Empowering people with a disability

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Valentin Hauy (1745-1822), a linguist and an interpreter in the Royal court, established world’s first school for the blind, in Paris. This was in 1785, when families either kept visually impaired children hidden in their homes, or got them admitted them to an asylum. Valentin developed elevated letters, that could be felt with fingers. Children who had never seen the world, could now read and write. Encouraged by his results, he helped establish many other “blind-schools”. Louis Braille was one of the illustrious students and later a faculty at this first blind school in Paris.

Louis Braille (1809-1852) had an eye injury, when he was 3. His eye got infected and later he lost vision in both his eyes. However, he and his parents were determined for his education. In 1819, at age 10, he was admitted to Hauy’s school in Paris. Hauy’s books used copper wires to raise alphabets. This method was cumbersome, books were few, heavy, and limited in their content. Braille developed simpler raised letters, which were different patterns of raised dots and dashes. He produced this first version of alphabets at age 15. While Braille became a faculty at the same school, there were only a few takers for his new raised alphabet. Louis Braille died of tuberculosis, his alphabet was resurrected in 1869, a long seventeen years after his death.

Empowerment through Communication

Laura Bridgeman (1829-1889), daughter of farmer was two, when she became blind and deaf after a viral illness. In 1837, Samuel Howe convinced her parents to get her admitted to Perkins Blind school in Boston. Laura could write her name when she was 10, and do simple arithmetic at an age of 12. This was before Braille was popular. Her feat was possible through a tactile sign language, that was taught at Perkins School. She was a first American child with multiple disabilities to be educated. In 1842, Charles Dickens wrote about Laura, and her achievements. This account was turning point in life of a future disability rights activist Helen Keller.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) probably had a brain infection when she was a year and a half, and became blind and deaf. In 1886, inspired by Charles Dickens account of Laura Bridgeman, Helen’s mother wanted her daughter to be educated. Eventually  Anne Sullivan, a young alumnus of same school as Laura, become Keller’s instructor. Education through tactile-sign languages and Braille empowered Helen. She became a leading disability rights activist, a celebrated author and a public speaker.

Communication is a key to empowerment. By early 20th century, the possibility of education for visually or hearing challenged was well established. However, this was also a period of eugenics movement. Between 1890 and 1941 many children and adults with a disability were forcibly sterilised or culled. Unfortunately, this movement had both legal as well as scientific acceptance in many countries. Worst victims of this movement were in Nazi Germany.

Empowerment through Rehabilitation

After the Second World War, world view about disability had changed. Many soldiers, disabled in the war, returned back to their home countries and cities. They were all heros, and hence societies strongly felt that they need employment as well as rehabilitation. A changed world view for locomotor disability, also spread to visual and hearing impairment.

Rehabilitation movement in 1960s-1970s was a sea-change from the eugenics policies. The focus of the movement was to integrate individuals with a disability in all spheres of life, including sports, performing arts, science, and public life. This movement was an extension from the war veterans to the civilian populations as well. In the United States, rehabilitation act of 1973 was a first step in this direction.

Accessibility and disability rights movement

Rehabilitation is incomplete without accessibility. While some countries were making progress in rehabilitation and employment in stereotype occupations, accessibility was a concern. In 1976, UN had announced a five-year goal to integrate individuals with a disability into the mainstream. Five years later in 1981 the world observed international year of disabled persons (IYPD). Yet progress on accessibility front was slow. In order to make a more tangible difference, UN declared 1982-1993 as the international decade of disability.

In 1988 an act was introduced in US congress. This Americans with disability act (or ADA) called for no discrimination in jobs, school, education, transportation and access to public places. For next two years, activists struggled for this act to become a law. Legislators had concerns about the costs, especially related to access and transportation. In March 1990, about a thousand activists gathers at the US capitol (legislature building) to highlight accessibility issues. Some of them began a capital-crawl. Steps of this iconic building did not have a wheelchair access. So activists abandoned their mobility devices, and would crawl up and down the steps. Eventually Bill became a law in July 1990, with all its provisions intact. This was a first step in Barrier free movement to all public places.

In India, we passed Persons with Disability (PwD) act in 1995. Focus of this act was prevention, education, rehabilitation and affirmative action. This act also initiated a 3% reservation for PwD in all government jobs. Further amendments of this law, were to come twenty years later in 2016.

Education, Technology and empowerment

Scientific advancements have played a major role in disability reduction. Prevention and early treatment of infections, nutritional abnormalities and injuries are important tools for disability reduction. Remember Braille had injured his eyes, and Helen Keller had a brain infection. There are countless more in the developing world who lost vision due to inadequate nutrition.

Many scientists have helped us understand how we hear. We have a better understanding of auditory physiology, and can help individuals with artificial ears or cochlear implants.

From “disabled person” to a “person with disability”

In 1976, UN had announced international year for the disabled persons. Over next few years, we have realised that this term is rather insensitive, and puts more emphasis on “disability”. Individuals with a disability, often have some abilities that exceed those considered as “able”. Hence, a better expression is person-first, and we have replaced it to “person with disability”. Most recent postage stamps have this person-first slogan.

Convention on the rights of person with disability

Like a UN convention on human rights, 1949 all countries of the world need to be on the same page. In December 2006, UN adopted Convention on the rights of person with disability (CRPD). This international convention is ratified by 186 countries. Countries that have ratified this convention, agree with the rights of the individuals with a disability, and need to enact their national laws in this direction. For instance, India has recognised these rights, and has enacted them as a law – Rights of Person with disability 2016.

India had its first disability census in 2011. As per this census there are 26.8 million individuals with a disability in India, 2.21% of the entire population. There is a growing need to improve access, opportunities, as well as empowerment for persons with a disability. Today, Indian law recognises 21 disabilities, which is far greater than the traditional three of mobility, vision and hearing. With many medical and degenerative conditions in the list, the proportion of individuals with a disability has increased. We should hope that disability rights movement grows towards a real action and leads to a greater empowerment.