The IT and Electronics Department of the Chhattisgarh Government intends to launch a unique mobile application for early identification of disability, officials informed.
The app will be loaded with a set of easy questions which will provide a response upon feeding answers by the users. The app can be used by parents, Anganwadi workers, school teachers and any other person contributing to a child’s upbringing.
They can observe the action of the child and feed it in the app. Based on their answers, the app can suggest whether there are chances of the child being disabled.
This will help in early screening of the Children with Disability who can be referred to a doctor for further investigations and to determine the exact extent of the disability.
The Department would receive an intimation of such cases for follow-up.
The questions shall be prepared based on the guidelines for identification and certification of persons with disability issued by the Central Government.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Government of India has brought up a new Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, which has provision for equal opportunities and facilities to everyone, irrespective of any disabilities they might suffer from. This Act has replaced The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
Many new provisions have been made under the new Act, most notable of which is inclusion of new types of disabilities. The earlier Act covered only seven types of disabilities whereas in the new Act, this has been extended to twenty-one types.
This is a revolutionary step towards inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) which were excluded due to limitations of the previous Act.
The Government of India and Chhattisgarh have introduced various schemes and policies for the welfare of the PwDs which are being primarily implemented through the Social Welfare Department.
One of the major focus areas of the Department is early identification of disability as many cases of disability can be treated and overcome if they are identified in early stages of life.