ADA Part (A)

The focus here is on the individual, s/he must have actual impairment that limits one or more MLA (Major Life Activities); the person must establish:

(i) that s/he has a physical or mental impairment

(ii) that substantially limits

(iii) one or more major life activities

The person claiming to be an individual with a disability as defined by the first part of the definition must have an actual impairment. If the person does not have an impairment, (s)he does not meet the requirements of the first part of the definition of disability.

A physical or mental impairment means

(1) [a]ny physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine; or

(2) [a]ny mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

This regulatory definition does not set forth an exclusive list of specific impairments covered by the ADA. Instead, the definition describes the type of condition that constitutes an impairment.

ADA Para (C)

The focus under the second (part B) and third parts (Part C) is on the reactions of other persons to a history of an impairment or to a perceived impairment. 'History' (Part B) and 'Perception' (Part C) are a disability (and not impairment). This aspect recognises that stereotyped assumptions about what constitutes a disability and unfounded concerns about the limitations of individuals with disabilities form major discriminatory barriers, for persons at present, or previously misclassified or mistakenly percieved as disabled.

It includes:

(i) persons who have impairments that do not substantially limit major life activities but are treated by covered entities as constituting substantially limiting impairments

(ii) persons whose impairments are substantially limiting only as the result of the attitudes of others toward the impairment

(iii) persons who have no impairments but nonetheless are treated as having substantially limiting impairments.

By Part (C), it is acknowledged that society's accumulated myths and fears about disability and disease are as handicapping as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairment. This aspect of the definition of the term "disability," therefore, is designed to protect against myths, fears, stereotypes, and other attitudinal barriers about disability. Common attitudinal barriers include, but are not limited to, "concerns about productivity, safety, insurance, liability, attendance, cost of accommodation and accessibility, and acceptance by co-workers and customer,." (House Judiciary Report at 30). Unlike Parts (A) and (B), this is directed at the employer rather than at the individual alleging discrimination, that is why, it's not important whether s/he has an actual disability/ impariment or not.

Eexample: if someone is rejected from a job because a back x-ray reveals some anomaly, even though the person has no symptoms of a back impairment, the reason for the rejection is the fear of injury, as well as increased insurance or worker's compensation costs; and therefore, the person is perceived to be disabled under (iii) above. It also applies to individuals who are subjected to discrimination on the basis of genetic information relating to illness, disease, or other disorders.

ADA Part (B)

This part covers persons who have a history of, or have been classified or misclassified as having, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. It includes persons who had a disabling impairment in the past but have recovered in whole or in part and are not now substantially limited.

It is intended to prevent discrimination against individuals (a) who have been classified or labelled, correctly or incorrectly, as having a disability and (b) persons who have recovered, in whole or in part, from a disability but are subjected to discrimination because of their history of a substantially limiting impairment.

Sometimes school or other institutional (e.g., hospitals) documents labelling or classifying an individual as having a substantially limiting impairment would establish a "record" of a disability.In this context, labelling at schools is an important issue and should be done judiciously and responsibly.

Class Cancelled

The class for Wed 7th Sept stands cancelled as the meeting at the Dept of Telecommunications ministry will not get over in time to take the class. BTW, I will be presenting a paper on "ICT for PwDs: With special reference to Indian Sing Language" at the meeting.
See you on Fri at 3:30

Assignment #2

The following assigment is due on 10th Sept., 2011:

Find out if there are ANY disability-related acts or laws in India that has the following requirements of a definition of disability as in the The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1987 of the USA:

• Situation


• Occupation


• Certification


• Length
  

Assignment #1

This is a reminder that the following assignment is due on 7th Sept 2011:

 

(a) Discuss how the five "challenges", namely, Unfortunate, Useless, Different, Oppressed and Sick, discussed in Hunt (1966) are actually challenges in the sense that these are challenges for the society at large rather than disabled people.
(b) Provide at least one example each of the five challenges from your own experience, surrounding, news stories, etc. specifically in the Indian context.

Welcome!

Please check out the Pages listed on the right on Introduction, Plan and Readings. Most of the readings will be distributed before a topic is started and an attempt must be made to read, if required, in groups, the articles as much as possible. Much of the class lectures and discussion may be based on some of these articles. Unfortunately, most the readings are in English, barring a few, which we at the EOC have been able to translate to Hindi. Paul Hunt's, Anita Ghai's and my own article are translated into Hindi by a former student of this course, Himanshu Rai.I will try to post as much material a possible at this site but certainly not all. It's important to understand that you must have access to the Acts and Laws that will be dealt directly in the class, namely, ILA 1912, MHA 1987, PwD 1995, UNCRPD 2006, RTE 2009 and the draft of the new Disability Law, yet to be presented to the Parliament. I will also show a film called "Hear Me, Deaf" by Carol Thomas and we will go for a Special School visit to Amarjyoti.

As far as the message of the course is concerned, it needs to stressed that we are interested in issues of human rights that affect persons with disability. The course also emphasises the importance of understanding the true spirit of the various Acts and Policies so that advocacy can be impacted in the right manner. Finally, one lesson that must be remembered is to do with the fact that Disabilities Studies, the academic wing of disability activism, can only become meaningful if it is not devoid of activism that directly impacts the lives of persons with disabilities.