 Good afternoon everyone. Herty, welcome to each and every one of you in this short formal program hosted by the Department of Psychology. And I, you know, the same will be the chairperson for this webinar. And without much further delay, let me highlight the order of program. Welcome addressed by Dr. Nozini Noh, PCA assistant, Professor of Psychology, Department, followed by guest speaker, Detonor Mem, Detonor Noh, NACRO, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, NAL, and PWDs. And lastly, what of thanks by Atili, BS Psychology, second semester. And now, without further delaying, I'd like to give the time to Dr. Nozini Noh, PCA for welcome address. Thank you, Heliosu. A very warm welcome and a very good afternoon to you all. I am happy to greet and welcome you all here at the Embrace Your Differences online event with our distinguished guests in our midst. With our distinguished guests in our midst, Ma'am Detonor Noh, NACRO, who is also as mentioned by Professor, is the current State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, NAL. Ma'am, I, on behalf of the Detonor family and the Psychology Department in particular, welcome and thank you for agreeing to be part of the event in spite of your busy schedule. Ma'am Detonor recognized that as government wasn't doing what it is needed to do for the people with disabilities and hence, Ma'am also knew that we needed to remove any obstacles and to ensure that the people with disabilities could experience the sense of being approved and being recognized. So Ma'am, as we, Ma'am has worked so far has toil so hard for the recognition of the person with disabilities and she has also been a recipient of the Lemon Tree Helen Keller Award in 2015. Also, Ma'am was awarded the Classic Award in 2019 in the recognition of her work to empower persons with disabilities and also, last year, in 2020, she was awarded the A. Kepichasa Citizenship Award and to add a few feathers to Ma'am Detonor-Nakro whom most of you might not be aware of, she is the founder and the previous principal of my school whom I'm proud to be a part of the family, the Alderville School High Secondary which is situated and located in Kohima in Josephine particular. Ma'am, I'm happy and I once again welcome you to our event here in this online event and to all the participants who are here, I know that this event is going to be really exciting and hopefully a really productive webinar event this afternoon and also it is great to be here and to have an afternoon to learn and also a day which we all look forward to in the future. Ma'am, we look forward to your presentations and your guidance and also the topics of which you will be brainstorming with us, which is the need of the R and in what area we need to do as well as to keep the momentum going. Thank you all and thank you all for joining. Over to you, Joseph. Thank you, Ms. Sonu. I give the time to our guest speaker, it is ma'am Ditono Nakro. You may kindly take your time. Thank you very much. Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. And thank you, Dr. Pesee for the very generous introduction. And we, as you said, you are family of the Alderville family and we are all very proud of our students doing so well in life. So thank you very much. I'm really happy to be joining you all today. I hope you can hear me, all of you. Yes, very audible. Okay, so yeah, I'm really happy to be joining you all today. And I thank the psychology department team for organizing this program. It is really important to have a lot more of these conversations on disability because there is still a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of misconceptions about disability. Though, nowadays, there is much more awareness, but still there is still a lot of misconceptions, as I said. And in many ways, it's kind of treated, disability is still treated as if it is kind of a taboo subject, something that should not be talked about openly or discussed too much about or something like that. And then in many cases, some families still don't even want to talk about their disabled children as if it is something shameful. And I totally understand their feelings because historically, through the ages, it's not only about Nagaland, it's only about not about our society, but through the ages all over the world, disability is something that has been looked upon as something wrong, as if it is something shameful, something to be shameful about, something wrong at normal. So talking, we really need to break this chain, break this kind of smash, this kind of mindset. And the only way that we can do is talk about it, discuss about it openly, educate one another. It is only then that this kind of mindset will be, you know, we will be able to do away with this kind of mindset. And so that's why the team of the program today is also so appropriate, embracing and celebrating differences. We are each unique and amazing and the collective human experience is richer for all the difference that all of us, each and every one of us bring. Just imagine, you know, if all of us are the same, if all of us are similar, then how monotonous, how boring life would be. So, and please, if I go on to, I tend to talk too much sometimes. So if I go on too long, then please warn me as we go along. So, let's just start with the basics. Okay, let me give my, open up my presentation. Okay, so, can it be seen? Yes ma'am, this is it. Okay, okay, so let's, as I said, let's start with the basics. Who are persons with disabilities as per UNCRPD? That is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That is the universal document on the rights of persons with disabilities and the rights of persons with disabilities at 2016. This is the legislation of our country. So, persons with disabilities means persons who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments. So then, what is disability? There is no single definition of disability because it's complex, dynamic, multi-dimensional and contested. Now, the UNCRPD, that is the United Nations document, recognizes that disability is an evolving concept in the sense that we cannot just put a definition and say that, okay, this is disability because disability is something that is evolving all the time, changing, you know? So it is an evolving concept. And most importantly, the UNCRPD, it recognizes that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. This means that, you know, a person is not disabled because of the impairment that he or she has, you know? For example, I use a wheelchair, I'm a wheelchair user because I cannot walk, but that impairment that I have is, that's not disabled me. It is my environment because the environment is inaccessible, you know? And then, you know, wherever I go, it's full of steps. There are no rams, there are no lifts or anything like that. And then, you know, the attitudes of the people, it's full of negativity in the sense there are so much, there is so much, you know, negative attitudes towards disability, you know? So all these kinds of things, it disables me. It's not my impairment, but it's the, you know, all these, my surroundings, my environment and the attitudes of people around me that disables me. So this is an important point to remember. Now, there are a number, a lot of various kinds of disabilities