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USINFO Interactive: Overcoming Disability - January 3, 2008

Narrator:
Kamal Ud din is a Pakistani national studying in the United States as a Fulbright grantee. Ud din is a doctoral candidate in English literature at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is also visually impaired.
In a USINFO Webchat December 3rd, Ud din discussed overcoming disability to achieve academic success.

One questioner asked how the United States treats disabled persons and how does it compare with other parts of the world.

According to Ud din, Americans are very considerate of those who are physically or mentally disabled. But he also noted the importance of fighting for civil rights. The blind in the United States are leading a better and more dignified life than most of the blind people living in other parts of the world, because their elders struggled and fought for equal rights and opportunity, he said.

Another questioner asked Ud din what plans he has once he completes his research program.

Ud din said the first thing he will do after completion of his doctoral degree program is start a training center for visually impaired persons, both the blind and persons with low vision. The training will focus on new computer and assistive technology. His second project will be to set up a library that will provide textbooks and research materials in the form of recorded books, floppy discs or memory sticks.

When asked about learning resources for disabled persons in America, Ud din noted that almost all American education institutions have disability support services that help the blind and other disabled students acquire recorded or Braille books and assistance in taking tests. Organizations such as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic and the National Library Service loan recorded and Braille books to their members. The blind also use computer and Braille tools to take notes in their classes and to write assignments. The fact that disabled persons are admitted into America’s top universities on merit and are successful in professional life as lawyers, professors, writers, and business administrators is proof of the effectiveness of these resources.

Ud din also answered a question about the role of the government in protecting the rights of disabled persons.

Every good government provides protection to the weaker sections of the nation, he said. America is very particular about ensuring that the weak and minorities should not be deprived of their rights. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, programs and services provided by state and local governments, goods and services in other sectors.

Kamal said he always keeps three principles in mind.

The first, which he learned from his teacher Talat Mehmood, is that life demands a price for everything it gives to you.

The second is that having a philosophy of faith and independence makes success possible, whether or not one has a disability.

The third is a lesson from English poet Robert Browning, who wrote: “I was ever a fighter, so – one fight more, the best and the last.”

Kamal concluded his Webchat by asking participants not to consider blind people "special." The blind are normal human beings who can perform everything normally if they are given proper training and guidance, he said.

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