Dimapur, September 9: There are approximately 1, 25,284 persons out of the total 19, 88,636 population in Nagaland, who have Hearing Impairment (HI) as per the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Deafness (NPPCD). This was presented by the Deaf Biblical Ministry Dimapur at an awareness cum sensitisation workshop on rehabilitation of persons with disabilities organised by Prodigals’ Home on Friday at Town Hall, Dimapur.
Drawing attention on the society’s approach towards such disability, the Ministry said till the 1980s hearing impaired people were called “mad or crazy” and were the object of ridicule and even considered a curse.
‘Families hid them from the society and it took many years for Naga society to accept the deaf people as contributing members of the society,’ conveyed the ministry.
With the change of mindset between the years 2010-2016, there has been immense development where the persons with HI after their education have become independent and are involved in different professions where a good number of them are working in government offices, some self employed while few of them are involved in teaching and others actively involved in sports. As per the presentation of the Deaf Biblical Ministry, the State government has recognised American Sign Language (ASL) as the first language for the deaf, i.e.1st language- ASL, 2nd language- English, and 3rd language- Indian Sign Language.
Giving a scenario of Nagaland, the Ministry accentuated that presently in CIHSR, three children with Cochlear Implant (implanted through the ADIP scheme), and two children with powerful hearing aids are attending speech therapy sessions. However, few other children who have been implanted with CI are not attending speech therapy sessions because they are located at remote villages. The concept of cochlear implants is gaining popularity, but the parents seem to be only half informed about it, it pointed out.
‘Most parents do not know that the surgery is not a corrective surgery, but that a “machine” is implanted inside the child’s ear. They are not aware about the regular speech therapy sessions that the child has to attend’ remarked the organisation. They suggested educating parents in detail not only about the surgery, but also about the years of speech therapy sessions that the child has to attend.
‘Meeting parents of children who have already been implanted is also important so that the parents’ expectations are realistic as one sided approach is not a “complete approach,’ conveyed the organisation.
They also recommended that consideration should be made of the parents’ socio-economic status before deciding the means of rehabilitation for the child adding parents must be encouraged to make informed decision. This means that parents must be told about the pros and cons of each rehabilitative approach. They concluded that there is a great need for more qualified professionals in this field in Nagaland.
Maong Jamir, Assistant Director of Prodigals’ Home, Dimapur, addressing on the scenario of disabilities in Nagaland remarked that the society itself serve as a barrier towards persons with disabilities.
‘The society considers them to be curse from God and do not count their abilities while considering them to be an object of charity,’ said Jamir. He, therefore, advocated effective implementation of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) Act 1995, and Nagaland State Policy for PwDs while recommending that the State should have State Resource Centre (SRC)/ District Resource Centres’ (DRCs) for PwDs, employment and livelihood alternatives for PwDs and intensive/ extensive awareness covering all districts by Office of Disability Commissioner, responsible government departments, NGOS and FBOs.
Kesonyu Yhome, Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur, who graced the event as the chief guest, introduced the PwDs as the chief guests of the day taking into account their remarkable journey. Addressing the various organisation representatives, Yhome remarked that over the years a bureaucratic approach had been adopted to address the issue. He, however, said we cannot afford to continue with that approach and there needs to be a paradigm shift in our approach.
“There is a need to move from just rehabilitation of PwDs to their empowerment and give them chance to live a normal life and it was high time for such program to receive recognition,” DC said in conclusion.
