Identification of Children with Disabilities in Government Primary Schools of Hyderabad District - Survey

Disability can be defined as any limitation or restriction to perform developmentally appropriate activities which are desired by society. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY) defined disability as, “neither purely biological nor social but instead the interaction between health conditions, environmental and personal factors.” It described disability at three levels: 1. An impairment in body function or structure, such as a cataract which prevents the passage of light and sensing of form, shape, and size of visual stimuli;, 2. A limitation in activity, such as the inability to read or move around; 3. A restriction in participation, such as exclusion from school. Children with disabilities require interventions and support, Difficulty in oral language 1. Slow development in speaking words or sentences (also referred to as,late talkers) 2. Pronunciation problems 3. Difficulty learning new words; slow vocabulary growth 4. Difficulty finding the right word to use when speaking 5. Difficulty understanding and following simple (one-step) directions 6. Difficulty understanding questions 7. Difficulty recognizing or learning rhyming words 8. Lack of interest in storytelling. Students with learning disabilities are among the most vulnerable-at chronic risk for "not learning" under the aforementioned conditions, for long-term academic and social problems, and for lifelong debilitating side-effects of their classroom experiences. 30 Government Primary schools from class 1 to 5 were identified in Hyderabad district and 3200 children were screened to identify whether they have hearing and speech impairment, Intellectual Disability, Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and learning Ethical norms were followed in this study for collecting the data. Care has been taken to meet the ethical requirements in this research study, during developing the screening camp while discussion with the teachers and children. Out of 3200 children 660 children were identified with different disabilities and referred to the concerned Institutes for detailed evaluation and intervention services. There is an urgent and substantial need to identify as early as possible those young children in need of services. The need for early identification of learning disabilities is highly related to potential.