Developed by
DEOC
for
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India
and
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP)
Supported by
Disabled Peoples Organisations Denmark (DPOD)
(September 2010)
Table of Content
Overview of the Guidebook
Structure of the Programme
Preparation for the Programme
Session 1. Context Setting – What is Disability?
I.Understanding Disability – Two Scenarios
II.Identify Barriers and Facilities
Session 2. Why Counting Disability is Important?
I.Percentage of Population in India
II.Vicious Cycle
Session 3. How to ask the Disability Question?
I.The Disability Question No. 9
II.About whom to ask the Question
III.How to ask the Disability Question
Session 4. How to fill the Questionnaire: Types of Disability
I.Question no. 9, part (a)
II.Question no. 9, part (b) - Types of Disabilities and the Codes
Session 5. Exercise on filling the Disability Question in the Questionnaire
Frequently Asked Questions
Overview of the Guidebook
This Guidebook has been developed for the Trainers of Census Enumerators (National Trainers, Master Trainer Facilitators and Master Trainers) and NCPEDP Partners/NGOs who may be involved in the Sensitisation of Census Enumerators on Disability Question in Census 2011.
The aim of the Guidebook is to:
- facilitate the Trainers for conducting the Sensitisation Programme on Disability Question in Census 2011 for the Enumerators;
- effectively put forward the importance of counting people with disabilities in the country; and
- provide information to enable enumerators to collect authentic information about disability in a sensitive manner with better understanding of the issue.
The Guidebook provides the structure and framework; the preparation work required and detailed lesson plan for conducting the Sensitisation Programme.It also has a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to facilitate the trainer in case of any query.
Structure of the PROGRAMME
This Programme is about Question No. 9, which is about enumerating disability. It will be a 45 minutes session.
The Programme will cover the following topics:
Session 1. Context setting - What is Disability? (7 minutes)
Session 2. Why Counting Disability is Important?(7 minutes)
Session 3. How to ask the Disability Question? (5 minutes)
Session 4.How to fill the Questionnaire: Types of Disability (20 minutes)
Session 5. How to fill the form?(6 minutes)
Limitations of the Guidebook:
The Guidebook and the Sensitisation Programme may have certain limitations:
- Since the training is being done in a cascade manner, there may be information loss as the training gets passed on.
- The Enumerators may still not be able to get information from Respondents who do not cooperate.
However, despite these limitations, it is sincerely hoped that this Programme will have some positive impact and that more authentic disability data will be gathered in the upcoming Census!
Preparation for the PROGRAMME
First and foremost, as a Trainer, you need to read the Guidebook thoroughly so that you know how to conduct each session effectively.
Ensure that each participant has the following in the Information Kit - Census Questionnaire, Instruction Manual, Note Pad and Pen/Pencil. The Trainer should also have the Census Questionnaire and the Guidebook, for reference.
Find out about the venue for the Programme and the equipments that are available there. The Sensitising Programme has been designed in a manner that the Trainer could use a computer and projector for the Power Point presentation. In the absence of these, it could be conducted with just a blackboard and chalk or even without any material.
You should make an effort to find out if there are going to be any persons with disability attending the Programme and the adjustments/support that they may need. Following are some points, which would help you to ensure accessibility of the Programme for participants with disabilities:
- Venue should be accessible for persons with mobility impairment;
- Provide Information in accessible format (Census Questionnaire and Instructional Manual in Braille/largeprint/audio/CD). If materials are not available in accessible formats, assign a reader to the person who has difficulty in reading the printed materials;
- Arrange for a sign language interpreter for a person with hearing impairment based on her/his need;
- Explain and read out whatever you write on the board/flipchart. Read out the slides when you use them for those who may not be able to see the PPT;
- Participant/s with hearing impairment may wish to sit in the front row in order to read the lips of the Trainer. In that case, you should try not to move away from the line of sight of the person and to not turn your back and speak.
As a Trainer, you could make modifications to the Sensitisation Programme keeping in mind culturally relevant examples, the level of understanding of the participants, the terminology/language easily understood by the participants, the time available for the Programme and so on.
Session 1. Context Setting – WHAT IS DISABILITY?
Introduce yourself and say, “This Programme is about Question No. 9 of Census Questionnaire, which is about enumerating persons with disability.”
Objective of the Session:
To understand disability in the context of lack of facilities and the barriers that exist in the society.
Duration: 7 minutes
I.Understanding Disability – Two Scenarios
Start the session by asking the participants “What is disability?”
(People may say, inability in a person, person cannot see, hear, learn, etc.).
Now tell them, “I will give you some situations which you may have experienced in your life” and narrate the situations given below (one by one) in Scenario 1.
