Timely Intervention Helps Visually Impaired Siblings

Twenty-one-year-old Khushbu Aggarwal lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at the age of 15, but she managed to complete her graduation with deteriorating vision. She discovered Eyeway while looking for ways to cope and assist with her sight loss.

The Helpdesk counselor apprised Khushbu of various assistive devices that could help her with reading, writing and other activities of daily living. She learnt about screen readers to use computers and smartphone. Khusbhu wants to prepare for competitive exams that will help her secure a government job. Guided by the counselor on acquiring adequate skills for employability, she has enrolled for a training programme.

Happy with the help received from Eyeway, Khushbu sought our intervention yet again. This time for her brother, Shubham who has the same eye problem. A Class XII student, preparing for his board examination, Shubham wanted to avail scribe facility. Except his current medical certificate listed his disability as 40%. As per the rules, the board won’t allow a scribe to assist Shubham unless he had a certificate of 70% or more.

Even though his vision had significantly deteriorated in the past few years, he didn’t have a way to prove it to the authorities without an official document. And only a week to his examination, it was a challenge getting a new assessment.

But the Eyeway counselor geared up for this task chasing resources all the way to the office of State Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities. As a result, the commissioner sent a special request to the District Civil hospital asking for an expedited checkup for Shubham. He was issued a new certificate with 90% disability, which helped him get an approval for engaging a scribe for the finals.
Both Khushboo and Shubham feel relieved after connecting with Eyeway. They are doubly motivated to pursue a path of independent living.