I ssu e 19
NNewsletter
ovember
Ed i t or ?s N ot e
Dear fr ien ds,
Th an k you for you r
appr eciation s for th e l ast m on th ?s
edition . It was special as I design ed
an d edited it sittin g in USA wh er e I
was h ol idayin g. Big th u m bs u p to th e
tech n ol ogy for con n ectin g th e wor l d
an d m ak in g it a big fam il y!
A m on th l on g fr eedom to r oam
abou t ever ywh er e fr om gr ocer ies to oth er. On ce in dividu al con n ection s ar e bu il t, we bel ieve, th e
k n ick k n ack s (th an k s to accessibl e
r oads an d pavem en ts) tu r n edm e
l iter al l y in to a sh opah ol ic! Th e
feel in g of soar in g h igh , sk y bein g th e com e down as fr ien ds, an d we h ave seen th is com e tr u e tim e
l im it was exper ien ced at th e
com pl etel y accessibl e Gl acier poin t
at Yosem ite Nation al Par k at an
el evation of 7200 ft with fr eezin g
tem per atu r e. I was stu n n ed n ot ju st
by th e pictu r esqu e an d tr an qu il
sigh tsof H igh Sier r abu twith th e
h u m an for esigh t .Stan din g th er e u p
on th e r am p seein g an d feel in g ju st
l ik e ever ybody el se, r eiter ated th e
im por tan ce of equ ity an d equ al ity.
M an y qu estion s h e cou l dn ?t fin d for h im sel f, an d in vited oth er s to
r ise in m y h ead as I fl y back h om e
fr om th is l ovel y sojou r n an d h ope to
sol ve a few with al l you r su ppor t.
Regar ds
Bh avn a Botta
2017
Fr om Th e H ear t
M eet m y l ost an d fou n d fr ien d, Yash asv i n i Rajesh w ar ,
H ead of M edia an d Com m u n ication of Ad v en t u r es Bey on d
Bar r i er s Fou n d at i on expl ain in g abou t a pion eer in g effor t.
Tel l u s abou t t h i s u n i qu e t h ou gh t an d i t s gen esi s
Adven tu r es Beyon d Bar r ier s Fou n dation (ABBF) is r ooted in
th e u n waver in g bel ief th at pl ay can ch an ge th e wor l d. By
ask in g peopl e to com e an d exper ien ce in cl u sive adven tu r e
togeth er ,we ar e h opin g to cr eate oppor tu n ities to h ave
con ver sation s, bu il d r el ation sh ips, an d get to k n ow each
n eed for accessibil ity wil l au tom atical l y fol l ow an d in cl u sion
wil l becom e a state of m in d, or gan ical l y an d n atu r al l y. At
ABBF,we bel ieve th at you cl im b a m ou n tain as str an ger s bu t
an d again .
Th e seed of th ou gh t beh in d
ABBF was bor n fr om ou r
fou n der ,Divyan sh u Gan atr a.
W h en h e wen t bl in d at th e
age of 19, h e r eal ised th at
spaces of l eisu r e,
en ter tain m en t, an d spor t ar e
n ot accessibl e to Per son s
with Disabil ity at al l . Bein g
an adven tu r e-l over h im sel f, h e decided to cr eate th e spaces
exper ien ce th e adr en al in e al on g with h im .
Over th e year s, Divyan sh u becam e In dia?s fir st bl in d sol o
par agl idin g pil ot an d th e fir st bl in d cycl ist to pedal fr om
M an al i to Kh ar du n g La (a total of 550 k m s to ar gu abl y th e
wor l d?s h igh est m otor abl e r oad) on a tan dem cycl e. As an
or gan ization , ABBF h as im pacted cl ose to 4000 Per son s with
Disabil ity an d over 1.5 l ak h abl e-bodied peopl e sin ce
in ception in 2014.
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ovember 2017

W h at h av e been t h e st r u ggl es an d pl an n in g even ts addin g u p to expen ditu r e.

