Locomotor disability

Locomotor disability forms the major proportion of the total disability population in India. As per Current census 2011, locomotor disability constitutes 20.3%among all disabilities. The figure may come down after RPWD Act 2016, as some of the conditions that were coming under locomotor disability identified as separate individual categories like dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, some chronic neurological conditions etc. Locomotor disability includes a person with- (a) loss or lack of normal ability to execute distinctive activities associated with the movement of self and objects from place to place (b) physical deformities, other than those involving the hand or leg both, regardless of whether the same caused loss or lack of normal movement of body The conditions may include:- – Paralysis of limb or body, Deformity of limb, Maximum Loss of limb, Amputation – Dysfunction of limb, Deformity of joints of limbs, Deformity of the body other than in limbs eg. Hunch back, deformed spine etc. Causes of Locomotor disability:- • Traumatic- RTA, fall from height, domestic violence, natural calamaties, Burn injuries • Congenital- deformities of hand ,foot, limbs, spine, amputees • Developemental- Storage disorders, scoliosis, genuvalgum/ varum • Infective – TB, Leprosy, polio, osteomyelitis • Inflammatory – RA, Ank spond, psoriasis • Neoplastic- Osteosarcoma, ewings sarcoma • Nutritional- ricket, scurvy, osteomalacia, flurosis • Geriatric – CVA, Cardio respiratory, OA, Osteoporosis, ost...

Locomotor impairment affects mobility of a part of body or the whole body and is too obvious in most cases. Hence, this impairment negatively affects body image and self-confidence of such persons. Due to restricted mobility and resultant lack of opportunities for free play and exploration of environment, these children are deprived of commonplace experience and knowledge. Assistive technology is of great help to persons with locomotor impairment in overcoming the challenges faced by them. Children with locomotor impairment require psychosocial inclusion much more than academic inclusion that helps build a positive self-image and self-worth and encourage participation in both academic and co-scholastic activities. Keywords • Mobility • Body image • Self-worth • Prosthetic devices • Orthotic devices • Psychosocial inclusion • Ability Unlimited. (2018, March 25). Ramayana on wheels – First of its kind in the world [Video File]. Retrieved from • Addlakha, R. (2013). Body politics and disabled femininity: Perspectives of adolescent girls from Delhi. In Disability studies in India: Global discourses, local realities. New Delhi: Routledge. • Aljadir, R. (2015, December 21). Disability and body image: Fitting in when your body does not. Retrieved from • Biastro, L., Frank, H., & Larwin, K. H. (2015). Looking at the social activity for adolescents with orthopedic impairments. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 4(3), 106–111. • Cheprasov, A. (201...

In the year 1978, the National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped (NIOH) was established in Calcutta, West Bengal under Ministry of Social Welfare, Govt. of India as an autonomous body under Societies Registration Act 1961. Now, NIOH is a leading Central Government organization funded by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and the name is changed to National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities (Divyangjan) . It is situated at the campus of the former Kumar P. N. Roy Group of Hospitals at Bon Hooghly, Kolkata. It is an apex organization which is functioning in the area of locomotor disability. The Institute supports and enables persons with locomotor disabilities to optimize their potential and to realize their right to live life on an equal basis with their non-disabled peers through rehabilitation management, education, training, research and human resource development. Institute was established with the following objectives: • To conduct/sponsor, co-ordinate or subsidize research in all aspects of the education and rehabilitation of the Orthopedically impaired which expression shall also include the neurologically handicapped with problems of coordination or mobility. • To undertake, sponsor, co-ordinate or subsidize research in biomedical engineering leading the effective evaluation of aids or suitable surgical or medical procedures or the development of new aids. • To undertake or sponsor the ...

• • • What the National Medical Commission's new guidelines say on admissions and quota for disabled people What the National Medical Commission’s new guidelines say on admissions and quota for disabled people When it comes to locomotor disabilities — disability of bones, joints or muscles that restrict the movement of limbs — the committee suggested removing the 80% disability cap for those who are allowed to pursue medical education, without really doing away with it. The new guidelines under development by the National Medical Commission (NMC), to assess whether a candidate with disability may enrol in a medical course and whether candidates should receive the benefits of quota, are a mixed bag. The recommendations of a 16-member expert panel range from a “progressive outlook” for those with mental illness — suggesting that anyone who can complete all course requirements be allowed to study medicine — to “extremely restrictive” requirements for locomotor disabilities, suggesting wheelchair-bound people or those using two crutches be disqualified. The panel was set up after the Despite the mandate, much of the recommendations do not talk of advancements in assistive devices or treatments. Although some recommendations do make a mention of specific assistive devices such as cochlear implants for hearing impairment and telescopes and magnifiers for visual impairment, the existing guidelines say that anyone with more than 40% disability will be eligible for medical course a...