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BOOK REVIEW |
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BOOK REVIEW |
Building Awareness A compendium of papers
presented at an international conference provides a closer look into the issue of mental
retardation By A CORRESSPONDENT Until a few decades ago, mental retardation
hardly figured in the nation's discussions on social integration. The traditional notion
that mental retardation was a supernatural curse the victim and the family were condemned
to live with was widely prevalent. Many children are still compelled to live in inhuman
conditions simply because they are intellectual challenged. The situation is gradually changing in
recent years. Amid a growing understanding of different aspects of child welfare and human
development, mental retardation has come to occupy a critical part of the discussions.
Over the last few years, new infrastructures have been built to provide education and
other facilities to mentally retarded children. To make such people efficient and reach
their full potential, the non-government sector has been actively conducting training
programs. There is a growing realization about
childhood disabilities and their impact on family, community and the government.
Therefore, the need for the prevention of disabilities, early intervention programs and
appropriate services is as pressing as it has ever been. In the case of Nepal, not much is being
done in terms of providing such services. The majority of the population lives in areas of
poverty and is still not very conscious of the problem. Moreover, a large part of the
country remains under the influence of traditional beliefs and practices. The lack of
services within accessible distance coupled with the lack of awareness and sensitivity to
the problems faced by persons with disabilities has created formidable barriers to social
integration. According to a study, 10 percent of the
world's population suffers from some form of disability, a fact that underscores the need
for a clear program to address this issue. Based on papers presented at the 14th Asian
Conference on Mental Retardation, "Equalization of Opportunities: For the Mentally
Retarded" consist of valuable contributions by medical practitioners, social workers
and other people actively involved in this area of work. The papers deal with prevention and early
intervention, special education and training, vocation and rehabilitation, medical
aspects, curricula and education programs, awareness issues, parents, public and
professionals, latest research on mental retardation and country reports. Presented by Sharada Man Shrestha, the
country report on Nepal discusses various aspects of mental retardation in the kingdom.
According to Shrestha, the total prevalence rate of mental retardation was 4.9 percent,
i.e., nearly 720,000 of the population. About 40 percent of these people are below the age
of 14 years. Services for the intellectually disabled have been charitable activities in
Nepal. Policy and programs in this area do not have a long history. According to Shrestha, a foreign agency
— Human and National Development service ó introduced services in Nepal for people
with mental handicaps in 1979. With this came real awareness among parents, which inspired
them to form a service center, now called Nirmal Bal Bikas Vidyalaya, in 1981, with eight
mentally handicapped persons receiving services. "Nepal is in the early stages [of
activity in this area], many things have to be done to assure the programs for our
intellectually disabled persons both by public and government sector," says Shrestha.
"The most important thing I think [is that] special education must be included in the
mainstream of the education system," he says. Over the last few years, there has been a
trend to publish books compiling reports of the national and international seminars. This
compilation of articles and proceedings can be expected to facilitate enhanced
understanding of the issue of mental retardation and the special needs of those affected. Equalization of Opportunities: For
the Mentally Retarded |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
