any legs. This jolted the first boy and self realization dawned on him that at least he had le gs and feet to walk on. So becoming aware of the difficulties faced by others, and many factors responsible for causing disabilities helps us become more self aware and develop a more positive outlook towards life. More importantly it sensitizes us to the needs to others and helps us become more caring human beings. YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888

Step 12: Explain to the students that the differently abled are as talented and brilliant as anyone else. Share the amazing stories in the clippings in the Fact Sheet with them. Have a quick discussion on how the students will help any person they meet.

Satish Gujral Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia Helen Keller Franklin D. Roosewelt

Key Messages: Highlight and repeat the following to the class: Children with challenges, or differently abled students, have to face various challenges on a day-to-day basis. Differently abled students have some special needs. Everyone can become disabled at sometime. We should appreciate others abilities and not criticize or mock their disabilities. We need to spread awareness about various factors responsible for causing disabilities so that they can be prevented.

Ideas for Learning More:

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FACT SHEET

A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIFE

The term `Differently abled is used as a substitute for disabled or handicapped. This places emphasis on the fact that many people with disabilities are quite capable of accomplishing a particular task or performing a particular function, only in a different manner or taking more time or effort than people without the disabili ty in question. According to estimates more then 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school. Disability is both the cause and consequences of poverty. It is also a major cause of social exclusion. (Source UNESCO) Concept of disability WHO defines impairment as a normal process of change with physical, anatomical and cognitive structure coming with age or other factors but does not interfere with the performance of activities expected from an individual. If impairment interferes with the process of education or work, it becomes a disability. A handicap is a disadvantage for a given individual resulting from impairment or a disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal for that individual. Definitions of some disabilities Mental Retardation:- This refers to significantly sub average intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of applicable adaptive skills areas of communication, selfcare, social s kills etc. Mental retardation manifests itself before the age 18. Many mentally retarded people are able to participate in activities with non -disabled people given an appropriate adaptation and support. Others may require a long term structured programme. With adequate training and education such persons can be more self reliant citizens. Autism: - Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It is the result of a neurological disorder that aff ects the functioning of the brain. It is a developmental disability typically affecting the processing, integrating and organizing of information that significantly impacts communication, social interaction, functional skills and educational performance. Cerebral palsy (CP):- Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the brain. It is non progressive. This is a condition characterized by paralysis, weakness in coordination and other motor dysfunction due to brain injuries occurring in the pre -natal, peri-natal or the infant period of development.

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Learning Disability It is a disorder, which affects the basic psychological processes of understanding or using written or spoken language which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, read or write, to do mathematical calculations. The term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the results of visual, hearing or motor handicaps of mental retardation or emotional disturbances, or of environment, cultural or economic disadvantage. This term also includes brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction and dyslexia. Hearing Impairment This includes deaf and hard of hearing. Deaf persons have a situation where the sense of hearing is non-functional for ordinary purpose, the y do not hear/understand sound at all, even with amplified speech. A hard of hearing person is one who, generally with the use of hearing aid, has residual hearing sufficient to enable successful processing of linguistic information through audition. Visual Impairment Blindness is a condition where a person may have any of the following conditions, namely Total absence of sight Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 or Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degrees or worse. A person with low vision (Partially sighted) is a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive corrections but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for planning or execution of task with appropriate assistive device. Locomotor impairment It is a disability of the bone, joints or muscles leading to substantial restrictions of the movement of the limbs or a usual form of cerebral palsy and autism. Orthopedics disability is a locomotor disability. It is a person s inability to execute distinctive activities associated with moving both himself and objects, from place to place.

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Causes and prevention of disabilities Causes of disabilities include chromosomal abnormalities and other non genetic factors. Broadly they can be divided in three stages, namely prenatal (Before birth), peri natal (during the process of birth), post natal (after the birth). Prenatal factors may include infection rubella, syphilis, mother-fetal blood incompatibilities, RH fact ors, drugs and alcohol, material -fetal irradiation, chronic maternal health problems: Diabetes, hypertension. Perinatal factors include birth injury, asphyxia (hypoxemia), head trauma, hemorrhage, and infection. Some postnatal causes of disabilities include infection: Encephalitis, meningitis, accidents, poisons and environmental toxins: lead, mercury, anoxia -cardiac arrest, hormonal deficiencies, brain tumors, epilepsy, poor nutrition. Some of the common causes for blindness in India are cataract, glaucoma, albinism, and conjunctivitis. Prevention of Disabilities emphasizes 3 main components namely (a) Immunization (b) Genetic counseling (c) Nutrition and diet Protection against disease by inoculation leads to the bacteria, viruses or the poisons beings rendered harmless thus saving a person from various infections and diseases which lead to disabilities. These include immunization of persons against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping, cough, measles and tuberculosis. Genetic counseling may be sought fo r many reasons but generally because a suspected genetic disorder has occurred or may occur. There may be concern about more general risk factors such as the age of the mother, marriage between cousins. Genetic screening programmes to identify individuals with treatable genetic diseases and parents at risk of having children with severe genetic diseases are an important element of genetic counseling programmes. Malnutrition caused by a low intake of vitamins may lead to vitamin deficiencies. Various diseases result from deficiencies of different vitamins and minerals, and of proteins Proper diet and nutrition can play an important role as a preventive measure in dealing with causes of disabilities

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List of National Institutes working in different domain s of disabilities is given below for easy reference:-

Branch office Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi

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YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888

YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888

YUVA Help Line No. 1800116888