New Assistive Technology Lab at LUMS

Original news item posted here on the LUMS website.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Sightsavers International on Thursday June 5, 2008 at the LUMS campus. Country Representative for Sightsavers International, Dr. Haroon Awan, Vice Chancellor Syed Zahoor Hassan and Associate Professor, Dr. Asim Karim were signatories on the MoU document. Through this agreement, LUMS will work with SightSavers International, to facilitate the provision of assistive technology services and quality education to individuals who are visually-impaired. Our goal is to make LUMS a disability-friendly campus and we begin our efforts through the creation of a customized lab that will provide assistive technology services for all staff, students and faculty members of the LUMS community who may be visually impaired. The first step of this initiative is to create a customized lab at LUMS that will provide assistive technology services for all staff, students and faculty members of the LUMS community who may be visually impaired.

Services Offered:
Braille Printer
Online Braille Display
Text to Speed Software
Digital Text/Audio Production
Screen Magnification

 

The healing touch of classical music

Original report in Dawn by Khursheed Hyder

KARACHI, June 7: Hasan is a nine-year-old child who knows the intricacies of classical music at such a tender age. His story is all the more remarkable because he is mentally challenged. However, Summ, a documentary made on him recently, which was shown on Saturday at the FTC auditorium, conveys the message that through love and attention, everything is possible.

The documentary opens with Hasan listening to classical music. His concentration is intense as he proceeds to give taal in the right place, while his grandfather, musicologist S.M. Shahid, sitting nearby, enjoys the rapturous look on the child’s face.

This is a film about a family coping with a special child and the complexes they developed and have overcome through the years. With acceptance of such a predicament, confidence and normalcy have gradually returned to their lives.

 

Universal Service Fund Launches Project for Persons with Disabilities

Original news story at the USF website.

Universal Service Fund has launched a special project for “Enabling Persons with disabilities to use telecom services” which aims to increase accessibility of IT and telecom for people with different disabilities.

This announcement was made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, at an event organized by Ministry of Information Technology to mark the World Telecommunications Day. The theme for this years world telecom day was “Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for all”. In this connection, two programmes were launched under the Special Projects of USF.

 

Al-Shifa awarded project for visually impaired

Original report in The News.

Al-Shifa Trust Eye hospital Rawalpindi has been awarded a special project titled ‘Enabling Persons with Disabilities to Use Telecom Services’ to increase accessibility of IT and telecom for people with visual impairment.

The project was launched with the help of Universal Service Fund (USF).

 

PTCL announces scholarships for special persons

Originally a staff report in the Daily Times.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited has announced complete educational scholarships for five special students in any university of their choice in Pakistan every year.

Walid Irshaid, CEO of PTCL stated, “as a company we have an employment quota for the handicapped and we believe in providing all people with equal opportunities.” staff report

 

Autism Resource Centre @ Karachi

The following is a brief write-up about the newly established Autism Resource Centre at Karachi. The write-up was provided by Qazi Fazli Azeem.

The Autism Resource Centre at Karachi is on the first floor of the Ma Ayesha Memorial Center, it is the first ARC of its kind in Pakistan, providing free access to books, CD’s, DVD’s and trained special educators who advise, support and educate both parents as well as special educators about the Autistic Spectrum of Disorders.

The Resource center can be reached on the following numbers: (92-21) 4542685, 4541281 and the address is: Address:Ma Ayesha Memorial Centre,SNPA-22,block 7/8 near commercial area K.M.C.H.S, Karachi.

Mrs Irum Rizwan sits there every wednesday from 9-11 am, and there is a special educator 5 days a week to provide counseling and support, but it is recommended to call and fix a dedicated time so that the child can be evaluated on a one-to-one basis.

For those who have questions: visit our online forum: http://autism.meetup.com/77/

 

Accessible Document – Pakistan National Education Policy Draft 2008

You can find an accessible version of the “Pakistan National Education Policy Draft 2008″ document here. If anyone has any other documents that they think could be useful for visually impaired users, then email me and I’ll see if its possible to host them on a file server somewhere.

 

Making LUMS More Accessible for Persons with Disabilities

The writeup was originally in the LUMS NEWSnet publication. It was written by Dr Asim Karim.

The LUMS community prides itself on a strong sense of social responsibility and is committed to providing level playing fields to all.

This is part of a broader effort to make LUMS more accessible for persons with disabilities. Led by Dr. Asim Karim, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Mubarika Aijazuddin, VC Office, and Hassan Tareen, Research Assistant, the objective of this effort is to build up the necessary technology and processes for reasonably accommodating students with vision and other impairments. This team has been successful in securing a grant of Rs, 1.05 million from Sightsavers, an international NGO focusing on integrating visually impaired persons into the mainstream.

With this support, the team plans to set up an assistive technology lab, promote awareness, and reach out to visually impaired students for induction into LUMS.

 

Inculcating sensitivity

Article was written by Zahra Chughtai and originally posted in Dawn – Opinion. More information about the SoLF can be found here.

HOW often do most of us come across a disabled person, say a visually or hearing challenged individual, in mainstream life? How visible are they in offices or behind shop counters? The truth is that there is often little room for the disabled in the real world.

The more fortunate of them occupy a secluded enclave that protects them from a brash and materially driven world that is insensitive to their needs.

 

Hearing impairment no hurdle for Zeeshan

Article was written by Rizwan Ehsan Ali and originally appeared in The News. Photo by Hanif Khattak.

Hearing impairment is not a hurdle in the life of 22-year-old bespectacled Zeeshan Afzal. This creative and confident boy from Karachi is a superb tailor, makes impressive gift bags but likes to design steel bangles for girls the most.

Zeeshan came to Islamabad with the team of ExtraCorp, a Karachi-based organisation that promotes creative work of physically impaired persons. From the extraordinary German cuisine — cakes, cookies, breads and muffins, to artificial jewellery and greeting cars, there were a number of items on display in Islamabad on Saturday by these talented physically impaired artists.