Research And Publication
Research on Guardianship, Residential care facilities...
A Research Project on Residential homes for Persons with Disabilities- ‘Samarth Centres: Present status and path towards Sustainability’ for The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities [Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India]
Anandini’s first independent project was a Research based study on ‘Institutional Care Facilities’. This study was commissioned by ‘The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities’ [under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. ]
The research study focussed on looking at the issue of institutional care from various perspectives :
- From the perspective of families, it tried to understand the need for institutional care;
- From the perspective of persons with disabilities who are in these care facilities it tried to get an insight into their thoughts and feelings; and what facilities, skill-building and other inputs are extended to them there and
- From the perspective of the organisations running these facilities, it tried to understand the thoughts and ideas behind starting; facilities that they have and the standards that are maintained; It also tried to get an idea of how much emphasis and focus there is on skill and capacity building of persons with disability.
The report was presented to The National Trust and comprised the detailed information about current status, facilities available, long-term plans for the children and adults with disabilities living with them. The report was based on detailed interviews with stakeholders and also on first-hand accounts gathered during visits to these homes. It also gave a road-map and recommendations for the future and highlighted some of the good practices that were being followed by some of the Homes across the country.
Co-authored a booklet entitled “Exploring Care Taking Arrangements for Persons with Mental and Multiple Disabilities". This booklet meant for families as well as professionals gave in-depth information about The National Trust Act, The Guardians and Wards Act and formation of Trusts for the care of persons with disabilities.
Co-authored a series of booklets for ‘‘The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities’’ on issues concerning Guardianship, Local Level Committees.
Research on the Child Protection Systems...
Research into the Legal provisions available for Protection of Children with disabilities against Violence and Abuse. This involved research of legal provisions provided for under the Special Laws- Persons with Disabilities Act, The National Trust Act, The Mental Health Act and also The Juvenile Justice Act. The detailed study involved interactions with the agencies under the Juvenile Justice Act including the Child Welfare Committees, the Shelter and Long-Stay Homes and the Childlines. The Report reflected the processes involved in reaching out to children under Care and Protection as defined in the JJ Act and also reflected the issues faced by the various agencies in handling children with disabilities. Report submitted to Aarth-Astha as part of their project with Plan India.
Research on Inclusive education and the connects with the RTE Act...
A Research based study on how The Right To Education Act reaches out and includes Children with Disabilities in Delhi and Rajasthan with Aarth-Astha as part of their Fourth Annual Report. This involved visiting and interviewing children with disabilities and their families in different parts of Delhi and Jaipur, Disability Professionals, School teachers and key Stakeholders in the SSA, State Commission For Protection of Children and other government officials linked with education.
A Research based study on Inclusion: ‘ A comprehensive review of implementation of the RTE Act from the perspective of children with disabilities and its effectiveness in ensuring full inclusion of children with disabilities’ This was a national level study of the implementation of the RTE Act, along with a detailed ground level focus on the States of Odisha and Uttar Pradesh which have the highest percentage and number of persons with disabilities respectively. Worked with Founder, Director Astha on this UNESCO supported project. UNESCO is working towards a Roadmap for Inclusion and this is one of the five studies commisioned to work towards that roadmap.
Research on the use of ICT in inclusion of children with disabilities...
“Inclusive Quality Learning for All- A Status Report” : Research and Authoring of a Status Report for a UNICEF-Saksham initiative for looking into - The Use of ICT in making Curriculum Accessible for Children with Disabilities. Three reports were written as part of the project. The first was - a pre-workshop paper on the available resources and their status which was circulated to the participants before the workshop as the base document; The second report presented the information that emerged from the workshop along with the recommendations; and the Third report was a consolidation of the two stages and looked at the next steps towards practical implementation.
An impact assessment report on Accessible Devices and Technology for Persons with Vision Impairment : for Saksham, Delhi: An impact assessmnet report of one of the Saksham projects wherein devices like smartphones, laptops, daisy players, refreshable braille displays had been distributed among perons with vision impairment to enable them to access information in accessible formats and enable independence in various aspects of life.
Research on Health and Disability related Issues...
Co-authored a Research paper “Health rights of Persons with Disabilities” presented at the ‘International Conference on Global Health Laws’, New Delhi.
Was part of a team of three, led by the Director, Astha, researching and writing a series of booklets on the ‘Medical Needs and Intervention required for Individuals with Cerebral Palsy’ [a research-based study].[ Yet to be Printed] The booklets attempted to simplify information about Cerebral Palsy and its associated conditions; bridge the divide between Parents and Doctors; and Empower - through Information- families and persons with Cerebral Palsy.
An evaluation of current status and creating a road map for the next ten years: The stakeholders’ perspective. An interview based assessment of a well known Delhi based organization working with persons with disabilities .
Research on Access to Health care facilities and the impact on the Right to Education...
Part of a team in the Research study entitled, ‘Exploring The Access To Rights To Education Of Children Who Have Regular Interface With The Health Care System’ ASTHA December 2019-continuing
Research on Rights of persons with disabilities...
A Research on India’s Status on implementation of the Incheon Goals : Mid Point Review . Research and Writing of a Status Report for Saksham, which was presented at the Incheon Strategy CSO Working Group Conference in Incheon.
