Hearing Impaired students prepare for military service despite stumbling blocks

Here is an awesome story from Gulf News about the quest of a hearing impaired teacher to prepare and inspire his deaf students for military service in the "School for the Deaf Cadet Corps" that he founded two years ago.  The stumbling block is the closed mindset of the Defence Department that declared last month in a report that it would be “imprudent” to create a programme assessing hearing-impaired people’s fitness for military service. It cited the cost of equipment modifications, security risks from wireless assistive devices and the burden for non-disabled service members if their hearing-impaired counterparts can’t perform the full range of military tasks.

It is so strange that some one who is not deaf decides what a deaf can do or can not do! This is often due to their own ignorance about potential abilities of those with disabilities.   The cost of assistive devices and accommodations would be much less in comparison to the the contribution of such diversity. Israel has taken a lead in this regard by inducting deaf people in suitable roles where the work is more visual than hearing. The quest of this teacher is praise-worthy and I am sure the cadets trained and assessed would find placements and opportunities to serve their motherland through military service.

Here goes the story from the Gulf News-

A hearing-impaired teacher’s quest for armed service inspires students

The Defense Department declared in a report last month it would be ‘imprudent’ to create a programme assessing deaf people’s fitness for military service

Frederick, Maryland: Four teens in camouflage fatigues march briskly around a brick plaza at the Maryland School for the Deaf, silently marking their cadence in American Sign Language: “Left!” “Left!”

These members of the school’s Cadet Corps aspire to military service, but their path is blocked. Deaf people are barred from joining the armed services, as corps creator Keith Nolan well knows. He’s been told, “No,” since 2001, when he tried to enlist in the Navy at age 18.

Nolan is determined to change that.

“I want to show there are no barriers,” he said through an interpreter.

His determination has led to passage of a House bill bearing his name — the Keith Nolan Air Force Deaf Demonstration Act of 2015, which called for a demonstration programme.

The Defense Department declared in a report last month it would be “imprudent” to create a programme assessing hearing-impaired people’s fitness for military service. It cited the cost of equipment modifications, security risks from wireless assistive devices and the burden for non-disabled service members if their hearing-impaired counterparts can’t perform the full range of military tasks.

But Nolan, his cadets and his congressional supporters are undeterred.

“They’re not taking us seriously,” said Cadet Jennida Willoughby, 16, through a sign-language interpreter. “We’re going to keep fighting back.”

During after-school and occasional weekend meetings, Cadet Corps members compete as teams in contests of physical strength and brainpower, and take turns leading problem-solving missions around town, said David Alexander, a school audiologist and Army veteran who helps to run the programme. They’ve gone overnight camping, taken a field trip to the US Military Academy and made a presentation to other students and faculty about the West Point visit.

The cadet corps is independent, not affiliated with the military’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

But Willoughby, an accomplished scuba diver, dreams of becoming a Navy SEAL.

She and her fellow cadets, all rising seniors at the school 72km west of Baltimore, note along with Nolan that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has been hiring hearing-impaired workers since 1987. The agency, which analyses aerial and satellite data, sent three hearing-impaired analysts to support US military operations in Africa from 2012 to 2014, using only American Sign Language.

And the military already has members in jobs that require sound-deadening earphones such as guiding planes during landings and take-offs from aircraft carriers.

“We can serve our country,” said Cadet Blake Brewer, 17, whose older cousin is a Marine. “We can show what we can do.”

Although firearms training is barred by the school’s no-weapons policy, Brewer said he’s willing to take up arms for his country.

“I’m flexible with where they would need me,” he said.

Cadet Maverick Obermiller envisions himself as an engineer, one of the “supporting roles”, including cybersecurity positions, which Nolan says should be open to hearing-impaired people.

There’s a precedent for hearing-impaired people in military service: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have always recruited hearing-impaired volunteers and found ways for them to serve in uniform, spokeswoman Libby Weiss said in an email. She said the IDF communicates with deaf or hearing-impaired soldiers through adaptive devices, text messages, emails and lip-reading. In 2012, the IDF announced an Israeli sign-language course to help commanders communicate better with deaf and hearing-impaired soldiers, then numbering more than 100.

