The Hindu Business Line : IT's a window of hope

TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Sayomdeb Mukherjee has been impaired by dopa responsive distonia. For the uninitiated, it is a degenerative neuro-muscular disability. That, however, has not stopped Sayomdeb from achieving the unique distinction of being the youngest person, and the first from Asia, to win the coveted Word-Plus Outstanding Consumer Lecture Award that was presented to him in Brazil in October 2004.

The young man, whose constant companion is a wheelchair, hopes to be able to make it to Dusseldorf, Germany, during July 29-August 5,2006 as Asia's representative at the 12th conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISSAC). Sayomdeb uses a laptop computer that has a special attachment that operates as the mouse.

Barsha Bhattacharya, who is "24 and-a-half" years old to be precise, has been impaired by cerebral palsy. She can barely speak and has been a student of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), Kolkata, since her childhood. With the use of the Sanyog software - an IIT, Kharagpur Media Lab Asia Project - and Sweepsticks - the first indigenous access software that is an alternative to the mouse — Barsha can express herself "just as I wish to". The young lady has leveraged on augmentative and alternative IT-based communication tools and has published a book of her own poems.

Nineteen-year-old Dipak uses a computer keyboard with just one toe. He is into graphic designing and desktop publishing. Next, he wants to complete a professional course in Web designing before embarking on a career in the world of IT.

Madhuri Kapur, severely disabled and now 35 years of age, used to paint with a head-pointer. That was when it struck her that if she could paint with a head-pointer, she could deploy the same method to use a computer as well. Way back in 1989, she was the first student at IICP to begin work on computers on a regular basis. Today, Madhuri holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications and has worked with a few multi-national companies. At present, she works for an apex industry body, besides imparting IT training at the National Institute of Open Schooling.

Madhuri, Barsha, Dipak and Sayomdeb are just a few examples of how the Kolkata-based IICP has taken to Information Communication Technology (ICT), especially assistive technology hardware and software, to empower those under its fold and to facilitate their integration with mainstream society.

Says Swati Chakraborty, Co-ordinator & Head of ITC at IICP: "We deal with children with severe access and speech problems. Many years ago, when we started with DOS-based basic computer training we realised that our students have no reliable hand function and, as such, cannot use the normal keyboard and mouse. We realised that they need alternative and augmentative communication tools and methods. This made us sit up and think of developing access options both in terms of hardware and software. We have addressed the need and today all our students have access to computers".

Developing appropriate, culturally-relevant hardware and software applications indigenously for those with cerebral palsy and neuro-muscular impairments has not been easy. It has involved an assessment of individual children's physical access, cognitive levels and a comprehensive assessment of a student's needs.

So now, on the hardware side, there are switches that are attached to ordinary mouse adaptor boxes, key guards on keyboards to facilitate hand control, head-pointers and sticks that one can hold and point with. Access switches have also been developed indigenously.

Software in English and vernacular languages has been developed for providing a writing medium. In collaboration with Webel Mediatronics Ltd, software has been developed for facilitating writing by using picture symbols. A digital picture library with navigation software has also been developed. Picture symbols are being used to frame "natural language sentences that are semantically correct".

Says Swati: "All our students do not have the same cognitive level. Most of them are under functional academics while some of them are under the category of age-appropriate academics. Some students are used to sight-reading or whole-word reading. Some others prefer picture-reading only, i.e. actually attaching words to pictures.

As such, we need to develop software to meet these varying needs. These could be picture symbols or just words and phrases. Towards this end, we develop multimedia teaching aids and talking books in power point".

Today, IT-empowerment at IICP is aimed at providing normal IT education, albeit with the use of special hardware and software access devices. Says Sayomdeb, who used a normal keyboard till he lost the power of his hands: "IT has played an immense role in my life because, without IT, I would not have been able to achieve this much at this age. I can write only because I have access to special tools and special software. Whatever I do is related to IT".

Sayomdeb, who is the only Asian representative in the core committee of People who use Augmentative Communication Tools, a global body, is scheduled to present a paper at the Dusseldorf conference.

With the help of sponsors, he hopes to be able to make it to Dusseldorf. "I have no money. If I cannot raise money, I will not be able to go to Germany," he says.

Sayomdeb has hope.

That is, if we believe in the mission statement of IICP, which states: "And we will try to make a difference. As we walk new roads. As we light new lamps. Of faith and courage and goodwill. Together". Sayomdeb, you and I, together.

ambar_singhroy@rediffmail.com

Picture by V. Ganesan

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