Hi all, A positive gesture from Time, the coaching institute for CAT and other competitive exams. They have shown keen interest in making friendly policies for visually challenged candidates. I request you to share your ideas, thoughts, suggestions and queries on the below given guidelines. It can act as a valuable source for all the staff and the faculty members to understand and cater to the requirements of visually challenged candidates.
Please respond latest by Monday, 18th of April 2011, 11.00 pm. *** GUIDELINES TO HANDLE VISUALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS (FOR THE STAFF) Section I How do you feel when you see a person searching for something and then notice that he/she is blind ? Pity? Does it help them in anyway? Definitely not. Its only when you help them locate whatever they need, you are really expressing your true feeling of concern. According to research, a human being learns 83% through sight, 11% through hearing, 3½% through smell, 1½% through touch and 1% through taste. A glance at the above statistics will tell you what the visually challenged people are denied. What is blindness? “Blindness" refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following :- 1. Total absence of sight. 2. Visual acuity not exceeding 61/60 or 20/200 (snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; 3. Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse. Categories of visual impairment Total blindness - A person who can’t see anything or has negligible eye sight. May or may not be independent in mobility. Partial blindness – can sense large objects, can’t read and write the printed material, board or the screen. The eye sight is mostly used for mobility Low vision – can read and write large font text, identify people and objects in well- lit areas. What is a disability Certificate? It is an official document ,which certifies the person as physically challenged. It enables them avail the benefits, facilities and concessions under different schemes and programmes of the Central as well as State Governments. A Disability Certificate is issued by a duly notified Medical Board of a District/Government Hospital set up for examining the person with disability Mobility: Most of the visually challenged are independent in moving around. They commute quite comfortably in public or private transport. However there might be cases where they can’t move independently. You may suggest to them if required to take mobility training provided by a few NGOs . • They can manage to get acquainted in the unfamiliar places if orientation is provided at initial stage. • They use cane (white stick) at night or when required. • They identify people with their voice and their other distinct qualities. The staff needs to • Provide orientation for the students to the important places like admin office, stairs, water facility, restroom, classrooms, physical obstacles, etc. • Help the students find classrooms, appropriate place to sit, read the schedule and notices, etc. • It always helps if you describe the surroundings verbally. You can also read to them points written on signboards and trace diagrams on their hands. • Avoid using non -verbal communication. • Proper lighting for the board and at the place in the classroom where the low vision students sit. How do they read, write and take notes? For their studies or at work, the visually challenged use computers extensively. So how do they use the computers when they can’t see the screen? • They use a screen reading software like JAWS (Job Access with Speech). This software reads out most of the things displayed on the monitor (other than the images, graphs, etc). Instead of the mouse, they use keyboard commands. This software enables them to work with most of the windows based applications. A similar screen reading software (Talks) is used to operate cell phone. • The printed books are converted into e-text through scanning using OCR (Optical Character Recognition technology). They are converted into formats like word, notepad, excel, PDF, etc.) which can then be read like any other document with the aid of JAWS. Editing plays an important role here, as the recognition of text is not 100% accurate. Handwritten notes, however, have to be typed. • Digital voice recorder enables one to make notes for future reference. • Braille (a script that requires punching paper to read the dots created) is also used. How do the visually challenged students take their examinations? Examinations are generally taken with the help of a scribe. A scribe is a person who reads the questions and writes the answers dictated to him by the student. Additional compensatory time of 20-25 minutes for every 1 hour of exam is provided. Several communication problems often arises between the scribe and the student, especially regarding interpretation of diagrams, graphs, tables, calculations, spellings and the like. Achievements of the visually challenged: A layman would often dismiss the thought of a visually challenged person having a prestigious degree or a high level of qualification, but we know, “winners don’t do different things, they do things differently.” It’s quite incredible that we find many blind people in various walks of life such as Painting, Photography, etc. where vision generally plays a prominent role. They have also taken degrees like CA, MBBS, MBA, PhD, IAS and BE, to name a few. They are also employed in several organizations like Infosys, IBM, GE, Banks, Microsoft, Google and many more. They work in various capacities such as Managers, Software Engineers, Research Analysts, Human Resource Recruiters, Doctors, Lecturers, Journalists, Advocates, Front Office Executives and the like. Advantages of having a person with disability in the institute: It helps students, employees, customers and the organization as a whole in the following ways:- • They work with dedication and commitment to prove their capabilities. • They inspire everybody including students, faculty and staff. • 