Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible developments ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
The University of Delhi, informally known as Delhi University, is a collegiate research central university located in Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognised as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Vice President of India serves as the university chancellor. The university is ranked 6th by National Institutional Ranking Framework 2024.
Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability", where impairment was an impairment of an individual's mind or body, while disability was considered a social construct. This premise gave rise to two distinct models of disability: the social and medical models of disability. In 1999 the social model was universally accepted as the model preferred by the field.
Visual or vision impairment is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficulties with normal daily tasks, including reading and walking. The terms low vision and blindness are often used for levels of impairment which are difficult or impossible to correct and significantly impact daily life. In addition to the various permanent conditions, fleeting temporary vision impairment, amaurosis fugax, may occur, and may indicate serious medical problems.
University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) is a medical college in Delhi, India, affiliated with the University of Delhi. It is associated with Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, which serves as the teaching hospital.
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free and open-source, portable screen reader for Microsoft Windows. The project was started by Michael Curran in 2006.
The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1970s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theorist Paulo Freire and his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Boal's techniques use theatre as means of promoting social and political change in alignment originally with radical-left politics and later with centre-left ideology. In the Theatre of the Oppressed, the audience becomes active, such that as "spect-actors" they explore, show, analyse and transform the reality in which they are living.
Chandrakant Lahariya is an Indian medical doctor, public health & policy expert and writer.
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Divyanga University (JRDU), formerly Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, is a public UP state government university in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 2001 by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya for disabled people .Jagadguru Rambhadracharya in 2022 wishes to make this University as a UP state government, he suggested UP CM Yogi Adityanath ji to takeover this University as State Public University, in June 2023 Uttar Pradesh government accorded status of State government university by passing Law in UP State assembly i.e.The Uttar Pradesh Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Divyang State University. Act, 2023 under Department of Divyangjan under which 50 percent of Divyang students and 50 percent other students can took addmission at this University .It was the only university in the world exclusively for disabled people until the establishment of Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University at Lucknow.
Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries in the world where poliomyelitis (polio) is still categorized as an endemic viral infection, the other one being Afghanistan. While it has yet to fully eradicate Polio, there has been a major downwards trend in the number of reported cases per year; the total count of wild poliovirus cases in Pakistan in 2019 was down to 147, compared to 84 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 6 in 2023 and 8 as of June 2024.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare is one of the departments of Government of Tamil Nadu and is responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services in the state.
S. Ramakrishnan is the founder president of Amar Seva Sangam, Ayikudi, Tamil Nadu, India. He is known for his contributions to the field of rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. Ramakrishnan was awarded the civilian honour, Padma Shri, by Government of India for the year 2020.
The Enabling Unit, Equal Opportunity Cell is based at University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. It ensures affirmative action’s concerning persons with disabilities including students, nonteaching staff, faculty as well as patients at UCMS. It is first such unit for students with disabilities in any medical institution in India.
Dr Satendra Singh is a medical doctor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. A physiologist by profession, Singh contracted poliomyelitis at the age of nine months but went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur and later on Doctor of Medicine in Physiology. He is the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards given to extraordinary leaders in the global disability community.
Jawahar Lal Kaul is an Indian social worker and the founder of the All India Conference of the Blind, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the blind. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, which bestowed on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of Social Work.
The overall prevalence of people with disabilities is 4.52% of the population, i.e., 63.28 million, according to the ICMR's publication from the NFHS-5 survey 2019-21. India is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Legislation that affects people with disabilities in India includes the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Mental Health Care Act, 2017, the National Trust Act, 1999, and the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992. People with disabilities in India are faced with negative social attitudes in the wider population.
National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (Divyangjan), Dehradun is a premier organisation under the administrative control of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Institute is training centre for the blind, located in an area of about 43 acres on Mussoorie-Dehradun Highway. It is also engaged in production of Braille literature, aids and appliances for visually disabled people. It also undertakes research and developmental activities ensuring emergence of disability inclusive policies, programmes and practices. The institute is governed by the Management & Advisory Bodies.
Abha Khetarpal is an Indian disability rights activist and counsellor based in New Delhi, India. She is the founder of Cross The Hurdles – a counselling/educational resource website and mobile application designed for people with disabilities.