Weiss said hearing-impaired service members are usually exempt from instructing roles, or jobs that would require them to communicate by telephone.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, cites Israel’s experience as one reason he will continue pressing for a US demonstration programme. Israel has “the benefit of a more diverse and talented pool of service members,” Takano wrote in an email. “Their example shows that this policy can be effective in some of the most tense and dangerous military arenas.”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, said in an email that she, too, will continue pushing the Defense Department to see whether Americans with disabilities can serve and meet required military standards.

Nolan, who teaches high-school government and history, said supporting the military in a civilian role isn’t the same as serving in uniform, as one of his grandfathers and a great-uncle did.

Nolan made it through two years of ROTC at California State University, Northridge, before being told his deafness made him ineligible for advancement.

He founded the Maryland School for the Deaf Cadet Corps two years ago to teach skills he deems valuable no matter what career his students choose.

“I want to see them pave the way for the future,” Nolan said. “I have done my part so far, but I want to see them take it and break through.”

RTI reveals Delhi's Schools not compliant to CBSE guidelines on disabled friendliness

This report filed by Mr. Manash Gohain in Times of India Delhi Edition and published on May 08 2016 titled "City schools tough place for disabled" based on over 160 RTI replies received by Ms. Abha Khetrapal of "Cross the Hurdles" reveals how equipped and serious Delhi is when it comes to providing quality education in an inclusive set up for children with disabilities. Here goes the story.



Most Delhi schools are not inclusive, and their differently-abled students are deprived of assistive devices or materials even though the Central Board of Secondary Education has issued guidelines on these. Replies to queries under the Right to Information received from the capital's government, government-aided and private schools reveal that most of the institutions have not carried out audits to establish the levels of the prescribed amenities.

Unfortunately , CBSE, having issued three guidelines over the years, too said in a reply to an RTI query that it had no information on access audits, compliance and action taken in case of non-compliance. The education board first issued guidelines on making school disabled-friendly way back in May 2005. It reissued fresh guidelines in October 2008 and then reiterated these in 2009, making it incumbent on schools to comply with measures suggested in the guidelines.

These included provision of support through accessible educational material and the availability of trained teachers, modification of the existing physical infrastructure and teaching methodologies to meet the needs of all children, including those with special needs, ensuring availability of study material for the disabled and talking text books, reading machines and computers with speech software and the induction of an adequate number of signlanguage interpreters, transcription services and a loop induction system for the hearing-impaired students.

TOI has copies of the 160 RTI replies received by petitioner Abha Khetarpal, President of Cross the Hurdles, an NGO that works with people with physical challenges.Only two of the schools claimed to have carried out the mandated access audit. In a majority of the schools, the queries about study materials, teacher training, infrastructure, access audit report and number of students with disabilities evinced "not applicable" as the response. Just five schools said they had visually-impaired students, and there was no data on students with disabilities like locomotor disability.

According Khetarpal, “The annexure in the 2009 guidelines clearly stated the things that schools were to provide in order to make them inclusive, failing which they would lose their affiliation. CBSE now replies that they do not keep a record of such information.“ The board told Khetarpal that affiliated schools only provide Open Text Based Assessment material in Braille, but this carries only 10% weightage in the final exams and is also meant only for Classes IX and XI. What about 90% of the study material, she asks.How would students with visual impairment cope?

Some private schools refused to divulge the information on the ground that they did not come under the purview of the RTI Act. So, there is no confirmed number on students with disabilities in regular inclusive schools and what they study . Khetarpal says that when asked this, CBSE said it not only didn't have the data, but that it also doesn't monitor compliance of its guidelines.

Source: Times of India 

Despite a good progress 34% Indian children with disabilities (6-14 yrs) are still out of school : UN Report

In India, high percentage of kids with disabilities still out of school: UN

United Nations: India has been able to decrease its number of out-of-school children by nearly 16 million between 2000 and 2012, driving the progress in South Asia, but it still has 1.4 million children not attending primary school, a United Nations report said.

The majority, 31 million of the 58 million out-of-school children, were girls. India has 58.81 million girls and 63.71 million boys of primary school age. As of 2011, 1.4 million children of primary school age did not go to school in India, with 18 percent girls out of school and 14 percent boys.

