Children with Disabilities not considered as children in Kashmir

'No facilities for special children in Kashmir'
ZULFIQAR AHMAD
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Srinagar, Nov 14: Despites spending hundreds of crores on education system in Jammu and Kashmir, State Government has failed to provide facilities for special children in Kashmir.
“Education system in the State has been made for children with high levels of concentration and attention. These might be the majority of children, but they are not the all. There is a good percentage of children who are with intellectual and artistic deficiencies and other communication disorders,” Valley’s noted psychiatrist Dr Arshid Hussain told Greater Kashmir.
He said there is a need to recognize the strengths of special children so that there areas of strength are utilized. “This only can be done only when we have proper remedial educational facilities available in schools,” he suggested.
Dr Hussain said that a few years back he had a patient with Aspergers problem. “He was student of a missionary school in Srinagar, but wasn’t able to cope up with the studies due to Aspergers. His parents were forced to take him to Dheradun where they admitted him in a special school,” he said.
“Children with special needs may have mild learning disabilities or profound mental retardation; food allergies or terminal illness; developmental delays that catch up quickly or remain entrenched; occasional panic attacks or serious psychiatric problems,” he added.
Abid Hussain, a J&K Bank employee whose daughter Sania Zehra is studying in Dehradun special school for the last eight years has a dreadful experience to share.
“Sania was blind by birth and till 12 years of age she was sitting at home. Then one day in 2003 I came to know about special schools run in Dehradun. I immediately took Sania to Dehradun and admitted her there,” Abid said.
After interview Sania, she was admitted in 5th standard as she was having high IQ. She topped CBSE 10th class exams in 2009.
“That was the happiest moment of my life as my loving daughter made me proud despite being handicapped,” Abid said.
Javed Ahmad Tak, who runs Humanity Welfare Organisation, a NGO dedicated for the welfare of disabled, says that percentage of special children is much higher than actually shown in the census. “Census is not showing the right figures as people hesitate to disclose the details of disabled children due to social stigma attached with it. Partially and fully there are thousands of special children in Kashmir who need attention,” he said.
According to unofficial statistics J&K has the highest percentage of blind population of India.
“Despite the fact, there isn’t even a single school meant for blind children in the Valley. Though ministry of Social Justice runs a center in Bemina here, it lacks the basic facilities,” Tak added