ach i ev em en t s so f ar Un for tu n atel y in In dia, th er e is a sizeabl e
over l ap between Per son s with Disabil ity an d
Th e l ast few year s h ave been am azin g for u s,
th ose wh o can n ot affor d th e expen ditu r e of
sh owin g u s th e tr u e im pact of th e power of pl ay
adven tu r e spor ts. ABBF tr ies to accom m odate
an d con vin cin g u s of h ow m u ch th er e is to do
th ese costs as wel l , n ot bel ievin g th at th is
l eft. In Au gu st 2017, ABBF con du cted In dia?s
cir cu m stan ce sh ou l d stop peopl e fr om h avin g
fir st in cl u sive tan dem cycl in g expedition fr om
th e l ife-ch an gin g exper ien ce th at is spor t. As
M an al i to Kh ar du n g La with 24 cycl ists. W e
l on g as pu bl ic m in dset cou n ts th is fiel d of wor k
su ppor ted an am pu tee in h is attem pt to su m m it
as a ?l u xu r y,?n ot seein g th e power it h as to
M t. Ever est an d took an in cl u sive gr ou p to
cr eate str on ger ,m or e r esil ien t, an d m or e
Ever est Base Cam p. W e h ave par ticipated in
em path etic societies, fu n dr aisin g wil l con tin u e
m ar ath on s acr oss th e cou n tr y with bl in d an d
to be a str u ggl e for u s.
visu al l y-im pair ed r u n n er s. W e con du cted an
par am otor in g even t in par tn er sh ip with .
Ch an digar h Spin al Reh ab a few m on th s ago an d
h ad peopl e in wh eel ch air s tak e to th e sk ies!
Th e stor ies ar e m an y.
At ABBF,we bel ieve th at ever y even t is a stor y of
ach ievem en t. Tim e an d again , we h ave h ad
in dividu al s, PwDs an d abl e-bodied al ik e, pu sh
th em sel ves an d th eir l im itation s to em br ace
n ewn ess an d ch an ge. W e h ave h ad stor ies of
ch an ged m in dsets ? pr om ises to on l y cr eate
accessibl e bu il din gs, m ak e spaces of wor k m or e
in cl u sive, vol u n teer in g to scr ibe/ r ead ? an d
tal es of tr an sfor m ation ? PwDs wh o h ave th u s
far n ot ven tu r ed ou t of h om e tr yin g th eir h an d
at adven tu r e spor t, l ovin g it an d cr eatin g an
iden tity for th em sel ves. Each on e of ou r W h at i s t h e r eact i on of t h e st ak eh ol d er s an d
par ticipan ts is a stor y of ach ievem en t. t h e p u bl i c i n gen er al
Th e str u ggl es ar e, pr edictabl y,to do with Th e r espon se h as been ph en om en al . Ou r
fu n din g. Ch oosin g to wor k in th e n on -pr ofit par ticipan ts, abl e-bodied an d PwD al ik e, often
space an d special isin g in adven tu r e spor ts is an becom e am bassador s for ou r cau se, becom in g
expen sive pr oposition . ABBF does n ot r egu l ar s at even ts an d h el pin g u s spr ead th e
com pr om ise on qu al ity an d th is often m ean s wor d am on gst th eir cir cl es. W e r ecen tl y h it
th at th e wor k we do is cost-in ten sive, with 5000 l ik es on ou r Facebook page en tir el y
tan dem cycl es, spar e par ts, scu ba gear ,r opes for or gan ical l y an d h ave bu il t a com m u n ity of
m ou n tain eer in g an d cl im bin g, qu al ified en gaged, con scien tiou s in dividu al s on th e
tr ain er s, an d al l th e oth er detail s th at go in to 2 in ter n et. 2