The report said that while India has made significant improvement in primary education enrolment, the figures for children with disabilities are staggering. Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 children aged 6 to 14 years (34 percent) are out of school.

The percentages are even higher among children with intellectual disabilities (48 percent), speech impairments (36 percent) and multiple disabilities (59 percent).

"India has made tremendous efforts to make its education system more inclusive. Under the Right to Education Act, all children have the right to go to school...To accommodate a greater number of children with disabilities, further progress is needed," it said.

The biggest decrease in the number of out-of-school children was seen in South Asia, where their numbers fell by 23 million between 2000 and 2012, according to a new joint report 'Fixing the Broken Promise of Education for All: Findings from the Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children was produced by UNESCO and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)'.

Much of the global progress since 2000 in decreasing the number of out-of-school children has been driven by a small number of countries, with India alone decreasing its number of out-of-school children by nearly 16 million between 2000 and 2011.

In relative terms, 42 countries were able to more than halve their numbers of primary out-of-school children between 2000 and 2012, including Algeria, Burundi, Cambodia, Ghana, India, Iran, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zambia.

However, despite such impressive progress in many countries, about nine percent of all children of primary school age worldwide, which accounts for eight percent of all boys and 10 percent of all girls, were still out of school in 2012.

The other countries with more than half a million out-of-school children include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan. India had 14 percent of children in the 7-14 years age category involved in child labour.

The report credited initiatives such as abolition of school fees, cash transfer programmes and school feeding programmes in ensuring more children attend and stay in school.

The largest school feeding was implemented in India with 120 million school children benefiting by 2006 and has been credited with a significant positive effect on both school enrolment and attendance rates.

The report further said that one in five adolescents worldwide is not in school, which means that some 63 million young people between the ages of 12 and 15 are denied their right to an education, mainly because they are marginalized and poor, the joint UN agency report said as pressure mounts to include universal secondary education in the post-2015 global development agenda.

"This report serves as wake-up call to mobilize the resources needed to guarantee basic education for every child, once and for all," UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said.

The data found that as children get older, the risk that they will never start school or will drop out increases. One in ten children of primary school age is out of school compared to one in five adolescents. The study also found that in total, 121 million children and adolescents have either never started school or dropped out despite the international community's promise to achieve Education for All by 2015.

The report added that "business as usual" has not worked and there has been almost no progress in reducing the number of adolescents out of school since 2007. Children living in conflict, child labourers and those facing discrimination are most affected. And without major shifts in policies and resources, previous education gains may erode.

"If current trends continue, 25 million children, 15 million girls and 10 million boys, are likely to never set foot inside a classroom," it said. For a concrete policy shift, the study calls on governments to provide robust information on marginalised children.

Source: PTI

Design invention to meet needs of Teen with Cerebral Palsy at Nike to help many

Design changes by Nike to make persons with Cerebral Palsy wear their shoes independently on request of Mr. Matthew is just another example how companies can use universal design to meet the needs of people. So this request from a user helps Nike do some invention & bring in a shoe they call the Flyese that is designed especially for people who have trouble with their hands and the company is bringing it to market in the Fall. Surely, it will many people & not just those with Disabilities of upper limbs!

Read more at :

Teen With Cerebral Palsy Asked Nike For A Pair Of Sneakers And Got An Amazing Response

Teenager Matthew Walzer has Cerebral Palsy, and just like any of us, he wanted the freedom to take care of himself. He decided to send a letter to Nike asking them for help. Because of his condition, he has trouble with shoelaces. In his letter, Matt explained that he is soon going to college and wants a shoe he can put on himself. He also quoted an early mantra of Nike’s, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

What the company did in response? Simply wonderful! Not only did they do something amazing for Matthew, they took it a step further and now have a shoe they call the Flyese that is designed especially for people who have trouble with their hands and the company is bringing it to market in the Fall. It’s awesome how this young boy’s request sparked off an invention that’s sure to help many people!