and many times we, you know, we are not aware of the different categories of disability, so I'll just go, quickly go through the disabilities. These are the disabilities that has been specified in the schedule of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. That is the Disability Act of our country. These are the disabilities that are specified and they can be broadly grouped into five categories. Physical disability, intellectual disability, mental illness disability due to chronic, chronic medical conditions and multiple disabilities. So we'll just go briefly through the five categories. Now, physical disability, it includes a locomotor disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech and language impairment. Now, what is locomotor disability? Locomotor disability means restriction in the movement of the limbs, you know? Someone like me, I have locomotor disability because my upper limbs and my lower limbs are both affected. I also was not born with a disability. I met with an accident and my spinal cord was injured. I became a quadriplegic. That means both my upper limbs and my lower limbs are affected. So locomotor difficulty means difficulty in using the legs and hands for movement and other activities in their daily activities. Now, locomotor disability can be caused by medical, some kinds of medical conditions, illnesses or injuries. You know, examples, some examples are polio. I think most of us have heard about this, polio, cerebral palsy, amputation, then spinal cord injury like me, then injury to the head, soft tissues, muscular dystrophy, duophism, leprosecure, et cetera. So these are just some of the, some conditions or injuries that can cause locomotor disability. Now, let's just take a closer, okay, so these are just images of people with locomotor disability and assistive devices, like wheelchairs and walkers or crutches, walking sticks. Well, these days, the technology, it has come up with so many things that can assist people with disability. So to help them move around and do their work, you know, so these are some of the assistive devices that people with locomotor disabilities, they use. I use a wheelchair. So now let's just take a closer look at two conditions. You know, leprosecured persons, many people, they don't realize that leprosecured people come under the list of disabilities. Leprosecured person means a person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from loss of sensation in their hands or feet which limits their activity, vision problems, physical deformity which affects their functioning and causes stigma and discrimination. So we have all heard about leprosy and, you know, since those biblical times, you know, leprosy is a medical illness that has been made, you know, it has been made to, you know, really a stigmatized, you know, condition where people who have had this illness, you know, they are kind of shunned from society, kept away from the general public in the olden days. And, you know, just a few years back also we used to have all these leprosy colonies and on nowadays, leprosy colonies have, though it's still in existence, leprosy colonies have become illegal, you know, because it causes a lot of stigma and discrimination and so because they, you know, they have a lot of these effects from the illness as well as stigma and discrimination. So they have been added into the disability list in our disability act, then do a genetic condition resulting in short stature and other medical conditions. People with any hot-height and other physical characteristics peculiar to them. So we, though we are familiar with, you know, people who have dwarfism, we don't realize all the problems that they face, you know, it's not just a short stature, but then, you know, decisions that really creates a lot of problem in their daily lives and face a lot of, you know, they become the butt of so many people's jokes and they face a lot of social stigma and discrimination and things like that. So they dwarfism also has been added into the list of disabilities, specified disabilities. Then the other two impairments under the physical disabilities, visual impairment, hearing impairment, these two are more easily understandable. Blindness, we have total absence of sight, low vision, have some sight, but vision is poor and it affects their day-to-day functioning. Hearing impairment, death is people who count in both ears, hard of hearing, persons who can hear some sound, but not good enough and it affects their day-to-day functioning. Then we have, this also comes under physical disability, speech and language disability. Now, a speech impairment is characterized by difficulty in articulation of words, you know, difficulty in bringing out the words and speaking, you know, an example is stuttering. You know, we've all, I'm sure, have had interacted with people or some of you all may have this also, this difficulty in speaking, stuttering, so this is, that is called a speech impairment. The language impairment is the specific impairment, you know, in the difficulty in understanding and processing the words that are being said, you know, some people have this problem. So this, it's not the difficulty in speaking, but the difficulty in making sense of the words that are being said. So this is called a language impairment. So an individual can have one speech impairment or a language impairment, or they can have both also. Then these impairments or disorders are identified, can be assessed and identified by a speech and language pathologist. Now, the next category of disability is intellectual disability. It actually comes under developmental disabilities and two specific conditions that have been mentioned in our disability act that is specific learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. Now, intellectual and developmental disabilities that is in short, it's called IDDs are disorders that are usually present at birth and that negatively affect the trajectory of the individual's physical, intellectual, and or emotional development. Many of these conditions affect multiple body parts or systems, you know, it is usually there. These kinds of disabilities, you know, are usually there at birth and as they grow and develop, you know, it tends to affect their development, physical, intellectual and or emotional. Then IDD may mean difficulty in communicating, learning and retaining information. So people with intellectual and developmental disability may process information more slowly, you know, in understanding and processing information, maybe slower for them. They may find communication difficult and also have difficulty in, you know, daily living skills, you know, the things that we do daily, you know, to look after ourselves, the hygiene, personal hygiene or socializing with people, all those things, kind of things may be difficult for them, you know, or safety issues, you know, they may not know, be able to understand threats or safety issues, you know, so that's why people with, you know, intellectual and developmental disabilities, many times are victims of abuse, you know, girls and women in particular, you know, when they have intellectual and developmental disabilities, they face a lot of, they go through sexual abuse and that kind of thing, you know, because they have