3% of the seats are reserved for physically challenged- comprising 1% each for persons with visual impairment; hearing and speech impairment and loco motor disability/cerebral palsy. Barrier free environment: • Visually challenged people can work efficiently on par with others. • Do look at them as any other person - you look at their capabilities and strengths rather than their weaknesses. Their basic requirement is an open mind and barrier free environment. Involve them in all the activities so that they feel comfortable and do not feel left out. Do you have any uncertainties in communicating with a visually challenged person? First, no matter how shy you may be, you must not wait for the visually challenged to make the first move. Identifying yourself will prove to be very helpful as they have the knack of recognizing your voice if you talk to them the next time. For example: you could say “hi! This is Shreya” thereafter they will know your voice and recognize you later. Let them know when you enter or leave the room. If you see someone else entering, then you can always take the initiative and announce the name. How to give instructions or teach them Try to be as descriptive as possible. People often point out at the objects, board or the screen and say “Take this from here and put it there.” Remember they cannot understand what is “this”, “here”, “there”, etc are. You may instead state the subject matter directly. They may not understand the body language or make perfect eye contact with you. To describe diagrams, pictures etc, you may use directions or relate the picture with some known object or draw on their hand. Similarly for tables state the respective row and column headings. It is quite difficult to remember large amount of data or text. Repeating the relevant information can prove to be very useful in such situations. Don’t ignore them! If you see a visually challenged person needing assistance, just provide help to them as you would to anybody else. You could ask them if they need anything. Talking to them at a normal pace with a normal voice is absolutely fine. A person’s vision loss has no bearing whatsoever on effective communication skills or hearing ability. They are just like you. The only difference is that they can’t see very well. Vision loss is a mere inconvenience, not a disability. They are just differently able. Negative attitudes towards persons’ with disability is no longer acceptable as a basis for discrimination. It is an indication of denial of human rights to them in the modern day context and particularly with the now ratified UN Convention. How to understand them better? Only when you can empathize with the visually impaired can you get an inkling of their challenges. The best way to know a little more of how they get along with their daily routine is to close your eyes for just 5 minutes and try to carry on with the work you were doing. Thanks to the development in technology, and initiatives of private organizations, government and individuals, any physical challenge are no longer a handicap or disability. As illustrated, the visually challenged have excelled in almost all spheres of life. With a little assistance, encouragement and moral support they will be valuable assets to the society. “WE CANNOT DO BIG THINGS IN LIFE. LET US DO SMALL THINGS BUT WITH GREAT LOVE.” MOTHER TERESA. Whom can the students approach to purchase or for information about the assistive technology useful for visually challenged? Saksham – an NGO based at Delhi Office: 011-42411015, 011-26161707 Mobile: 09810043626, Email: [email protected] Website: www.saksham.org Karishma Enterprises - a business organization based at Mumbai Office: 022-22181853 Mobile: 09867310297 (Ram Agarwal) Email: [email protected] Website: www.brailleworldindia.com Whom do the students approach for any information related to visually challenged Eyeway – an initiative of Score foundation based at Delhi Website: www.eyeway.org Eyeway help desk: 011-46070380 Section II Does T.I.M.E provide E-text of the study material? • T.I.M.E provides the e-text of the study material, handouts, magazines, question papers and all the other material provided in print form. Does T.I.M.E provide both e-text and the printed copy of the material? Both e-text and printed copy of the material is provided so that the students can prepare using assistive technology and readers/peers/volunteers. How does a visually challenged student get to know about the facilities provided by T.I.M.E ? The students can contact any study center, branch or office across the country. They can also visit the T.I.M.E website What information does the T.I.M.E website provides. The website provides • Basic information about visually challenged to know and handle them better • Policies for visually challenged students • Guidelines for the T.I.M.E employees • Guidelines for the faculty • Profile of the visually challenged achievers • Contact details of the specialist responsible for handling physically challenged students Whom should the T.I.M.E employee approach regarding handling any specific concerns of the visually challenged? Any T.I.M.E employee can approach the Branch Manager or City Director. You can also contact “???” who is a specialist in handling any queries and new suggestions/issues Can the visually challenged students record the lectures? Yes (yet to be approved) as it helps them for future reference and allows them to take notes later. What is the role of the staff in making the faculty help the visually challenged student? • They should encourage the faculty members to spend extra time on helping them with topics which involves usage of graphs, diagrams, tables, numbers, etc. Arrange for extra sessions for Quantitative aptitude and Data Interpretation (yet to be approved, sessions required once in 1 or 2 weeks) What should the staff do to create awareness and encourage students to help physically challenged students? • Send a standard pre-composed mail to all the students of the branch inviting interested volunteers to help the physically challenged students Are there any visually challenged alumni who can mentor the visually challenged student? The staff should connect the student with an alumni who will mentor the student throughout the course. The list of the alumni is available with “***” the specialist who handles all the queries of the physically challenged. (You may appoint a physically challenged who will take care of all the issues related to persons with visual impairment, loco motor disability, speech and hearing impairment and cerebral palsy) Does T.I.M.E Institute provides extra time for the exams conducted Extra time for all kinds of exams both online and offline is provided for physically challenged students. How much of extra time is provided? 