Source: Reshareworthy.com 

Special Educator must in all Schools affiliated to CBSE

CBSE makes special educators must in all schools
Abhishek Choudhari | Jul 8, 2015, 03.28 AM IST

Nagpur: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has now made it mandatory for all affiliated schools to appoint a special educator so that children with learning disabilities could be assimilated with other students. Apart from the central board's philosophy of "inclusive practices" in schools, this directive has also been necessitated due to strict guidelines of the Right to Education Act (RTE).

DTS Rao, board's joint secretary, wrote in the letter to schools containing above directions, "Board will appreciate cooperation of the schools in implementation of the above."

Laying down broad guidelines, CBSE said a special educator was specifically required in schools to work with children and young adults who required additional support in order to complete their learning successfully. Rao wrote, "Special educators (SE) will focus on children with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities such as autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and specific learning disabilities as they are emotionally vulnerable and have behavioral difficulties". The scope of work has been widened for SEs as CBSE says they could also work with "gifted and talented children".

But finding qualified SEs is a big challenge for schools. Annapoorni Shastri, senior principal of Bhavan's BP Vidya Mandir (Shrikrishna Nagar), said, "In Nagpur it is difficult to get SEs with proper qualifications. Part of the problem is that in teacher training colleges, special education course is focused on kids with hearing and speaking disability rather than autism etc."

Schools where such children are enrolled said teaching approach has to be tailor-made. Shastri said, "For an autistic child there has to be one-on-one teaching and they cannot be burdened with all subjects at once, hence the open schooling system is for them. For others, CBSE does offer choices of subjects like music, e-typing etc which are relatively easy to handle."

Apart from subject choices, the other aspect that makes inclusive education possible is the students' support system on campus. Sumathi Venugopalan, principal of Centre Point School (Wardhaman Nagar), said, "Every student moves up from our pre-primary section school, Mothers Pet, so they all are anyway close to each other. It is only at a later age that learning disabilities become apparent and we all adapt accordingly. We have a 'buddy system' in which a student volunteers to help another and builds a great ecosystem. Some of our students have cerebral palsy and autism but they are doing well with help of SEs, counselors and their classmates."

Not every school has students with special needs, something that maybe incidental or deliberate. With CBSE making it mandatory for every school to have a SE, one might expect to more such admissions taking place.

Special children, no special educators?

PROBLEMS FACED BY SCHOOLS WHEN HIRING

* Finding qualified special educators in Nagpur is a challenge

* Schools say 'teacher colleges' focus only on teaching physically challenged kids

* Theory and practical skills required for kids with learning disabilities are lacking in teachers

* Considering that children with special needs form a very small percentage of total strength, dedicating enough manpower is financially tough

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Pre School/ nursery play school

* Std X passed and certificate program in early childhood and special education.

* Std XII passed and diploma program in early childhood special Education DECSE-MR DECSE-VI.

* Std XII passed and diploma in teaching children (Deaf and hard of Hearing)

* Std X passed and diploma certificate care giving program.

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by Rehabilitation Council of India.

Elementary (primary and upper primary)

* Std XII passed and two year DEd Special education in any of the category of disability

* Std XII passed and one year diploma in special education (DSE) in any of the category disability

* Diploma in community based rehabilitation (DCRB) with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs.

* Post graduate diploma in community based rehabilitation with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs.

* Diploma in Multi rehabilitation worker with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Junior diploma in teaching the deaf

* Primary level teacher teaching course in visual impairment

* Diploma in vocational rehabilitation mental retardation (DVR-MR)/ diploma in vocational training and employment mental retardation (DVTE-MR) with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Diploma in hearing language and speech with six months certificate course in education of children with special needs

* Std XII passed with RCI recognized qualification for minimum one year duration and six months with special needs.

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by RCI

Secondary and senior Secondary 

* Graduate with B.Ed. (special education).

* BEd general with one year diploma in special education

* BEd general with two-year diploma in special education

* BEd general with post graduate professional diploma in special education

* BEd special education and post graduate professional certificate in special education

* PG diploma in special education (mental retardation)

* PG diploma in special education (multiple disabilities: physical and neurological)

* PG diploma in special education (locornotor impairment and cerebral palsy)

* Secondary level teacher training course in visual impairment

* Senior diploma in teaching the deaf

* BA/BEd in visual impairment

* Any other equivalent qualification approved by RCI

Source: Times of India