Awareness about Down Syndrome & Autism Spectrum Disorder On the occasion of World Down Syndrome Day and World Autism Awareness Day, the National Trust organized various activities as follows: Raahgiri Day on 22 nd March 2015, Delhi Raahgiri day was celebrated by the National Trust on 22 nd March 2015 in the E block, Inter Circle, Connaught Place in order to observe World Down Syndrome Day and World Autism Awareness Day, with the support of SNAC Delhi-Muskaan, Action for Autism, Ashish Centre etc. During which placards with various messages on Down Syndrome and on Autism were displayed. Leaflets with information on early detection on Down Syndrome and Autism were also distributed. Signature song of the National Trust was played on the stage in which staff, officers, JS&CEO of National Trust and Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities participated, followed by number of Cultural programme organized by the children of Muskaan, AFA & other NGOs. A Dosti Walk was also organized by all the participants in the Inner Circle of Connaught Place. Awareness at Traffic Inter Section/ Junctions It was a fine morning of 31 st of March, 2015 at 7.30 AM when parents & people of various age groups in a group of seven or more were seen with banner and placards at various traffic signals, unlike other days. Moving traffic and the people around was curious to know the reason behind this. The people started reaching out to people waiting in at the traffic light, coordinating with the light interval between red & green with placards & leaflets for awareness generation about Down Syndrome & Autism. Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Mr. Lov Verma and Joint Secretary & CEO National Trust E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 1
Mr C. K. Khaitan was also been the part of the campaign and distributed pamphlets and talked to the people on the Traffic Signal near IIT on Aaurvindo Marg. Media presence was also there. All the signals had Banners & 6-7 Placards describing one liner about Down syndrome & Autism displayed to catch attention of the people crossing the signal. Group of 7-10 people consists of Professionals, students, parents, staff of NGO s working in the field, friends & PwDs were present on each signal to spread awareness, answered the queries regarding & share their experiences. Thanks to the traffic commissioner for giving the permission and for posting the Traffic police at the signals, to played a vital role to make the event successful. As planned, 31 st morning at 7.30 all the identified 104 traffic signals of Delhi NCR witnessed the different groups, raising their voice for Down syndrome & for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Workshop on Writing Skill of children with Down syndrome on 3.04.2015 A workshop on teaching and Reading skills for Children with Special Needs was held on 3rd April, 2015 in India Habitat Centre in which Ms. Natalie Hale from USA took part as Speaker. Natalie is an award winning author, reading consultant, parent of an adult son with Down Syndrome and a reading program developer from USA. The main objective of the workshop was to discover evidence based established methodologies for reading and teaching skills for children with Down Syndrome and other developmental delays. Large number of parents & other stakeholders participated in this workshop. E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 2
Views from Planet Autism: An exhibition An exhibition- Planet Autism 2015 was held at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre during 9-11 April 2015 to display and sale of paintings developed by persons with Autism from different parts of the country. Joint Secretary & Chief Executive Officer Shri C. K. Khaitan of the National Trust had inaugurated the exhibition as the Chief Guest on the occasion. Raahgiri Day on 19th April 2015, Gurgaon The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, in collaboration with Gurgaon Police and Municipal Corporation Gurgaon, organized the Inclusive Raahgiri Day at Gurgaon on Sunday April, 19 th 2015 from 7 AM to 10 AM. The National Trust celebrated Inclusive Raahgiri Day with the support of SNAC Delhi-Muskan, Action for Autism, Ashish Centre etc. During which placards with various messages on Down syndrome and on Autism were displayed and information on schemes and programmes of the National Trust, especially on Niramaya, the Health Insurance scheme for the person with Autism, CP, MR & MD were provided to the public. Students of Muskaan displayed their theatrical talent by play of a skit. It was based on the importance of saving trees, how nature gives without asking anything in return except protection from human beings. This was followed by a short music medley, sung by the students and audience. Muskaan was further supported by a E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 3
kathak recital by the students of Ms. Sushmita Ghosh, director Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. Sushmitaguruji shared with the audience about the importance of classical dance forms and mentioned how critical it is for the current generation to nurture India s rich cultural heritage. Large numbers of public, parents, PwDs of the surrounding area were present & participated to make the event a success. Ms. NEELAM PATEL Shining star at International level Ms Neelam Patel our sparkling star has gone beyond the borders of our continent. Students of Blind Welfare Council (BWC), Gujarat, Ms Neelam Patel has represented our country at the Asia Pacific Special Olympics tournament held in Australia during Nov- Dec 2013 where about 2000 athletes from 30 countries participated. 383 were from India and 31 from the state of Gujarat. In such a tough competition also our athlete had performed very well & Neelam won gold medal in Table Tenis. Nobody could have ever imagined that a girl with mental retardation, born in a poor family in a backward village of a tribal Taluka of Lunavada & district of Mahisagar, could even be able to fly to Australia to represent our beloved country. She met the Special teacher of Blind Welfare Council, when she was in 4 th standered. He refines her sports talents and managed to include her under the IEDSS programme. (Inclusive Education for Disabled Children at Secondary Stage). Having undergone basic training in various sports & games and looking to her active participation, sharpness & good eye hand co ordination, the coach started concentrating on her talents in Table Tennis. Since then, Neelam has never looked back. First of all at the district level then at state level, and then National level in all her games she earned so many medals. She also participated in the National coaching camps and exhibited her skills in service, backstroke and ball bouncing. It was only because of her skills and constant encouragement of BWC family that she moved ahead winning medals after medals and ultimately went to Australia to represent our country in the Asia Pacific Special Olympics 2013 in table tennis, where she won Gold medal for the country. E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 4
(SNAC) E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 5
PRIMINISTER NATIONAL COUNSIL SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR THE MULTIPLE DISABLED PERSONS Multiple Disabled Persons from the age of 18 to 35 were given Skill Trainings and enabled to be productive. RUCODE INDIA, a registered organization of the National Trust working for the development of disabled persons at Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts of South Tamil Nadu. RUCODE promotes COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION PROGRAMME for the rehabilitation of differently abled persons. As a part of rehabilitation, RUCODE conducts Day Care Centres for the Mentally Retarded as well as Cerebral palsied persons. Under the supervision of NIEPMED (Nation Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities) Chennai, RUCODE organized six month training programme for the multiple disabled persons. From the downtrodden families 50 persons with Multiple Disabilities were identified for the Training Programme. The training programme was inaugurated by the Kanyakumari District Disabled Rehabilitation officer Mr. Brahma Nayagam. The organizers selected two trades such as Artificial Flower Garland Making and Sea Shell Garland Making which can be easily learned by the persons with multiple disabilities. As a continuous effort of the trainees as well as the instructor the training programme was successfully completed and certificates were distributed to the trainees. E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 6
Some of the trainees were placed in various handicraft units and earn average of Rs.1200/- per month. Few of the Trainees started their own production units as self employed with the help of family members. RUCODE with the support of district administration plans for the financial assistance for further economical development of the trainees. The Instructors imparting training to the MR/CP children Distribution of the Course Certificates to the Trainees E- Newsletter of The National Trust Page 7