Scenario 1
•“You have sprained your leg very badly. You wait for a bus and when the bus comes, the step is too high and you are not able to climb up to it!” “How do you feel in a situation like that?”
For urban population, you can give the following example:
•“You are on the second floor of a shopping complex. Your ankle gets sprained very badly. You realise that there is no lift/elevator in the complex, you have to climb down two floors!” “How do you feel in a situation like that?”
•“You are in a city, where you do not understand the language. You want to take a bus to a particular place. You go to the ticket counter to enquire about the bus timings, fare etc. The person at the counter neither understands your language nor is cooperative.” “How do you feel in a situation like that?”
The participants will give their response(like, frustrated, angry, lost, helpless, dependent, handicapped) for all the situations.
“Now, imagine another scenario - Scenario No. 2, with slight changes in the situations.”
Scenario 2
•“At the bus stop in the first situation, instead of high steps, the bus that comes is very convenient to climb (the step is very low and broad).” “How would you feel now?”
For the example given for urban population, you can say, “In addition to staircase in the shopping complex, there is a lift/elevator.” “How would you feel now?”
•“At the bus enquiry counter, there is an information board, clearly stating the bus numbers, fares and other required details which you can understand. Or the person at the counter empathises with you and takes time to understand your query or brings a person who can understand your language.” “How would you feel now?”
(The trainer may get answers like relieved, happy, nice, good, not lost, not helpless, etc.).
Now ask the question to the Participants “What is the difference between Scenario 1 and Scenario 2?Where was the Problem? What made the difference - from feeling angry to feeling happy and relieved?"
(Participants may answer the "facilities", "attitudes", "environment", "helpful gesture", "cooperation").
Now show the participants the following slide and read it out.
II.Identify Barriers and Facilities
Share the following story with the Participants: “Now let me share a simple story with you.”Read out the following slide.
“There is a young boy of 25 years of age. He is an MBA, working in a big company. He meets with an accident. He has a back injury, which results in Paralysis of both his legs. The doctors say that the damage is permanent. He will not be able to stand up or walk; will need help with his activities of daily need (self care - toileting/bathing) etc. He is unable to go to his office; and he loses his job.”
Ask the participants, “What are the barriers he faces and what would be the facilities required for him to get back to his job? Please list them down in 2 minutes.”
Ask the participants to read out what they have written. Write the answers on the board (if available).
The answers expected are as follows and you can summarise them:Barriers - Mobility/transportation; inaccessible building; Lack of rehabilitation, negative attitude, etc.Facilities required –Wheelchair, accessible transportation, employment laws, accessible house/office, personal attendant, rehabilitation facilities, etc.
Session 2. Why Counting Disability is Important?
Objective of the Session:
-To understand that there is a direct link between numbers –resources – facilities – quality of life.
-To know that there is a huge population of persons with disabilities, who are not counted.
-To be convinced and motivated to get more authentic numbers of persons with disabilities in the Census this time.
Duration: 7 minutes
I.Percentage of Population in India – Census 2001 figure vs. Real figure
Start the Session by saying that “We just saw in the case we discussed, that it is the barriers and lack of facilities that is preventing people with disabilities from participating. You would agree that there are hardly any facilities in the country for people with disabilities. One of the reasons for that is that society does not think that there are many persons with disabilities! They are invisible.”
Ask the question to the participants “What do you think is the percentage of persons with disabilities in India?” (You may get different figures as response from the participants). Then you show the slide showing the percentage of United Nations vs. India figures.
Bar Graph showing the comparison between UN figure for population with disability (10%) and the Indian Census 2001 figure (2.1%)
“UN says 10% of population has one disability or the other i.e., 100 million people or 10 crore people. According to the data of Census 2001, India has only 2.1% i.e., about 20 million or 2 crore people. There may be two reasons why the figure is low in India. One, the enumerators are not counting persons with disabilities. Second, the people are not revealing their disability.”
“Now let’s look at the percentage of population in other countries.” Show the slide below and read out the country’s name and the percentage. “Australia: 20%; USA: 19.3%, UK: 18%, Srilanka 7%, Vietnam: 6.4%, China: 6.3%, Bangladesh: 5.6%, Pakistan: 2.5 % and India: 2.1%.”
Bar Graph showing disability data of a few countries[1]
“Even if we go by conservative estimates, looking at other developing nations, it is about 6%! Our Census 2001 figure says it is only 2.1%. Majority of our population with disabilities is getting left out!”