difficulty in, you know, understanding that a situation may be dangerous for them or that something is right or wrong, they don't understand these, they have difficulty in understanding these things, you know, and scrupulous people, they take advantage of people with intellectual and develop, tend to take advantage of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Now some types of IDDs are learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, I've already mentioned, then attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, bipolar disorder, Down syndrome, Fajal X syndrome, traumatic brain injury, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, FASD, CDs, are just some examples, there are a lot more, many more conditions that come under IDD. And just a little bit on learning disabilities, I think you all have heard about this learning disability, so nowadays we talk a lot about learning disabilities. Now, learning disabilities are due to genetic and or neurobiological factors, it alters the brain functioning in a manner which affects one or more cognitive processes related to learning. Now, these processing problems can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing, and or math, they can also interfere with higher level skills such as organization time, planning, abstract reasoning, short term memory, long or short term memory and attention. Now, we talk about learning disabilities only in the set because learning obviously has to do with, you know, education, schools, colleges. So we tend to talk only about, you know, in the setting in terms of academics, but it is important to realize, you know, that learning disabilities can affect an individual's life beyond academics, you know, it can impact relationships with family, friends, and in the workplace. So a learning disability cannot be cured or fixed, it is a lifelong challenge. However, with, you know, appropriate support, intervention, therapy, you know, people with learning disabilities can achieve, you know, can cope and can achieve success in school and they can do very well. In fact, not they can achieve, they can do a lot, you know, but they need to have proper support and intervention. You know, these learning for disabilities like mine, you know, locomotive disability, I can't walk, I can't use my hands properly and so it is quite visible, it is quite obvious that I have a disability, but you know, these most intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as learning disabilities are, you know, usually called invisible disabilities because they can't be seen obviously. And so because of that, many people, you know, they remain undiagnosed also because they don't understand what's wrong with them, their families don't understand what's wrong with them, you know, children, many children in schools also because of this, they really suffer, they may have actually have a learning disability, but teachers, because we really don't, the sensitization is so poor, there is no training in all these things, you know, so many children, they may be really having a very difficult time, but they just suffer through all that, they'll get punishments, they'll get humiliated and you know, that kind of thing and then they never get treated also, so it is good to be aware of this thing so that you can, to have some basic knowledge that you can even help some people who may be going through difficulties without realizing, you know, so it is always good to know as much as possible about these kinds of issues that people may be facing, you know, different types of learning disabilities just calculate a specific learning disability that affects a person's ability to understand numbers and learn math facts, then dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that affects a person's handwriting ability and fine motor skills, they find it very difficult to write, then dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects reading and related language-based processing skills, it's very difficult, they cannot understand written words, you know, to read, so these are just, there are more, a few more, but these are some of the specific learning disabilities. Then we go to the third category, this is mental illness, now mental illness, also called mental health disorders, it refers to a wide range of mental health conditions, disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior, you know, some examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and other addictive behaviors, you know, all of us, everyone, you know, all time to time, we go through some mental health concerns, we go through some short periods of not feeling good and feeling depressed, you know, that's normal with everybody, but a mental health concern, it becomes a mental illness when the signs and symptoms, you know, it becomes very regular, it becomes frequent, the stress becomes very frequent and then it starts affecting your daily life, you know, your ability to function every day, to do your work, if you are a student, to be a student, you know, to go to your, you know, classes and do your classwork and things like that, then it becomes a real concern, you know, a mental illness and that is a time when you should immediately seek a professional help. And then number four, the fourth category is disability due to chronic medical conditions and this category includes chronic neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, these are two neurological conditions and then there are also chronic medical conditions, you know, like blood disorders like hemophilia, telasemia and sickle cell disease. So these are also some of the chronic medical conditions that come under the list of disabilities in our disability act. Then the fifth one and the last category is multiple disabilities, you know, as the name suggests, this means that a combination of more than one of the, you know, the above specified disabilities that we have already discussed, you know, it is a combination of two or more, you know, it may be, you know, example, deaf blindness, which means a condition in which a person may have combination of hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication, developmental and educational problems. You can just imagine if someone is blind as well as deaf, you know, the difficulties, you know, to communicate and you know, the developmental trajectory, everything will be affected, impacted very severely. So as I said, multiple disabilities can be a combination of two or more of the specified disabilities that we have discussed. Now you will also, you know, in our disability act, when we talk about disabilities, you will also come across a term called benchmark disabilities. Now, who is a person with benchmark disabilities? A person who has been certified by the appropriate certifying authority, that is by the medical, you know, doctors, the medical professionals, with 40% or more of any of the specified disabilities that we have already discussed. So under our disability act, a person with 40% or more is a person with benchmark disability. For me, I am 90% because both my hands, as I've already said, my upper limbs, my lower limbs are affected. So I'm 90%. And so the thing, why this benchmark, the term benchmark disabilities is important is because some of the disability