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Ensuring equal opportunities for Disabled Individuals
Thomas Alva Edison was born on Feb 11, 1847 in a middle class family. Edison has an unusually large head and skull other developmental disabilities such as hearing loss and speech difficulties. Infact, he did not start speaking until age 4. He was even suspended from school for a poor academic performance after his teacher lost hope to train him. He developed a keen interest for science and literature. At the age of 15, he was offered the position of a telegraph operator that allowed him to improve his working efficiency. His greatest invention, the incandescent electric light bulb stands unparallel in the path of human civilization.
Edison’s recollection about his mother: “ was the making of me... she was always so true and so sure of me and always made me feel I had someone to live for and must not disappoint "
The above paragraph is just to sensitize you the importance of disabled individuals to the society, not to underestimate the contributions of many others who have left their unique mark behind for others to understand. It is also equally important to provide support and rehabilitation service to such individuals to help them realize their potential.
A more than 600 people live with various forms of disability worldwide according to estimates by the World Health Organization. A majority of these live in under developed conditions where educational, health care and economic condition are sub optimal. Population explosion, the increasing proportion of aged individuals, chronic diseases such as diabetes and osteoarthritis, malnutrition, injuries due to war and violence, occupational injuries, sports injuries, large-scale environmental pollution, increasing road traffic in the industrialized areas are some of the factors known to contribute to disability.
Persons with disabilities should be ensured that they have the equal right to access opportunities as a normal person. It is high time that we learn that allocation of resources to such disabled persons is an investment rather than a mere medical expense.
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