KalPoint.com (KPDC): Please tell us something about yourself, your education?
Azeem Anwar (AA): I was born in 1989. I am 19 years old.
When I was 2 years old, I suffered from a very severe fever; by the grace of Almighty Allah, I survived but I lost my hearing ability.
I can understand what people say with the help of my hearing aids and by watching lip movements. I can also communicate by talking and use of Sign Language .
At home my parents and others can not communicate by Sign Language, had they used Sign Language, I would not have improved my speaking ability significantly.
Nevertheless despite Initial problems with my speech, by the grace of Almighty Allah I have improved a lot. Now I can speak to some extent. I can also recite the Holy Qur’an.
I have done Matriculation from ABSA School with A-1 Grade. I passed ‘Intermediate’ with 91% marks. In 2007, I got admission in the Karachi School of Arts in the 1st year with normal students. I secured first in Mid-term exam held recently.
I shall remain thankful to Teaching and Admin staff of ABSA and particularly to my parents for their encouragement, dedication & cooperation in achieving the grade /percentage and building my carrier.
On 28th March 2008 Dhoraji Youth Service in their 17th Academic Excellence Award Ceremony for the year 2007 honored me with Gold Medal and Laptop.
At present I am also doing BA. During last vacations, I have done internship in IT Department with HBFC for a month.
I have also done a 2-month short course from an art college and with good position among normal students. I joined Pakistan Deaf Association to learn English.
KPDC: How many brothers and sisters do you have? How do you find them?
AA :
I have one brother and he is elder than me. He has done B.Com. Alhamdulillah, he is healthy young fellow and doing a job.
He helps me in many things. He has been very helpful and
kind. He has supported me a lot in my studies and also
in other activities.
My mother is housewife; she is nice and sweet lady. She
has been my source of strength and guidance since I was
a little boy. I have learnt to hear and talk because of
her efforts.
KPDC: How do you feel studying with the normal children?
AA :
I am enjoying my studies with normal children at Karachi School of Art. They are very cooperative and helpful.I have some friends there.My teachers are also very co-operative.
KPDC:What do you want to do in future?
AA : I want to build my career in textile designing. I love this field and want to excel in it. My parents also want my success in whichever field I choose.
There is only one risk I can foresee; usually normal candidates are preferred over handicapped, I am afraid that besides my talent and passion, I might not excel in this field.
Due to this problem, my parents want me to pursue my career in Communication Design based on Computer.
I’m confident that I will be able to make my career in this field.
KPDC: What do you do besides studies?
AA : I go to Arts school. I started taking interests in arts since my school age. At our school we were taught arts as a subject from Class-7. My parents also want me to continue with my painting. I like watching TV dramas. I also love surfing Internet.
KPDC: How did you find other people? Do you get support and cooperation from them?
AA :
I think normal people tend to ignore special ones. They don’t want to include such people in their activities. My parents have been very passionate about me, so they always tried to pull me in mainstream of the society. They didn’t let me feel isolated. This is why I don’t feel frustrated or neglected as other special people might do. My mother used to take me with her wherever she goes in the family. She has always treated me as a normal child and she never felt ashamed in taking me along with her.
KPDC: How much has Speech Therapy helped you in improving your speech?
AA:
The speech therapy has been extremely useful for me. I was quite lucky to have initially speech language therapy and auditory training from Mrs. Amina Siddiquie who is outstanding audiologist and Speech Language Therapist. In begning I could only speak 2 or 3 words. then by the passing of time I started uttering new words. This also helped me in the recitation of Holy Quran. My therapy continued for 8 years but then due to some problems, it was discontinued.
KPDC: What role do you think parents have to play for the treatment of special kids?
AA :
Of course, parents have major role in the rehabilitation of the special children, because children spend most of their time with the parents at home. They spend a little time in the speech therapy centre or schools. Although my school teachers also played an important role in my success but still parents lead the whole process of treatment and rehabilitation.
KPDC: Are you satisfied with the facilities available in Pakistan for the special people?
AA:
I don’t think there are enough facilities available for the special people. Some solid steps need to be taken in this regard. In Europe, there is a special tutor for handicapped children in every school. But in Pakistan special students are not been given the required consideration.
My parents hired a tutor for me to help me in my studies because my parents don’t know the Sign Language.
In National College of Arts, Lahore, there are teachers specifically appointed for the special students but there is no such facilities in Karachi.
Although government of Pakistan has allotted job quotas for the special people but usually this is not followed. I think the government as well as the private sector needs to realize that the special persons are also the citizens of this country and they should be given the facilities and opportunities to excel which they deserve.
KPDC: What is your favorite subject and why?
AA:
My favorite subject is Mathematics. One reason of my liking this subject is that it is considered to be Queen of all social and physical sciences, and most essential tool to excel every subject and process.
KPDC: Your message for the other kids?
AA:
I want to give message to everybody that they should learn Sign Language so that those people, who can’t speak or hear, can be communicated with easily.
Questions from Azeem’s Parents:
KPDC: Did you have to put extra efforts for Azeem?
Azeem’s Parents: Yes, indeed. We had to put a lot more effort on Azeem. When he was 3 years old, we admitted him in special education. Besides that we also started his auditory training and speech language therapy. The session was just a half an hour long but then we had to help him in practicing the activities at home which used to take a lot of time and effort. Whenever he used to go to school, one of us had to go with him, as we couldn’t let him go alone. When you have to work on special child you need to be very patient. It takes a lot of time for them to learn new things. Now, he has improved a lot and can pick up things quicker.
We are also happy that our efforts paid off. Now he is 19 and is in 14th class. We understand that he is doing well according to the age.
KPDC: When do
you think Azeem has made you feel really proud?
Azeem’s Parents: Azeem is a child that we can proud of as parents. He is very co-operative with not only his family members but also with his friends and neighbors. He has very nice perception of life and people, including us, seek his advice regarding dressing and other issues. But the greatest pleasure that Azeem gave me was when he finished his Qur’an. Initially, when we found his disability, we thought Azeem would never be able to learn the religious education. But then his mother worked hard with him. We tried to find someone who can teach him Qur’an but no one was ready to put his efforts on a handicapped child. Then, a Hafiz-e-Qur’an girl in our neighborhood voluntarily offered her services and asked us to send Azeem to her for learning Qur’an. She worked hard on him and when he studied the Holy Quran, we felt extremely proud on the occasion.
KPDC: What message would you want to give to the other Parents?
Azeem’s Parents: Our message is that don’t hide your special children in the houses, allow them to interact with normal children to make them feel confident.
Azeem feels very comfortable and he has never been a burden on us. Also, we should be ready to spend some time and effort on such children. They take time to improve so we need to be patient and committed for their improvement.
These children should be taken care of more than normal children. Parents must not delay their education process. Whenever you find that you child is having some problem get him or her checked by the doctor as soon as possible and then start their education process. Don’t get depressed about the disabilities of you kids; instead, focus on the positive aspects and their abilities. I also want to suggest to the parents that if you have a special child, admit him in the special education centers. After sometime when they learn communicating with others, you can transfer them in mainstream schools with the normal kids.
KPDC: Thank you so much for being here and enlightening us with your thoughts. C U on Net.
Azeem’s Parents: We also enjoyed being here. C U On Net 2.
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