25 minutes extra for every One- hour of exam is provided. Can the staff help the student find scribe to write the exams? The staff can identify scribes as per the criteria mentioned in the CAT bulletin to write exams for the visually challenged students. Students preparing for IIT and similar exams are among the suitable candidates to act as a scribe. What are the usual criteria to be a scribe? • The scribe must fulfill the following criteria: a. is not a family member or a friend. b. Is not involved in any academic tutoring or preparation for the test to be administered. c. Has not completed 19 years of age as of 30 September of that year. d. Has academic qualification lower than that of the candidate. What should the staff do to create awareness of the policies for physically challenged among the existing and new staff, faculty and colleagues? Conduct a workshop to begin with Include it as a part of the orientation program provided to the new employees GUIDELINES TO HANDLE VISUALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS (FOR THE faculty) Which are the areas the visually challenged students may have more difficulty in understanding? Topics which requires visualization, calculations, remembering data and previous steps. It includes Tables, graphs, diagrams, reading comprehension, equations and other calculations. Can they really manage dealing with the above? They can certainly manage well if you follow and develop a few simple techniques. Help them visualize by giving clear description and read out relevant information whenever it is required to be used. Best way is to develop your own technique which you and your student are comfortable with and you are able to help them visualize. How do I explain Tables? 1. Read out A. the table heading B. number of rows and columns C. Headings of the rows and columns D. Sub columns or Sub rows if any (may draw on their hand or with marker pen if required) E. Foot note or any other information given about the table 2. Assign numbers for rows and columns to make it easy to remember 3. Read the cell along with corresponding row and column headings or their assigned number. For instance “5 units of baskets are purchased” or “the cell 3- 4 contains the word “sales” etc (Here 3 denotes row number and 4 denotes column number). 4. If new columns or rows needs to be created using the previous data A. Read out the relevant column or row headings or use their assigned numbers. Now read out the relevant instructions (if given) or work out verbally the result for the question asked or the next column. 5. Use words such as “above”, “left”, “diagonally opposite”, “North”, “north west”, etc. How do I explain Graphs and diagrams? 1. You may draw the graph or the diagram with marker pen if the student can see 2. Draw on his/her hand with your finger/fingers. 3. Read out the heading of the graph, Type of graph, Headings of the X axis and Y axis, Scale or the items depicted 4. Describe where the curve or the line starts and ends 5. Describe the curves or lines it cuts and which direction does it moves before and after it cuts the other curves or line 6. Relate the curves or diagrams to alphabetical letters, known objects, numbers, angle, time in a watch, etc. For instance “It’s a “C shaped curve”, “X shaped graph, “sleeping U”, “inverse 3”, “It looks like a cone”, “it looks like when the watch shows 9:45”, etc. 7. You can use phrases such as “Vertical straight line”, “horizontal line”, “It’s a 45 degree upward moving curve”, “Demand curve is tangent to income line” “The pie chart has 6 slices”, etc Note complex graphs may be a little difficult to explain and understand very accurately, but even a vague idea of the graph helps a lot to visualize. How do I explain things which involve remembering huge data, text or previous steps? It may be difficult to remember everything. Read or repeat the relevant information whenever required. Remembering the Headings, paragraphs, etc helps to divide the information and narrow down the information to be searched. You may use phrases like “heading, history of Google”, “next paragraph”, 4th paragraph”, “2nd table showing revenue of Google”, “list of 10 points”, “second last paragraph”, etc. How do I cross check if they have understood correctly? Ask them to repeat and describe in their own language. What do I do to enable them remember and retain whatever I taught? In addition to the usual techniques, ask them to record the class or the key points. Make them take notes in the computer or write using Braille What tools and assistive aids can be used to teach them? Depending upon the level of visibility, you may ask the students to bring or use Voice recorders for taking notes and to recall later or listen to the class once again. Screen reading software’s and magnifying software’s to use on computer Portable magnifiers which magnifies the font with contrasts colors Braille slate and abacus for calculations Marker pen, sketch pen, slate for those who can see a little Geometrical tools such as protractors, etc specially manufactured for visually challenged Talking calculators and many more Regards, Vishal. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