NNewsletter
ovember
Th e m edia h ave been k in d to u s an d cover ed
ou r wor k exten sivel y; givin g u s th e r each we
n eed to spr ead th e power of pl ay. Cor por ates
wh o appr oach u s to con du ct in ter n al even ts
often becom e str on g su ppor ter s of ou r cau se
an d th e r el ation sh ip gets cem en ted in
l on g-ter m par tn er sh ips. W e ar e on l y gr atefu l
for th e su ppor t we h ave r eceived so far an d
h ope th at th is con tin u es an d en abl es u s to
spr ead ou r win gs wider an d r each ou t to even
m or e peopl e acr oss th e cou n tr y an d on e day,
acr oss th e wor l d.
W h at ar e t h e on goi n g p r oject s an d f u t u r e
p l an s
Th er e is al ways som eth in g h appen in g at ABBF.
In th e im m ediate fu tu r e, we h ave th e fir st
gr ou p of bl in d-an d-sigh ted cycl ists
par ticipatin g on a tan dem for th e Deccan
Cl iffh an ger ,th e Pu n e to Goa r el ay r ace. W e
h ave a cou pl e of even ts pl an n ed down sou th ,
en su r in g th at we cater to peopl e in th at r egion
as wel l . W e h ope to tak e for war d th e
m om en tu m of ou r par am otor in g exper ien ce
an d do m or e of th ose even ts as wel l . Th e best
pl ace to k eep an eye on wh at is com in g u p is by
h eadin g to ou r Facebook an d for th ose wh o ar e
in ter ested in vol u n teer in g with u s (as al l ies,
ph otogr aph er s, wr iter s, tech n ical an d web
su ppor t, an yth in g at al l ), fil l th e for m avail abl e
th er e in .
In th e l on g r u n , ABBF h as dr eam s of bu il din g
In dia?s fir st fu l l y accessibl e com m u n ity space
for peopl e acr oss disabil ities as wel l as
abl e-bodied peopl e to tr u l y exper ien ce
in cl u sion . W e h ope to or gan ise in ter n ation al
tan dem cycl in g expedition s, in tr odu ce Per son s
with Disabil ity to open -water scu ba divin g, tak e
m or e peopl e to Ever est Base Cam p an d h igh er.
Sim u l tan eou sl y,we al so h ope to h ave m an y, 1 3
I ssu e 19
2017
m an y m or e l ocal , sm al l er even ts th at in cl u de
ever yon e. W e h ope to cr eate pl atfor m s wh er e
m or e an d m or e peopl e can exper ien ce
in cl u sive adven tu r e, even if th ey h ave n o pr ior
exper ien ce in adven tu r e or in ter actin g with
Per son s with Disabil ity. W e bel ieve th at th e k ey
to tr an sfor m ation l ies in exper ien cin g, an d we
h ope to en abl e th is exper ien ce for as m an y
peopl e as we possibl y can .
H ow h av e y ou been sol v i n g access i ssu es
At ABBF,we bel ieve th at th er e ar e m u l tipl e
ways th at on e can in fl u en ce ch an ge, som e
bein g m or e effective th an oth er s. Pol icy an d
l egal am en dm en ts ar e both im por tan t an d
n ecessar y,bu t th ey al so r equ ir e th e tim e an d
effor t to n avigate th e bu r eau cr acy. At ABBF,we
bel ieve th at th e power to tr an sfor m l ies with
th e in dividu al ju st as m u ch as it l ies in th e
?system ?. If you r fr ien d was wh eel ch air -bou n d,
you ar e m or e l ik el y to pay atten tion to th e
accessibil ity issu es of pu bl ic pl aces. If you r
col l eagu e was bl in d, you wou l d m ak e su r e al l
docu m en ts cou l d be r ead by a scr een r eader.
For ch an ge to occu r ,th e per son n eeds to feel
in vested in it. ABBF en abl es th is in vestm en t.
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NNewsletter
ovember 2017

Sin ce 2014, we h ave h ad m u l tipl e stor ies of su ccess. St r ai gh t t al k