benefits that are stipulated under our disability act, the RPWD Act 2016, can be availed only by a person with benchmark disabilities, only by a person with 40% or above. You know, one of these benefits is the 4% job reservation. So that, yeah, so I just wanted you to be aware about this term benchmark disabilities. So now let's go to the, let's, I've already mentioned the rights of persons with disabilities act 2016 is the legislation that the disability legislation of our country. So just let's just discuss this in brief. Now, this is the legislation that promotes and protects the rights and dignity of people with disabilities in various aspects of life, you know, educational, social, legal, economic, cultural and political, you know, it applies to government as well as non-government and private organizations. It has, you know, there are a number of provisions over there, which, you know, and a number of committees and bodies that needs to be set up in order to monitor the proper implementation of the rights of, you know, the various laws and things like that. My office, the office of the state commissioner is also set up under this act. It also has penalties, you know, in case anyone violates these rules, these laws or anyone, you know, abuses a person with disability and deprives a person with disability of his or her right, you know, so that the right of persons with this, that's the rights of persons with disabilities act 2016. Now, the rights, this act was passed by both houses of parliament on 16 December 2016. The act became operational on 19 April 2017. Now, earlier, before this, there was one, another act. It was, it came into being in 1995. It was called Persons with Disabilities, Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act 1995. So now, this new act was passed in 2016. It is a much more robust act, you know, and so it was passed and it replaced this whole act of 1995. Now, the new act, this 2016 act was passed to fulfill India's obligation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which India ratified in 2007. So, now, that's the, you know, in very brief, that's the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. Now, the status of implementation of the act in Nagaland, you know, it's actually, I have to be really honest, I have to be brutally honest about this. Disability is a sector that has been badly, badly neglected in our state for many, many years. That's the truth. We cannot deny it, we cannot cover it up or, you know, anything like that. It has been, it's very badly neglected, as I said, you know, so like everything in the disability sector, this implementation of this act also was badly delayed. You know, it was, as I already mentioned, it was, it became operational in April, 2017. And then within six months, you know, all the states were supposed to start taking action, notify the state rules and things like that, but all those were not done for a number of months for, you know, at least a couple of years if nothing was done. And, but implementation has picked up pace in the last couple of years. So that is the good news, you know, we have a lot more cooperation and we are pushing ahead to make sure that the laws are strictly implemented with, and people with disabilities are given their due as equal citizens of the state. Now, some of the important, you know, provisions that have been notified are, as I've already mentioned, 4% job reservation for persons with disabilities that has been notified. And we are very, you know, strictly implementing this and pulling up, you know, departments and agencies, different authorities who do not comply with this provision. Then special prosecutors and special courts have been set up, these special prosecutors and special courts are meant to fast track, you know, cases involving persons with disabilities. So that is a good thing. Then department of school education has notified sections 16 and 31 of the RPWD Act. That is these sections have to do with the inclusive education. And so they have already notified it. Of course, because education has been so poor all these years, you know, education for disabled children. So we have, do it has been notified. A lot of work needs to be done. We are working with the school education so that we can put everything, you know, in place properly and inclusive education can become, can, you know, start all the schools, whether because it covers both private as well as government schools and colleges, all educational institutions so that it can start, you know, all these inclusive education become the norm. So we are working closely with the school education too so that all these things can start moving forward robustly. Then accessibility of the built environment, transport and information technology and communication. All these things are being taken up strongly. Obviously, if there is no accessibility and you know all of us, we have seen our surroundings, there's absolutely no accessibility in the built environment for people like us who use wheelchairs, who can, who have difficulty mobility issues. It's terrible, we cannot go anywhere. So accessibility of the built environment then accessibility of the public transport and, you know, information technology and communication websites need to be made, you know, accessible. The, you know, the matters being uploaded, photographs being uploaded should be made accessible. All these things. There is still very little awareness about these things. So we are creating as trying to create as much awareness and possible and taking up all these things as seriously as possible. Then of course, setting up of rehabilitation and other disability resource centers, you know, implementation of all these provisions of the RPWD Act is an utmost priority. We need to do that. And that's what we are pushing towards. And yeah, so, okay. So that being said that, you know, about the status of implementation. It has started, you know, now implementation is taking place, you know, at a better pace, which is a good thing. But the progress, you know, despite the, you know, we are making progress, as I said, but looking at the current disability scenario in Nagaland, you know, it doesn't give me much pleasure to say this, but we are, you know, we are in very, very poor shape, you know, because as I've already mentioned, disability sector was a disability, it's a sector that has been so badly neglected for many years that yes, progress is being made and that is very good. But because it has been so bad for so many years that the situation, the scenario is still very, very poor in our state, you know. And there's plenty of blame to go around for this, you know, in this regard. Why was attention not given? Why was it neglected so badly, you know? But it's not about one government, it's this government or that government, it's not even that, it's not about one department or one official, but it's actually about the entire society, you know, our society, it's a collective failure of our society that nothing that disability sector, the disability community was basically forgotten and ignored for so many, many years. But as I said, I'm happy to report that things are improving, changes are happening, it's slow, but it is taking place. And the good thing is that the government of the day is