EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

Challenging disability

THOUGH the Health Ministry conducts early detection and diagnosis of children with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities, and the Education Ministry carries out an outreach programme which includes screening children for visual, hearing, speech and other impediments, there is no question that the early intervention campaign by the Association for Wives of Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti) would be an added boost. What is clear is that the health, education and welfare agencies would be in a better position to address the needs of the disabled with Bakti's active participation. For one thing, as many of the disabled have not been diagnosed at an early age, any initiative that seeks to identify children with potential disabilities, and make them eligible for treatment, therapy, counselling and other support services, would be beneficial. At the same time, as parental understanding and knowledge of the congenital causes, such as rubella, childhood afflictions, such as poliomyelitis, and other tell-tale signs of disabilities is vital for prevention and early treatment, the more widespread the channels of dissemination, the better it would be.

But as important as it is to make parents more knowledgeable about the physical and psychological symptoms, and more familiar with the range of programmes and financial coverage available for the disabled, what is also vital is to address attitudes. With autism, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome and other disabilities, there is, unfortunately, a long history of stigma that has caused untold grief and hardship for the families coping with the never-ending task of caring for a disabled child. Though the negative references have now been shorn from formal discourse, having a disabled child is still associated with shame, as Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Razak pointed out at the launch of the Bakti campaign in Ipoh on Tuesday. In fact, it would not be at all surprising if the estimated 300,000 disabled who have yet to register with the Welfare Department have chosen not to do so because carrying the disabled identity card carries a stigma that many want to avoid. Indeed, the disabled commonly experience stigmatising reactions. Even when people do not feel uncomfortable around them, they are viewed with pity.

What has to change is this crippling notion that people with disabilities are defective and an affliction. The fact is that the disabled are more than capable of learning, working and contributing to society. Indeed, if we remove the psychological, physical and social barriers that limit their access and mobility, many would cease to be less than able. What they need is empathy and to be empowered.