hold on...

I wanted to write this post when i joined the special education course ie 15 months back. but cunt write n post, 'coz i was n i'm unable to understand n predict reader's reaxn. but I lately realized that there is more meaning in conveying the msg &/ or info than considering the rxn. hence, am taking this initiative with an optimistic view.

We seldom use several words to curse ppl, to tease frns, to make fun n to describe others. we use words like, dumb fella, u blind, u retarded etc. but we hardly realize n understand wot impact it makes on others who are listening to our conversation (the third person). we misuse words sometimes knowingly n some other times unknowingly.

Following are the words with their meanings/ definitions which we need to know before we use them.

Health: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Disease: A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Illness: An instance of a disease; A person's perception of having poor health; A state of having bad health

Impairment: Impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function. 

Disability: A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

Handicap: A handicap is a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal (depending on age, sex and social and cultural factors) for that individual.

(Definition according to Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection Of Rights And Full Participation) Act, 1995 Disability means - Blindness, Low vision, Leprosy cured, Hearing impairment, Mental retardation, Mental illness.) Person with disability (PwD) means a person suffering from not less than forty percent of any disability as certified by a medical authority.  Visual impairment :(previously known as Blindness, which is now not accepted) It refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following conditions, namely -  Total absence of sight; or  Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or  Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degrees or worse. Person with low vision:  It means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of appropriate assisitive device. Cerebral Palsy: means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterized by abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre-natal, peri-natal or infant period of development. Hearing impairment: (previously known as 'deaf' which is now not accepted) means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies. Leprosy cured person: means any person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from  loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity; manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity ;  extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevent him from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the expression leprosy cured shall be construed accordingly. Locomotor disability: means disability of the bones, joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the limbs or any form of cerebral palsy. Intellectual Disability: ( previously known as Mental retardation, which is now not accepted) Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18. Mild retardation IQ - 50 - 9 Moderate retardation IQ - 35 - 49 Severe retardation IQ - 20 - 34 Profound retardation IQ under 20 Mental illness:  means any mental disorder other than intellectual disability (mental retardation).

Psychosis: It means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality".

Neurosis: It is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms.

Hallucination: A hallucination is defined as sensory perception in the absence of external stimuli.

Illusion: It is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation.

Delusion: A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness. (An erroneous perception of reality. synonyms: misconception, misbelief)

Learning disability: It refers to a variety of disorders that affect the acquisition, retention, understanding, organization or use of verbal and/or non-verbal information.

Dyslexia: An impairment in the brain's processing of information that results in difficulty reading, spelling, writing, and related language skills.

Dysgraphia: It is a deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read.

Dyscalculia: It is a specific learning disability or difficulty involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics.

Slow learners: Slow-learners are those who fail in school because of their ‘low intellectual’ abilities. 

So....dear readers pls pass on this msg...not this lengthy essay but the essence of it..
let us be cautious n control our tongues b4 we utter even a single small word...if not for us at least for all the persons belonging to the above mentioned conditions.
It is a mark of respect....we need not have to out to orfanages/oldage/ destitute homes, just give them a thought...little respect, concern n care, in terms of our expressions.


god bless all of us.
sans