responsive and ready to work with us, you know, support us and work with us, then the department officials in charge of the disability sector are also proactive and cooperative. And I think over and above all this, the most important is that the disability movement in our stage, you know, earlier days, we barely had any disability movement, but now the disability movement has become growing stronger. Every day it has become quite strong now with many young people with disabilities, you know, people with disabilities themselves coming out, standing up and speaking up for themselves, you know, pressing the government for policy changes and things like that. And this is so important, the actual stakeholders, you know, they have to be there, their voices have to be heard, you know, nothing about us without us, that is the motto of the disability, you know, movement worldwide. So unless a person with disability is there at the table, you know, speaking up and talking about our own needs, you know, how can a non-disabled person fully understand, yes, non-disabled people, also we need them to support us, to be there for us and work with us, but then a non-disabled person cannot speak for a disabled person, you know, they will never know the actual problems that are faced by a person with disability. So, you know, the disability, this is a very important, I think, aspect that the disability movement is in our state is growing stronger by the day. But as I said, there was a huge neglect for so long that though changes are indeed happening, the scenario is still quite poor. So very poor, not quite poor, very poor. So people with disabilities in Nagaland, you know, basically they lack access to quality health services, lack access to disability support services, educational services. They lack opportunity to livelihood and economic empowerment excluded from participation in society due to environmental and attitudinal barriers, you know. Let's see, all these things are, that is really, this is the true scenario, though changes are happening, this is still the scenario that we live in for, you know, persons with disability. There is, we don't have, we have very few medical professionals who are actually trained in the disability sector. And, you know, there is very little sensitization among health professionals. And then, of course, there are accessible issues in hospitals and clinics and, you know, health centers and things like that. Then we absolutely have no rehabilitation or support disability support services in our state. This is because of the neglect of, you know, that went on for so many years. Rehabilitation is something so, so important in disability, you know, and without disability, it is impossible for people with disabilities, you know, to lead, you know, it becomes quite difficult for them to lead a productive life. So rehabilitation is so important, but we just don't have any proper centers. You know, there are a few private organizations and all who have started, who have been there for several years, some and some who are starting now and providing services and all, but we really, you know, nobody bothered to get all these things set up, the things that are even being provided by the center. So we just don't have any of these services, you know. So people who can afford it, they go out of the state to get, you know, the therapy or the services that they need, but the majority obviously cannot go out of the state to do that. So so many people with disabilities, they just, you know, suffer in silence. Some, most people don't even know that they need these kinds of rehabilitation, you know, that is the saddest thing, you know. And then in education, of course, as I've said, we are in, you know, it is a really sad state of affairs. Majority of children with disabilities, they cannot attend school or continue to higher studies, even if they attend primary school, you know, they cannot go on to higher studies. And many of our children with disabilities in this current scenario, they will never, never, you know, probably never even enter a classroom. And it's not because they don't want education or they, excuse me, or it's not because they don't want to go to school, but because there are so many barriers that they just cannot overcome because nobody thinks about them, you know. The school buildings, classrooms are inaccessible. The compounds are inaccessible. There are no accessible toilets that they can use. You know, these kinds of issues are there. And so how can a person using, you know, with mobility difficulties go to a classroom and sit with others? Then the curriculum is not geared to their needs. You know, curriculum, like, for example, a student who is blind will need braille textbooks or, you know, audio textbooks. You know, those are supposed to be provided for them. All these are supposed to be given, but we are not giving. Then we need trained teachers. We have such a huge lack of trained teachers, you know, trained teachers who are trained to take care and support, you know, children with disabilities give it and give them the appropriate kind of education. Then of course, as I said, lack of proper support system and a lot of negative attitudes, you know, and stereotyping of children, people with disabilities, they go to school and then they, you know, how face a lot of bullying and things like that. So, see, there are so many barriers they face and they just don't get an education. That is the scenario there is. Then of course, livelihood, people with disabilities, they face a lot of, they have no access to labor and they face a lot of discrimination while seeking employment and income generating activities. Adults with disabilities, I mean, you just think about your own, you know, about your own community. You know, the everyday activities that communities carry out, meetings, gatherings or just the everyday living, you know, activities that you do, weddings or church. How many disabled people do you see, you know, in all these things? Not much, I'm sure, not many. And it's because there is just no accessibility. Nobody thinks about people with disabilities and that they would want to be participating in all these also, you know, it's like as if people with disabilities don't matter. They exist, but then it's okay. They don't need to do all these things. They don't need to socialize. They don't need to have, you know, any kind of life. You know, it's that kind of situation. So as I said, progress has been made, but we still, you know, have a long, long way to go. But the positive thing is that as I have been saying again and again, a start has been made and we really need to, all of us need to come collectively, you know, get together collectively to make sure that all these things are removed and, you know, our state also becomes an inclusive state, a state that includes all its citizens, whether they are disabled, non-disabled or whatever. So then, okay, let me just say a little bit about the career path and disability sector for psychology students. You know, this, I will not be talking about anything very, you know, out of something that thinks that you all have, I'm sure this will just be career paths that you'll talk about quite often. But just a few, I will just, a couple of, so I will just highlight. I've