After r u n n in g a m ar ath on as a sigh ted al l y with on e
of ou r bl in d r u n n er s, a pr om in en t ar ch itect in Pu n e M eet M r s.Pad m at h ar an i ,th e fir st cer ebr al
pr om ised u s th at ever yth in g h e design s fr om n ow on pal sy per son to post gr adu ate fr om Al l In dia
wil l be en tir el y accessibl e. After cycl in g togeth er ,we In stitu te of Speech an d H ear in g, M ysor e.
h ave h ad bl in d par ticipan ts bein g in vited for Tel l u s abou t y ou r car eer
in ter view cal l s at m ajor or gan ization s. Th e exam pl es
I am cu r r en tl y wor k in g as a Speech l an gu age
ar e en dl ess. Th e best par t? Th at th ey wer e en tir el y
path ol ogist an d Au diol ogist at Distr ict
or gan ic, vol u n tar y,an d n atu r al .
Differ en tl y Abl ed W el far e Office, Th an javu r. I
wor k with ch il dr en h avin g speech , l an gu age
an d com m u n ication disor der s l ik e cer ebr al
pal sy,m en tal r etar dation , Au tism , Stu tter in g,
Aph asia.
W h at abou t y ou r ed u cat i on Pad m a, w er e
y ou i n an i n cl u si v e set u p ?
M y m edical con dition , an extr em e for m of
cer ebr al pal sy,cou l d n ever be diagn osed
accu r atel y for th e fir st 2.5 year s, pu ttin g m y
fam il y in to a l ot of u n tol d tu r m oil . I was
advised to u n der tak e ph ysioth er apy
r egu l ar l y. W el l tr ain ed ph ysioth er apists wer e
n ot avail abl e in M adu r ai at th at tim e .M y
A Few w or d s abou t y ou r t eam
ABBF bel ieves in bein g a l ean , efficien t
or gan ization . Ou r team com pr ises of five peopl e
cu r r en tl y. Divyan sh u , th e fou n der ,l eads fr om th e
fr on t an d is ou r in -h ou se gu in ea pig for al l
adven tu r e activities. Bein g an adven tu r e l over
h im sel f, h e par ticipates in al l ou r activities
per son al l y to str eam l in e ou r pr ocesses befor e we
open it ou t to ever yon e el se. Tan ya an d Bh ar gav tak e
car e of oper ation s an d l ogistics, m ak in g su r e al l th e
detail s on th e gr ou n d ar e r u n n in g sm ooth l y.
Nim ish a is ou r Dir ector for Accou n ts an d I h ead th e
M edia an d Com m u n ication s. Th at is Team ABBF for
you !

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ovember 2017

ph ysical con dition s star ted wor sen in g with age in stitu tion . It was a dr eam th at cam e tr u e for
an d l ack of pr oper tr eatm en t, both u pper an d m e, m y par en ts an d al l m y fr ien ds an d r el atives
l ower l im b m u scl es wer e gettin g ver y tigh t an d wh o h ad con stan tl y en cou r aged an d su ppor ted
m y m ovem en t becam e ver y r estr icted an d h ad m e.. Al l th e 18 year s of h ar d wor k , h ope,
to u n der go su r ger y at th e age of 7 fol l owed by difficu l ties su ffer ed an d sacr ifice h ad paid off.
in ten sive ph ysioth er apy. Th e n ext ph ase of l ife star ted wh en I
Th e tu r n in g poin t was in 1994, I got a r each ed M ysor e to join th e in stitu te in 2005.
good an d wel l tr ain ed ph ysioth er apist, Dr. Um a After r each in g th er e, I r eal ized th at it is n ot
sh ah , I star ted to stan d an d wal k a l ittl e. In -fact, easy for to m an age with ou t wh eel ch air an d a
it was on l y after 15 year s of su r ger y an d th er apy car egiver. Th e n ext six year s, l ivin g in a n ew
in cl u din g on e in M u m bai in 2001, I star ted pl ace tau gh t m e m an y th in gs an d em power ed
wal k in g with a wal k er ,star ted cl im bin g stair s m e in m an y ways.
al on e. Can y ou sh ar e w i t h u s som e of t h e m ost
As a con sequ en ce of su r ger ies an d sat i sf y i n g m om en t s?
ph ysioth er apies dem an din g m or e tim e, I h ad to
I pu sh ed m y fath er to star t a sch ool for ch il dr en
su ffice with h om e tu ition s in itial l y. Bu t th en , as
with in tel l ectu al disabil ities. Th is was a ver y
tim e m oved on , I star ted atten din g th e Rose
satisfyin g m om en t. Per son al l y I al so offer ed
m atr icu l ation sch ool in M adu r ai. Adm ission
vol u n tar y speech th er apy pr ogr am s to wh oever
in to th e sch ool for th e l ast 4 m on th s of h er 10th
n eeds th em at th e in stitu te of Dr. Um a Sh ah
stan dar d after a l ot of n egotiation s bu t I cam e
du r in g vacation s.
ou t with fl yin g col or s.
Th is fu el l ed m y desir e to stu dy
h igh er. M y par en ts str u ggl ed a l ot in h u n tin g
down sch ool s for m e. Bu t th en , n ot m an y wer e
wil l in g to tak e. In fact m an y l ook ed u pon m y
disabil ity as a m ajor disqu al ification poin t.
Fin al l y,M ah ar ish i Vidya M an dir ,M adu r ai wen t
on to accept m e even after k n owin g th e
difficu l ties.
Al l th is m ade m e even m or e
focu sed an d I etch ed a car eer am bition in m y
m in d- a car eer wh ich wou l d h el p peopl e with
disabil ity an d cr eate awar en ess am on g peopl e
r egar din g th e sam e. So, I wen t on to wr ite th e
en tr an ce exam for adm ission in to th e Al l In dia
In stitu te of Speech an d H ear in g. I got th r ou gh
th e en tr an ce an d wen t on to becom e th e fir st
stu den t with cer ebr al pal sy to stu dy in th at 1 5
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NNewsletter
ovember 2017

