Special Needs

Recently, there was a media hype about the special needs of the diabled.

Somehow, "disability" has been closely related to "special needs".

I'm just wondering... don't every individual have their own special needs? We are afterall unique and to say that only the 'disabled' has 'special needs' seem to put them apart from everyone else again!

While the 'disabled' may want to integrate as much as they can into 'mainstream' society, they do have 'special needs' like facilities which allow them access and arrangements which can allow them to interact with others as much as everyone else.

This brings me to a point. Is someone like me 'disabled'? Some members of society do regard people with my conditions as not full functional, as much as typical 'disabled' would be.

Why are the 'disabled' given provisions for their 'special needs', when they should be 'enabled' instead?

Anyway, we have a long way to go in providing for people with 'disability'.

I recall that I wrote about the lack of access for those on wheelchairs in my GCE A Level General Paper examination in 1990. Then, there was an article in the Straits Times which inspired me about the topic. I scored a distinction for that GP paper!

More than a decade later, our island has not fully integrated facilities which allow greater access to the 'mobility-challenged'.

That's progress for this Island!