already mentioned about the lack of trained teachers and trained professionals. You know, this is such a huge, huge problem that we are facing. And this is all about the neglect. Again, it just comes down to that. There was so much neglect that our people, you know, our young people who are going for further studies and, you know, taking up different career paths and things like, nobody was encouraged, nobody thought that, you know, this kind of trainings and in the disability sector was any kind of viable employment or, you know, a viable career path, you know. So very few people, for instance, sign language interpreters all over the state, we have just two sign language trained sign language interpreters, imagine that. And now the law is that in all the meetings, all the public events, everything we are supposed to use, sign language interpreters, this is for deaf people who cannot hear. So sign language is a legitimate, it is a legal language. And all of us, actually all of us, whether we are deaf or not deaf, we should learn sign language so that we can communicate easily with, you know, deaf people also. So in any case, this sign language interpreters have become, you know, compulsory in our mandatory, but then we just don't have enough. Imagine we only have two trained sign language interpreters. How are they supposed to be everywhere in the state? All over, you know, in every event and every program. So that is the kind of problem that we are facing. We want to do a program. We want to start something. We just don't have the trained, you know, trained people who are trained in the, you know, disability sector. So that is one huge problem that we are facing now. So for psychology students, you know, there are many, many career avenues. One is, of course, a clinical psychologist. I don't have to explain to you all. I'm sure you'll talk about this a lot. It is a broad branch of psychology that focuses on diagnosing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Some of the more common disorders that might be treated include, you know, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders like ADHD, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, other mental health disorders, eating disorders, and so on. You know, some clinical psychologists work with a wide variety of populations while some others will train specifically for some groups, you know, as children or the elderly or women, or those with, you know, people with specific disorders they'll train for those kinds of, you know, for specific disorders. Then these professionals they'll typically work in hospital settings, mental health clinics, or private practices. Then we have counselors. This also is something that need not be explained so much. You all know about it. Counselors help people deal with various issues in their life and to come to better terms with their lives and experiences through exploration of feelings and emotions. Counseling is often a form of talking therapy that can encompass areas including health, rehabilitation, education, mental health, et cetera. Counselors are very much needed in the disability sector. You know, in our context, Naga context, counseling, we have never, you know, earlier times we had never given much importance to counseling, never thought that counseling was important, you know, is important, but this need is being very much, you know, felt very much in today's world, in today's times, and opportunities are only bound to increase, you know, in schools and colleges, hospitals and clinics, homes and organizations that work with different groups of people, you know, like including disabled people and so on. So counseling, counselors is a good way to move. Then the third one that I just wanted to highlight is special education teacher, you know, this is slightly outside of a traditional psychology career, but the field of education, it offers a great deal of opportunity for those who enjoy working with children. You know, special education teachers, they work with students with a variety of disabilities. You know, special education, there are various themes in special education also. You know, it's not that you just go for one special education training and then you can deal with all different kinds of disabilities. You have special education for teachers, for students who are deaf, students who are blind, students with intellectual developmental disabilities like that, so there are different various streams of special education. Now, because of the increased focus in special and inclusive education, and as I've said, we have already, our state also has notified, and slowly it's going to become compulsory military in all the private schools and all the government schools. So, and we already, even now, though there are a few schools which have started inclusive education and all, but we are facing a huge shortage. So when we start making it mandatory, then you can just imagine, you know, we will need a huge number of special education teachers. You know, and you know, not only special education, even general teachers who are trained, you know, in, you need to be sensitized in, you know, in disability. So there's a huge shortage of qualified teachers and demand is strong and it will, it is expected to grow, it will grow. And so, of course, after, you know, after your graduation, you have to go complete a teacher training program either in special education or general teacher training, you know, but with a background in psychology, you will have that edge to be really, really good in this profession. So this is really something that you should think about. So these are just some, a few of the career paths for the psychology students in the disability sector. And there are many, many more that you can explore of course within public and private healthcare, education, mental health support, social work, therapy and counseling, and so on. You know, it just depends totally on your personal interest. So yeah, so I think I've gone on for too long. So let me just end with a few words on, you know, the theme of our program today. Embracing and celebrating differences. You know, this embracing and celebrating differences is just another word for inclusion, inclusion. Now, people living with disabilities are, you know, among the most marginalized, they are among the most excluded, the most neglected, you know, disabled people, they're often forgotten and left behind. I've spoken about a little bit about all that. And they are, you know, they regularly face discrimination and exclusion from healthcare, education work and community life. You know, they face a lot of prejudice and, you know, injustice. Why? It is just because they are different from what people accept. What is accepted as normal? The idea of normal, you know. Now, people with disabilities are looked upon as, you know, something that is abnormal, a mistake that God made, you know. So that is why they are excluded. Excluded, they are among the most excluded just because they are different from the idea of normal that society has. You know, so embracing and celebrating differences should not be just a slogan. It should be a way of life, you know, something that we truly practice in our everyday lives. So what is, but to do that, we have to understand what is disability