Pad m a, h at s of f t o y ou r d et er m i n at i on , y ou SH E PROVED TH EM W RON G AN D

ar e a m u ch sou gh t af t er m ot i v at i on al EX CEL L ED BEYON D EX PECTATI ON S
sp eak er , i s t h er e a d r eam y ou ar e ch asi n g
Or igin al l y pu bl ish ed at Patien tsen gage.com
I str on gl y advocate a bar r ier fr ee
en vir on m en t for th e disabl ed. I h ave don e
m an y l ive pr ogr am s in th e l ocal tel evision Rucha Sher e, 28, i s t he fi r st st udent i n
ch an n el s to cr eate awar en ess abou t speech M a ha r a sht r a wi t h Down Syndr om e t o ha ve
th er apy an d abou t special ch il dr en wh ich h as a chi eved a ca dem i c excellence. Ba t t li ng r i di cule
cr eated a ch an ge peopl e?s attitu de abou t a nd r eject i on i nt r epi dly, she i s now pur sui ng a
disabil ity. I h ave pl an s to for m a par en ts M a st er ?s degr ee i n Sa nskr i t . Rea d her
su ppor t gr ou p to pr ovide m en tal su ppor t an d wonder ful st or y a s t old by her fa t her .
to get m u tu al h el p fr om oth er fam il ies.
Th at ?s gr eat , n ow abou t y ou r p er son al l i f e
I fou n d M r .Righ t in Ram esh . W e got m ar r ied
on Apr il 4 2013 after m an y con fl icts fr om
par en ts an d r el atives .W e ar e n ow l eadin g a
beau tifu l an d bl issfu l l ife. Al l th is I wou l dn ?t
h ave ach ieved with ou t m y par en ts. M y
su ppor t system n ow in cl u des m y h u sban d
an d m y affection ate in l aws too.

