Deaf-blind girl's helping hand for disabled kids

AHMEDABAD: Shruti Singh, 23, was born with vision and hearing - because of which she can speak fluently, unlike other deaf-blind people. But she has now completely lost her hearing and has only 10% vision, limiting it to 3 to 4 inches ahead.

But disability has not pinned down this free spirit. She was determined to become a physiotherapist and enrolled in the physiotherapy school at the

Blind People's Association

(BPA).Shruti, a native of Himmatnagar, couldn't hear the lectures but she read transcripts on the cellphone screen and discussed them with fellow students with sign and tactile language. She was awarded the

Diploma in Physiotherapy

after completing the four-year course a fortnight ago.

“I have very supportive parents, friends, and teachers who never let my disabilities come in the way of success, “Shruti said with a laugh. She said when she started working at a physiotherapy

centre for children with disabilities

, near Vastrapur lake, some parents were shocked. A few even refused to allow me to touch their kids,” Shruti said. “But my skills convinced them that I was up to the mark.”

Krupa Velani, the coordinator of the deaf-blind unit at the BPA, said that Shruti is Gujarat's, and perhaps India's, first deaf-blind physiotherapist. “Her determination makes her special,” Velani said.