inclusion? What does it mean? Including people with disabilities in everyday activities and making sure that they have the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires is disability inclusion. As I have already highlighted, you know, very briefly, this is not what is happening, you know. In the current scenario, this is not happening. They are not being included, you know. I've already mentioned about education. Children with disabilities are not getting the same opportunities to receive education like non-disabled children because of the many reasons that I have already highlighted. And you know, when we are talking about disability inclusion and, you know, we are talking about people with disabilities, then please remember that we are not talking about pity or charity. You know, many people, they think about disabled people as objects of charity, you know, as if they are there for people to do a good deed. You know, one fine day they'll go hand over some food items or some money and they think that they've done really the good deed of their life, you know. Disabled people, they do not want pity. They don't need pity. They don't need charity, you know. We are talking about the rights of persons with disabilities as equal citizens of the community, as equal citizens of the state, the country and their right to equal opportunities to get a good education, a good job, to get a good job, a get a job, good job, a bad job, to get a job, they are not getting anything. So, and to lead a worthwhile life and to be valued members of the society. So yes, of course, the responsibility of the government is clear. It is, you know, the government, all governments, including our state government, they have to do what needs to be done. You know, they have to make sure that all the laws are properly implemented. They have to make sure that facilities and social securities are put into place for persons with disabilities. However, it's not only the government, you know, government's responsibility, it's clear, but then it's not only about the government, you know, laws, because laws are not enough. It is there to guide us, but laws are not enough. It is all of us, each and every one of us, you know, the change, the change that needs to happen, you know, the change can and it must begin with each and every one of us, you know. And as I said, you know, we can just make this team, you know, embracing and celebrating differences, you know, a mere slogan, you know, a slogan that we forget once we, once this program is over or we can really think about how we can truly practice this in our everyday lives so that we can make a difference in the lives of so many people. I'll leave you with that thought. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Ma'am Daytono. I believe that everyone has learned a lot from you. And now I would like to quiz the others. If you have any doubts or queries, you can. Bring up your questions there. Yeah, if anyone has any questions and later on also, you can, you know, send it to me also. And yeah, we can do that also. I'm sorry, I must have taken too much time also. So anyway. Okay, let me just interrupt. All right, thank you so much, Ma'am, for your in-depth explanation on the various types of personality disorder, disabilities, as well as what steps we need to take and what on highlighting brainstorming us with what the government has been doing so far. And indeed, Ma'am, it was really insightful and then it was, I believe that it was very helpful for all of us who are present here. And since at the end of questions, I think there are no questions so far, so a lot of time. So I give you time to answer this. Hello, good afternoon. Okay. Yeah, you, yeah, so, all right, thank you. Yeah, so Ma'am, Nuzi, okay, so I think I was one student, but I just, okay, so since that student has muted, so I'll just make a comment. I think it was a very insightful and very enriching presentation and it really brought out many important aspects, right? That is in our society, right? And I especially like, when Ma'am, you pointed out, you know, how it has, how in our society, right? In tribal society, let's take in general. So even in societies like this, it's seen as a very, you know, it's, even if we look at literature, right, it seems to be an egalitarian society. All these literatures are there. So, but the fact that you, Ma'am, you brought out about, you know, the stigma and all these aspects was very nice and I felt really glad about it and how the, you know, in our, in societies like this comprised by tribal people, right? How there are certain section of population who are still not represented well, right? And Ma'am, I'm also thankful because you have, I think rightly pointed out, sometimes I wonder like personally, I would also wonder if we look at the church and if we look at the majority of the population, right? In each of our communities, we hardly, I myself also hardly see people, right? With disabilities who come through these functions with wheelchairs and all this. So I think, Ma'am, you have rightly pointed out all the important issues that are prevalent here. And I think, yes, with more days to come, I think we'll also be able to, you know, continue this form of discussion in the future. And Ma'am, just one thing, lastly that I would like to add regarding this difference, yeah, embracing our differences, right? So Ma'am, I have had this thought because during my PhD studies, I have a friend from psychology who did her research in the people who had spinal injuries and who are using wheelchairs. So we would have lots of discussions and I also have some relatives with whom I would discuss all about this. Ma'am, I think it's very high time, you know, that we normalize the differences. How I see is that, for example, the limitation of one person, even as a people, right? Within courts without disability, we, every one of us lack certain things, right? So if we can also just see those aspects, right? As, okay, let me frame it in this way. For people who are within courts, not disabled, right? So we also lack certain things, but those lacking, right? Those way of being disabled are not seen as disabled in itself, right? But when it comes to the fact that people having physical disabilities in sort of these discussions, right? We often, it often comes with stigmatization and all these things. So I feel that, like, especially at a time like this now, right? So I think it's really high time that we start normalizing, right? These different sort of differences and different sort of disabilities that each and every one of us has, right? And then look at them from a very, from the similar standard, right? So that, and I think in this way, there can be normalization of differences, right? The rest of that, okay, let me frame it in this way. Normalization of differences that each and every human being has in this society, right? So man, that is just one thing that I like that. I don't know whether it was clear enough or not, but I just want to make that point. That's why I thank you so much. Yeah, yeah, thank you. Thank you very much. It's absolutely what you said. It absolutely makes sense about the normalization and that is so much needed, you know? Because disability is something that, as I mentioned also in my