Con gr atu l ation s!! You h ave been

Padm athar ani is the r ecepient of
Best wom en Achiever of the year ,
M adur ai, 20 12; Sour ashtr ian Achiever
Awar d in the year 20 13 fr om an
N GOcalled BVK foundation at M adur ai.
bl essed with a beau tifu l baby gir l , we wer e
in for m ed. M y wife an d I wer e th r il l ed. Ou r l ittl e
bu n dl e of joy h ad fin al l y ar r ived an d sh e l ook ed
l ovel y: sm al l , fl at n ose, r ou n d face an d sl an tin g eyes.
H er fir st cr y h ad been par ticu l ar l y l ou d an d cl ear.
W e br ou gh t h er h om e in a few days. Th er e was
im m en se excitem en t with fr ien ds an d n eigh bou r s
dr oppin g in to cel ebr ate.
W e n am ed h er Ru ch a, a San sk r it
wor d for ?H ym n ?.
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NNewsletter
ovember
It was wh en we visited ou r pediatr ician ,
th at a sl igh t an xiety over cast ou r joy. Th e doctor
r ecom m en ded th at we do bl ood test for h er ?
th e Tr isom y 21 Down Syn dr om e Test. At th at
tim e, we did n ot k n ow an yth in g abou t Down
Syn dr om e. Th e doctor too did n ot tel l u s m u ch .
An yway,we got th e test don e an d it tu r n ed ou t
to be positive. W h en we wen t back to th e
doctor ,al l th at we wer e tol d was th at h er
ph ysical devel opm en t wou l d be sl ower th an
oth er ch il dr en an d to k eep a cl ose watch on h er
pr ogr ess. Sin ce Down Syn dr om e did n ot m ak e
m u ch sen se to u s th ose days, we th ou gh t we
cou l d som eh ow su r m ou n t devel opm en tal an d
gr owth issu es.
By th e secon d year ,we began to
r eal ize th at Ru ch a?s r espon se to activities was
m u ch sl ower th an oth er ch il dr en . H er gr owth
al so seem ed del ayed. Sh e l ook ed sm al l for h er
age. Fin al l y,we took h er to a ch il d special ist.
Sh e h ad on e l ook at Ru ch a?s face, an d decl ar ed
th at sh e h ad Down Syn dr om e. Sh e tol d u s
Ru ch a wou l d n ot be ver y good at stu dies an d
n ot to h ave an y expectation s fr om h er. ?Tr y an d
adm it h er in a sch ool for special k ids,? sh e
added.
W e wer e stil l gr appl in g with
Ru ch a?s con dition an d h ad n ot fu l l y u n der stood
th e pr obl em . W e th ou gh t we cou l d battl e it ou t
an d br in g h er on tr ack with oth er ch il dr en . As
sh e gr ew, we got h er a ph ysioth er apist an d
speech th er apist to set h er devel opm en tal
r ecor ds str aigh t. H er l egs an d h an ds wer e weak
an d h er speech was u n cl ear. Bu t we n oticed
th at sh e l ik ed book s. So we star ted gettin g h er
pl en ty of stor y an d pictu r e book s. Sh e cou l d sit
with h er book s for h ou r s, fl ippin g th r ou gh th e
pages, star in g at pictu r es. Sh e wou l d al so watch
tel evision avidl y.
I ssu e 19
2017
Til l th e 4th Std, Ru ch a wen t to a r egu l ar sch ool .
Bu t th e ear l y h ou r s of sch ool an d in cr easin g
cl asswor k , began to bu r den h er. Un abl e to cope,
we pu t h er in a sch ool for special k ids. At h er
n ew sch ool , sh e was th e br igh test am on g h er
cl assm ates. Sh e was th e on l y on e wh o cou l d
r ead an d wr ite. Th e cl ass coor din ator
r ecom m en ded th at Ru ch a be sh ifted to a
r egu l ar sch ool . W h en we adm itted h er to a n ew
sch ool , sh e h ad to join two cl asses ju n ior to h er ,
as h er En gl ish an d M ath s wer e weak .
In 2011, Ru ch a m an aged to
com pl ete h er 10th Std an d secu r ed 58%. Sh e
was th e fir st ch il d with Down Syn dr om e in
M ah ar ash tr a to h ave su ccessfu l l y com pl eted
h er sch ool . Ru ch a wan ted to stu dy fu r th er. W e
as h er par en ts su ppor ted h er en th u siastical l y.
Sh e en r ol l ed for San sk r it m ajor for gr adu ation .
As h er col l ege was far fr om h om e an d r equ ir ed
a tr ain jou r n ey,h er m oth er too en r ol l ed h er sel f
in th e sam e col l ege for post-gr adu ation cou r se,
so th at sh e cou l d accom pan y Ru ch a to col l ege.
For two year s, both m oth er an d dau gh ter
atten ded col l ege togeth er.
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NNewsletter
ovember 2017

Cu r r en tl y,Ru ch a is 5 Tech Gad get s t o H el p Peop l e w i t h Di sabi l i t i es