“Now let us look at how this number affects the quality of life of persons with disabilities.” Show the slide below and explain. “For example, if the Government thinks that there are only two persons needing hearing aids, it will manufacture only 2 hearing aids. However, the need is for 10 hearing aids for 10 persons with disabilities! There is a HUGE Gap. Eight people will not get the facility.”
Diagram showing that facilities are provided based on the number of people who have been counted. It shows 2 people have been counted and 2 hearing aids have been manufactured. Remaining 8 people who were left uncounted have no hearing aids.
II.Vicious Cycle
Now show the following slide and read out the diagram. (Talk of what is written in the diagram).
Diagram - Vicious Cycle showing uncounted population, linked to no resource allocation, linked to no facilities, no opportunities, leading to not being counted and it is a neverending cycle.
“Government allocates resources on the basis of Census figures. If the numbers are low, resources allocated would also be low. The facilities too will be inadequate. If there are no facilities, people with disabilities would not be able to participate. There would not be any opportunities. They will remain confined to their homes and will be seen as a burden in the society. They become invisible and not get counted. This is a Vicious Circle (refer to the Slide and show the circle). There is a direct link between numbers, resources and facilities.”
Now ask the participants, “What will break this cycle?” (You may get an answer that accurate numbers are required).
Show the following slide and explain. ”Yes, authentic disability data will lead to adequate resource allocation, will lead to adequate facilities, will to adequate opportunities, which will lead to people with disabilities participating and contributing to the society. They will be seen in our schools, colleges, offices, shopping complexes etc. They will be participating and contributing and will be seen as an integral part of the society”
Diagram indicating the link between authentic disability data leading to adequate resource allocation, leading to adequate facilities leading to adequate opportunities
Read out the slide below.
You can make a difference!
As an Enumerator you can make the difference! It is you who would begoing to every house in the country. You will be the witness to the fact that people are there, they exist. You will report this data to the Government. It is this data that will be used for next 10 years for policy making, for resource allocation and for providing facilities. It is therefore, in your hands to make the ‘invisible population’ ‘visible’!
Session 3. How to ask the disability question?
Objective of the Session:
- To know of the Disability Question in the Census Questionnaire.
-To understand how to ask the Question to elicit correct response.
- To know the do's and don'ts as the Enumerator while asking Disability Question.
Duration:5 minutes
I.The Disability Question No. 9
At the beginning of this session, you can ask the participants to see the Census Questionnaire. “Now please look into your information kits and take out the Census Questionnaire. Look at Question no. 9 on Disability in the Questionnaire.” You can then read out the Question, including 9(a), 9(b) and 9(c).
Tell them, “This question was introduced in the last Census (2001). This time, in Census 2011, an effort is being made to improve both the coverage and the quality of data on disability.” “We will come back to the questionnaire later. Let’s first see who should be asked or about whom should you ask the disability question?" (ask the participants to respond).
II.About whom to ask the Question
Show and read out the slide below.
About whom should you ask this question?
- This question should be asked about everyone in the household. Do not assume that just because someone looks ‘alright’ or ‘normal’, she/he may not have disability.
- Many disabilities are not visible. For example, person with hearing impairment, low vision, mental impairment, etc.
- Do not leave out elderly/old people, infants, girls/women in the house.
III.How to ask the Disability Question ?
Then ask the participants, “What do you think will be the difficulties you might encounter when you are asking this question?”
(The responses may be as follows: Families may hide disability; old people may not get counted; Enumerator may be embarrassed to ask the question thinking they may be hurting the Respondents, Enumerators may be hesitant/scared by the reaction; too many questions, no time; lack of cooperation by Respondent/they do not have time/lack of general awareness about importance of Census.)
You can say, “The Government and the NGOs will be creating awareness to encourage people to come out and share the information about disability. However, these difficulties may still remain. Given the reality, let’s see what will help you to elicit the answer?” Show and read out the following slide.
How to gain confidence of the Respondent?
- Build rapport with the respondent/s: Your friendly and respectful mannerism and language will help you gain their confidence and respect.
- Share the reason for asking question on disability
- Make it simple: Use simple and non-derogatory language. Explain disability in terms of difficulty in doing any functions of daily living (taking care of oneself, gaining education, taking up a job) or participating in all/some spheres of life.
- Assure confidentiality: Reassure the respondents that individual information will not be shared with anyone in the community.
“Keeping all these in mind, we have framed the possible question that you could ask.” Show and read out the following slide.
How to word your Question?
The Government wants to know how many persons are there with disabilities in the country. This information will be used to ensure that there are required facilities, education, employment, transport, assistive devices, health services, etc. which will help them to become more independent, participate and contribute equally in the society. So, please share if any of the membersof your household have a difficulty in seeing, hearing, remembering, walking, using hands, learning or mental health condition.