People with disabilities also have different strengths. Example: a boy who uses a wheelchair may be fluent in both English and paint very well. A girl with a visual disability may be a great singer. Understanding As you saw, people with physical disabilities are like any other people. However, their limitations sometimes, put some challenges in front of them. Let us understand them and find out how we can support them. Physical Challenges A lot of people don’t consider them as ‘normal.’ It could be because some people that are physically disabled cannot walk, see, hear, talk, think or learn. Some challenges that they face Challenge of boarding a train are that not all places are easy to enter for them. Example: buildings without wheel chair ramps are difficult for them to move. Challenges for a person who can’t see would be the signs Challenge of crossing a road outside of doors that don’t always have the braille underneath the writing. So, that would make it difficult for them to move themselves around a building or find Wheelchair ramp the place that they need to be. Another challenge is adjusting to their surroundings and becoming familiar with all the places they go. If they go to a new place there would be a great chance them to collide with something. A challenge for a person who cannot speak would be to get a job since most jobs require talking. Also, if they go somewhere alone there might not be knows sign language. So, that would make it difficult for them communicate and tell them what they want. Child asking using sign language People with Physical Disabilities 47 181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 51 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM
Emotional Challenges The local government looks after the needs of people at the village, town or city level. It has two levels – urban and village local governments. Sometimes people with physical disabilities are not respected. They are ill-treated or not given the support necessary. At other times, people pass comments at them or make fun of them, call them names. It could be either at home, at school, at work or in public. This might become an emotional challenge for them. Application As you read earlier, people with physical disabilities might face emotional challenges just like anyone else. Just as no human is like another, no person with disability is the same. People with same disabilities are also different. When speaking or associating with a person with a physical disability: - Smile; be yourself. - Focus on what a person can do. - T alk to a person with disability about how you can include the person in activities or what the person is comfortable with. - B e respectful. Offer assistance if asked or if the need is obvious. Move wheelchairs or other mobility aids with permission from the owner. - Speak slowly and directly when talking to a person with a hearing impairment. - Be patient. - Be considerate of that people’s feelings when talking to others. Would you want what you are about to say being said about you? - R emember that a person with a disability is not a ‘disable woman’ or ‘handicapped man’. Refer to them by their name and not by these words. All human beings like to be respected. 48 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM 181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 52
Higher Order Thinking Skills (H.O.T.S.) Once we learn to appreciate that no two people are alike and that some differences are just more noticeable, we begin to respect people with disabilities. Let us read about two of them who did not allow the disabilities to limit them and discuss two questions with your class. Rajinder Singh Rahelu was only eight months old, when he was affected by polio. Since then he has not been able to walk. He was motivated by his friend to pursue a career in weight lifting. He started by lifting a weight of 75 kg. But rigorous training and motivation made him strong enough to lift a weight of 115 kgs within six months. He has made history after winning a silver medal in power lifting at the Commonwealth Games 2014. Sheela Sharma was only four when she lost both her arms in a train accident. Sheela’s interest in art was clear right from childhood when she would use her mouth and feet to write and paint. She is today one of India’s most well-known foot and mouth artists. She has exhibited at many prestigious art galleries, including the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. Questions to discuss: 1) How did you feel when you read about them? 2) What questions would you ask them if they came to your class? Amazing Facts There are more than 26 million people in India who have some or the other kind of disability. This is more than the population of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad combined together! We should ensure society has more public facilities for people with physical disabilities. New Words 1) assistance – the action of helping someone by sharing work People with Physical Disabilities 49 181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 53 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM
181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 54 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM
181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 55 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM
181010046-Alpine-G5-Textbook-Social-FY.pdf 56 03-Feb-18 2:48:03 PM
Search