doin g h er M aster ?s in
Or i gi n al l y p u bl i sh ed at
San sk r it. H er goal is to
d av eban esaccess.or g-m ak et ech easi er .com / t ech -gad get s-d i sabi l i t i es/
com pl ete h er B.Ed degr ee so
th at sh e can becom e a Peopl e with disabil ities ar e n ever l eft beh in d in l ife,
San sk r it teach er. Ru ch a is a an d th is h ol ds tr u e for tech n ol ogy as wel l . Th er e ar e m an y types of
qu iet, r eser ved gir l . Sh e l ik es assistive tech gadgets th at ar e m ade specifical l y for peopl e with
cook in g an d dan cin g. Sh e disabil ities to m ak e th in gs easier for th em . Th ey m ay n ot be abl e to
h as par ticipated in sever al h el p a bl in d per son see (at th e m om en t) or a speech -im pair ed
cu l tu r al pr ogr am m es in per son speak , bu t th ey can su r el y con vey th eir m essage an d pr ovide
col l ege an d won pr izes. h el p wh en n eeded. Bel ow you wil l see five gadgets th at can h el p
W e ar e extr em el y pr ou d of disabl ed peopl e.
ou r dau gh ter. Som etim es, 1. UN I
th r ou gh h er per sever an ce
an d deter m in ation , sh e gives UNII is an ew gadget to assist deaf
u s str en gth to car r y for war d an d speech -im pair ed peopl e
an d over com e ou r com m u n icate with oth er peopl e.
difficu l ties. It?s a two-way com m u n ication
device th at wil l detect sign
I wou l d l ik e to tel l oth er l an gu age u sin g its cam er a an d
par en ts wh o h ave ch il dr en im m ediatel y con ver t it in to speech .
with Down Syn dr om e:Don't On th e oth er h an d, it wil l al so
lose hea r t , r em a i n con ver t speech in to text to al l ow
m ot i va t ed.I r em em ber two-way com m u n ication .
wh en Ru ch a was you n g, we Fu r th er m or e, it al so h as a bu il t-in
wer e tol d sh e wou l d n ot be softwar e to cr eate cu stom sign
abl e to stu dy m u ch , bu tsh e l an gu age an d cu stom ize it
h as p r ov ed t h em w r on g. accor din g to you r n eed.
Ru ch a can be an in spir ation
for oth er sim il ar ch il dr en .
Tim es h ave ch an ged n ow, 2. Tobi i Dy n av ox PCEy e Ex p l or e
th er e is a l ot m or e Tobii Dyn avox h as cr eated th e PC Eye Expl or e device to h el p
awar en ess abou t Down peopl e with l im ited m ovem en t con tr ol aW in dowsPCju st with
Syn dr om e an d pl en ty of th eir eyes. It con n ects with you r W in dows 8/ 10 PC (l aptop or
gu idan ce.I t h i n k w i t h ex t r a desk top) an d u ses its eye tr ack er to l et you con tr ol th e m ou se an d
i n i t i at i v e an d su p p or t , per for m cl ick s. It al so h as a bu il t-in softwar e to per son al ize PC
ch i l d r en w i t h Dow n Eye Expl or e accor d You don ?t h ave to wor r y abou t th e l igh t
Sy n d r om e t oo can ex cel i n em ittin g ou t of it to tr ack you r eyes, as it is ver y l ow an d doesn ?t
t h ei r f i el d of ch oi ce. dam ages th e eyes.
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NNewsletter
ovember 2017

3. BRAI L L E EDGE 40 H u m ou r Cor n er

Th is is a br ail l e device for bl in d peopl e to l et th em
con tr ol th eir PC, Sm ar tph on e or PDA.Br ail l e Edge
40con n ects with you r device u sin g Bl u etooth or a
USB cabl e an d con ver ts th e text on th e device
displ ay in to br ail l e.

4. Sesam e Ph on e
Sesam e Ph on e is a com pl etel y
h an ds-fr eesm ar tph on eph on e m ade for peopl e with
l im ited m ovem en t (l ik e par al ysis or spin al cor d Sen d in you r su ggestion s to
in ju r y). It is actu al l y a m odified ver sion of Googl e?s botta.bh avn a@ gm ail .com
Nexu s 5 device th at tr ack s th e u ser ?s h ead an d For sh ar in g an d su bscr iption s l og on to
al l ows fu l l con tr ol of th e ph on e ju st with th e h ead.
in fo.con n ectspecial .com
5. L i f t w ar e
Th is is an eatin g u ten sil th at al l ows peopl e with
m otion disor der s (l ik e Par k in son ?s disease) to eat
th eir food with ou t an y h el p.Liftwar e is actu al l y a
stabil izin g h an dl e you can attach a eatin g u ten sil to,
in cl u din g a for k , spoon an d sou p spoon . Th e h an dl e is
capabl e of r edu cin g h an d tr em or s 70%, m ak in g it
good en ou gh for m oder ate tr em or s.

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