presentation, it's something that is seen historically. It was seen as something that is wrong, you know? And then in many societies, in tribal societies, also it is sometimes regarded as a curse, you know? Yes, yes. Because, you know, the family committed the sin, so your child became disabled, you know? That kind of attitude and this kind of mentality, it still exists a lot, you know, in our societies. Even now, the only good thing is it is changing. It is getting a little better, but it's still there. And so it becomes very tough to break through this thing. And that's why I, you know, in my activism, one of my tools, you know, the tools that I use as my wheelchair, because normally, you know, in our societies, elsewhere, in a place like America, for example, it's so common, you know, for people, it's just to be roaming around, doing their routine. We see everywhere, yes. But in our society, it's still so strange, right? And so, you know, when I go out, for me, I'm always up and about and going around and of course now with my official duties and all I'm here and there, I'm still, you know, looked upon as something, why is this woman in, you know, wheelchair, and if she's not at home, you know, that kind of attitude is still there, you know, but then the thing is we really need to make sure that we have visible, you know, the more that we have visible, it becomes a normal thing, you know, that, oh, it's just fine, she's disabled, so what, that kind of attitude. So we just, that mentality also becomes very important. And that's why my wheelchair is actually a very important tool in my, you know, awareness campaign. And thank you very much. Those are very valid points that you brought up here. Thank you, ma'am, thank you. Oh, hello ma'am. Yeah, dear, here's a question for you in the chat box. Shall I read it out? Yeah, okay. I'm trying to look at it. Okay. Is there a way we can solution it? I will move it down to Ms. Pratik. Yes. Yeah, the thing is we all have to, you know, just change the way we think, it's just a difference, you know, disability is, it's nothing more, it's just another human experience, you know, and so it's nothing strange. It's not alien, it's not abnormal. You know, actually people talk about normal and abnormal. So this idea of normal, that's what I keep on challenging people, you all think that you all are normal and I'm abnormal, but who is to say that I'm normal, you know, and then you are, the non-disabled people are abnormal, you know, so this idea of normal, you know, we have to challenge this idea of normal and our mindset, there is absolutely, we can, you know, discrimination, it comes because we look at someone differently, you know, because someone is different, we start treating someone differently, you know, once we start looking at everybody as saying, yeah, you have a difference, you're different from me, I am different from you, and so actually, you know, there's many people, they like to use all this euphemisms also talk about, instead of saying disabled or disability, they talk about differently abled, right? Many people, they like to use that term, but people with disabilities actually, you know, they don't like this term, this euphemism, you know, that people with, you know, are differently abled, you know, because who is not differently abled? Everybody, whether you are disabled or non-disabled, everyone has got different abilities, disabilities, and so everybody is differently abled, so this use of differently abled for disabled people is actually a very funny term, and we in the disabled community, we don't use it, we don't like it also, but it's actually non-disabled people who prefer to put all these kind of pretty, pretty words, you know, thinking as if it's going to change things, you know, there's no need to change anything, disability is nothing to be ashamed about, it's just that is different from, my disability is also different from another person with disability, so everybody is different, you know, so once we have that in our minds, you know, then discrimination will not happen, you know, we'll just be together with each other without, you know, all these kinds of negative attitudes and thoughts towards each other, and this thing, another one, I think I see at the top something about curable, curable these days, it really is not about disability, it's not about curing or fixing, you know, that is one, you know, mindset that is also there, you know, of course, there are some conditions that needs to be taken off, care off, and then, you know, some things that can be done to see how it can be eased or made better, all those things, so obviously, if there are some steps that can be taken, it should be taken, but disability is not about something, you know, that needs to be fixed or cured, you know, it's, as I said, it's just another human experience, you know, and all of us, you know, you can, everybody can, you know, may perhaps become disabled one day if we live long enough, you know, with all age we get all these kinds of disabilities or temporary disabilities also you will experience, so it's just another human experience, it's not about curing or fixing, you know, for me, when people talk about all that, many people will come and pray for me also, you know, and they're trying to fix my disability, so I'm not looking to be fixed, so if you want to pray, then pray with me, you know, and then let's just pray in general, but don't pray to cure me, because I don't want to be cured, now it's not something that, if I'm looking for curing or fixing, then you can pray for that, but just don't assume that I'm looking to be fixed, you know, looking to be cured, I tell people or so, so that's it, it's not about curing, it's just, you know, it's just another human experience disability. Thank you. Thank you ma'am, yeah, if there's no more questions or queries, can we, shall we move on, actually, yeah. Good afternoon everyone, I thank you all for taking our time to attend this webinar and making it a lively session. I would like to take this opportunity to give a special appreciation to our dear ma'am, Die Thono Nakro, for enlightening us with a vast knowledge and experience. It was a very insightful session, I especially liked the part where ma'am explained that disability results because of the environment that we live in, and that the negative attitude of first disability is what causes disability. We were also able to realize some of the prejudices and problems that people with disabilities face and go through. So thank you ma'am, it was eye-opening and very informative. I would like to take, thank the Department of Psychology for taking the initiative to organize this webinar. By gratitude to the teachers present and all the students for your attendance and your time. Not to forget who were attentive and asked questions, making this session an interactive one. I thank you all for joining us today. With this, we will end the session, thank you. Thank you, thank you very much, all of you. Thank you ma'am, once again. Thank you, thank you. I hope to come to your college once the situation gets better and meet all of you. Yes ma'am, sure, we are looking forward to that. Yes, yes, we will definitely do that. Okay, thank you then, bye-bye everybody. Bye-bye ma'am, thank you, take care. Take care.